TAG – The Alternative Guide to UCLan: Creating realistic expectations of higher education

Abstract

The paper outlines the University of Lancashire’s (UCLAN) offering of The Alternative Guide (TAG) to university life at UCLAN, which aims to provide an opportunity for potential students to access peers’ experiences of Higher Education, to give them an insight into what to expect from university, the issues they may face and the support available to help them. The literature shows many students are coming from backgrounds where they have no peers or family members with experience of HE to draw on (Thomson and Quinn (2007)) and the students’ expectations of university do not match the reality. Students who go to university with misguided expectations are likely to withdraw or struggle with the course. TAG aims to help potential students understand what to expect from HE and help them develop ownership of their own learning. The paper explores the challenges and issues faced by the project team and ends by providing initial research findings and evaluation of the website.