Joining the Dots: An Institutional Approach to Enabling Student Success

The Initative Team

Initiative Lead
University of Limerick

Primary Contact
Deirdre Murphy
deirdre.m.murphy@ul.ie

Initiative Budget

€146,000

Initiative Type

Overview

This initiative aims to:
• Enhance University of Limerick’s (UL) undergraduate students’ sense of belonging to their course and their faculty.
• Provide first year students with a clear pathway to understand the workings of the university and assist in their transition to University.
• Enable a coordinated, faculty-wide approach to academic outreach.

The appointment of a Student Support Officer (SSO) in each UL faculty will provide the capacity to implement these objectives. SSOs will run a series of transition support, outreach actions, and address some gaps that exist in our existing student support framework.
SSOs will be the friendly, accessible and approachable face of student support within each faculty and be a students’ ‘first port of call’ when facing an issue. The SSOs provide UL with the capacity for early identification of students ‘at risk’ academically, based on indicators agreed at programme and faculty level. They will implement and coordinate activities with students that are most in need of intervention and support. They will facilitate and coordinate the implementation of peer-led Orientation in the critical first weeks of Semester 1. They will provide a link for Access students between the Student Affairs Access Services and their Faculty to ensure a consistent feedback mechanism to monitor and support the progress of Access students. SSOs will keep records of their own student interactions and provide faculty with regular updates and reports. The will collect, monitor and analyse data on student retention, progression and completion, in conjunction with the Faculty Assistant Dean Academic Affairs.