The report found that the 2004 respondents continued to rate both interest-related and job-related reasons as important in their decisions to enrol in university study. They reflected an increased sense of purpose and had greater clarity about occupational aspirations compared with their peers from 1994 and 1999 and were less likely to have come to university directly from school. Since 1994, there has been a significant decline in the proportion of students who felt that university had not met their expectations, with international students less satisfied than domestic students. On the whole, mature age students emerge as a highly satisfied group on the whole.
There has been a significant rise in the number of students in paid employment, rising 8% since 1994. Online teaching methods and electronic resources were used by the majority of 2004 students to access learning resources, send emails and to contact peers and staff. Students now have less contact hours per week than 10 years ago, and spend fewer hours on campus. Typically, 2004 students were more satisfied with their university study than they were 10 years ago, with strong evidence that differences occur in demographic sub-groups, an issue beyond the scope of the report and warranting monitoring in the future.
The study reports on six key areas covering the first year experience of students. They are:
- aspirations, change and uncertainty in the first year;
- student expectations and adjustments to university study;
- engaging with learners and learning at university;
- managing commitments in the first year;
- perceptions of teaching and satisfaction with courses; and
- the first year experience of significant student groups.
The report is available in PDF and RTF formats.