The Power of a Pre-arrival Academic Questionnaire in Achieving a Whole Integrated Institutional Approach

By Dr Michelle Morgan, Student Experience Transitions Specialist and Dean of Students, University of East London

Our amazing higher education (HE) sector has transformed the lives of so many, including mine. As someone whose working-class parents had no educational aspirations for me and expected me to leave school at the age of sixteen and get a job, becoming a mature student at the age of 24 was one of the scariest yet exhilarating periods of my life. Doing my degree wasn’t easy and so often I felt like an imposter surrounded by young people who seemed so much more skilled and confident than me. I got to love the learning environment so much that after completing my degree, I entered HE as a departmental administrator using the administrative skills gained prior to my higher education journey and the knowledge and experience gained through my degree as a student. Through my career I have undertaken numerous roles including being an administrator, faculty manager, lecturer, L&T coordinator, module leader and academic manager. Individual roles that bridge academic and professional domains are what Ceilia Whitchurch calls ‘Third Space Professionals’ and Di Nutt and Emily McIntosh refer to as ‘Integrated Practitioners’ (Whitchurch, 2012; McIntosh and Nutt, 2022). The benefit of this is that it enables one to view challenges, policy, support and learning and teaching through multiple lenses.

At the heart of everything I have done and do is understanding how to improve the student experience through effectively supporting transitions so students and staff can succeed. Early on in my HE career, I realised that to do this, a whole university institutional approach was required. Over the years, I have identified numerous strands when looking at how to achieve this (see Diagram 1). All of these areas need to be considered when developing integrated strategies, policy, processes and initiatives across the study journey. So what does each one entail?

Understanding Transitions

By understanding the stages that make up the study journey and the typical pressure points at each stage then we can identify information and support that is required. This is why I created my Student Experience Transition Model to help me do this (see Diagram 2) . More information about the model can be found by going to: Improving the Student Experience.

Sector and social changes and challenges

There have been numerous sector and social changes and challenges impacting higher education in the past few years. For institutions, they include an increase in regulation, a focus on metrics and league tables and a decrease in funding. For staff and students it includes the ongoing learning challenges caused by the Covid19 Pandemic such as poor attendance and engagement. The cost of living crisis and its impact on education has been substantial as the recent Sutton Trust report highlights. Higher education is having to quickly adapt policies and assessment processes to address the rapid rise and development of Generative AI on assessments.

Increased student diversity

Higher education has increased its diversity through widening participation. As a rule, we know very little about the prior learning experiences of our incoming students as it is an area where limited work has been undertaken. Yet it is such a critical one if we are to effectively bridge the transition from secondary to tertiary education, have an inclusive curriculum, and fair and transparent assessments. It has never been more important to understand how the multifaceted characteristics each student brings into HE can impact on their engagement, retention and success such as social class, disability, generational status, ethnicity and importantly, type of entry qualifications that are taught and assessed differently.

Mental health and wellbeing

Mental health and wellbeing is now high on the sector’s radar. Since 2011, there has been an 89 per cent rise in the number of UK undergraduate applicants sharing information about an impairment or condition in the UCAS application with the highest year-on-year increases seen for mental health conditions. Mental health issues have always existed but we are now creating an environment where declarations are actively supported. The introduction of the University Mental Health Charter by Student Minds has provided a much needed framework for institutions to create an integrated approach for students and staff.

Engagement, belonging and compassionate leadership

As a sector we are very aware of the importance of having an environment where students and staff feel it is meaningful, safe and available (Khan, 1990;2012). This helps towards engagement and creating a sense of belonging where participants feel like they fit in. As Liz Thomas argues, compassionate leadership is critical in helping facilitate this especially in widening access and student success .

Getting insight into these areas to help shape an integrated approach via a pre-arrival academic questionnaire

As a sector, we get insights from numerous surveys about the student experience including the Student Academic and Postgraduate Taught Experience Surveys by AdvanceHE and the National Student Survey to name a few. But all these surveys take place as students near the end of study, and it only captures the experience of those who make it to the end of their course. Applicant UCAS data and Higher Education Statistics Agency ‘Returns’ help provide data insights for our student body, and their retention and level of success.

However, to really understand how to improve the five strands mentioned above, I recognised that we needed to understand prior learning experiences, expectations of university study, concerns on entry, and expected outcomes based on student characteristics. So for over 20 years, I have been creating and undertaking pre-arrival academic questionnaires (PAQs) (formerly called Entry to Study Survey) at undergraduate and postgraduate taught level to get insight into different prior learning experiences and how these may impact on concerns, worries and expectations of higher education.

Purpose of the PAQ

NSS metrics are informative but it is only a snapshot of the university experience of those that made it nearly to the end of their degree. It does not reflect the voice of incoming students, and it does not provide any real time indication of what kind of support new students need.

The PAQ (formerly called the “entry to study survey”) is a powerful tool. Results can challenge change the assumptions of staff and university leaders, in terms of what they think they know about their incoming students. As with the postgraduate taught and postgraduate research experience surveys (PTES and PRES), the questions evolve to take into account of a changing environment, and the impact it has on our students (including things like Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis).

The PAQ also provides a meaningful course activity early on. It gets students to reflect on their learning, both on their past learning journey and expectations of university study. Students answer a range of questions across six sections that cover prior learning experiences, concerns on entry, how they expect to study at university, identifying what they see as their priorities in the coming year, their strengths and weaknesses, and expected university study outcomes. As it is delivered as a course activity, students engage with it.

Within three weeks of the PAQ survey closing, students get the headline findings along with relevant support and advice. This shows them that they are not alone regarding prior learning experiences, any concerns or worries they may have, and they know that their voice has been listened to.

The information gleaned from the PAQ helps inform every area of a university’s work from Access and Participation Plans to recruitment, orientation and induction to study to policy and support.

A national pilot

In September 2025, AdvanceHE and Jisc, funded by the Office for Students will commence the first of two annual waves of a national pilot in England, using the UG and PGT PAQ work I have undertaken at the University of East London and other institutions. The aims and objectives include:

To establish consistency in how the sector collects and acts upon information from students upon arrival around their learning styles, expectations, challenges and requirements.
To drive dedicated activity at the local level to close the gap between expectations, requirements and the actual experience upon arrival.
To provide robust data-led evidence to enable institutions to address inconsistencies in how different groups of students (for example by social background, qualification type, geography and demographics) begin their learning and develop a platform to progress to good outcomes.
To create a fuller understanding across the sector of the Pre-arrival experience, providing evidence for wider policy making and cross-sector activity.
To support providers in delivering a range of practical outcomes across different student groups, including improved wellbeing and belonging, improved continuation and attainment. Earlier and preventative intervention should further contribute to higher progression to further study or employment.

The questions in the PAQ contribute valuable insights and knowledge that align with the themes in the University Mental Health Charter.

Outputs

Institutions will receive their own results in a fast turnaround after the close of the survey – for their own analysis.
Institutions will receive analysis by AdvanceHE similar to Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) and Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) that will focus on providing anonymised benchmark comparison across all participating institutions
Resources will be provided on how to share the key relevant findings with students, and staff.
Membership of a facilitated participation network to access support and advice from peers.
Free conference attendance for each year of participation to share best practice.
Access to sector specific reports and published papers based on the overall findings.

This national pilot is being guided by the Steering and Working Groups which brings key expert and sector stakeholders together. The project has received 60 expressions of interest and the 20-30 institutions who will participle in the September 2025 wave is due to be confirmed imminently. Through working together, it is hoped that there can be authentic and genuine collaboration in understanding and improving the student experience across all levels of higher education study and supporting students and staff.

Resource Sheet - If you knew this what would you do?

References

Khan, W.A. (1990) Psychological conditions of personal engagement at work, Academy of Management Journal,ProQues, 33 (4) 692-724

McIntosh, E. and Nutt, D. (2022). The Impact of the Integrated Practitioner: Perspectives on Integrated Practice to Enhance Student Success. Student Success, 13(2), 1–9.

Morgan, M. (2012) Improving the Student Experience- a practical guide, Abingdon: Routledge

Whitchurch, C. (2012) Reconstructing identities in Higher Education- the Rise of the third space professionals, London: Routledge and Society for Research into Higher Education