This resource is has been designed to support vocational learners thinking about making the transition to Higher Education study

• Are you currently studying in a college of further education?
• Or are you thinking about becoming a mature student?
• Are you thinking about applying to university?
• Are you considering your career options?

If so, take a few minutes to read through these case studies - you will see examples of students or adult learners just like you who have made the step from Further to Higher Education!

So if you want to find out more about the educational and career journeys of vocational learners from a variety of backgrounds click on the links below

The pages contain information on the educational and career experiences of

• Students in Further Education
• Students in Higher Education
• Graduates

This resource is also of interest to:

• Practitioners working in FE and HE (including careers advisors, support staff, lecturers, admissions staff etc)

What would be really helpful would be case examples to reinforce what we’re saying when students come onto our courses, that at the end of this course you can actually go on to university and here’s an example of somebody who’s done it (IAG practitioner in FE)

I think if you have people who have actually been through those routes it would be helpful for them to be able to tell us where you can get help from or access a website for that information (FE student now studying at university)

The material on these pages is drawn from a larger project, FE to HE Transitions, funded by Linking London Lifelong Learning Network

The research data for this project has been carried out by the careers department (CaSE – Careers and Student Employment) at University of Westminster

The project has been funded by Linking London Lifelong Learning Network as part of their Development Project funding stream

Thank you to all participants for taking part in this research

All data is presented anonymously

Aims of the project

This project is exploring the educational experiences and career/employment trajectories experienced by vocational learners who have entered a Higher Education Institution from ‘non-traditional’ or vocational (i.e. non A-level) Further Education backgrounds

Ultimately, this research aims to develop new understandings of ‘non-traditional’ progression routes across FE, HE and the graduate labour market

By speaking directly to learners in FE and in HE we have been able to generate a series of ‘real life’ case studies exploring the realities of progression and transition between FE and HE

We hope that this testimony from students and graduates provides some inspirational examples to students in both FE and HE.

How did we carry out the research?

The project uses a range of research methods to capture a ‘snapshot’ of educational experiences, expectations and aspirations amongst vocational learners

There were three main elements to the research:

1. We carried out semi-structured interviews and focus groups with students form the following cohorts:

• Students currently studying in a FE College
• HE students who have entered HE from FE
• Graduates who have completed their HE course and entered the graduate labour market, having made the transition from FE to HE

2. Interviews have also taken place with careers/progression guidance practitioners involved in advising students who follow the FE to HE route

3. We have undertaken statistical analysis of:

• Analysis of the graduate employment destinations experienced by vocational learners following graduation from HE (using data from Destinations of Leavers form Higher Education)
• Retention and progression rates amongst FE entrants to HE

The full report

The final report FE to HE Transitions: Understanding Vocational Learner Experiences in Higher Education is available upon request. Please contact Wayne Clark for further details.

Dr Wayne Clark

Project Manager

Wayne co-ordinates the project as part of his role of managing the Research and Development team in CaSE (Careers & Student Employment) at University of Westminster. Wayne has undertaken research into a variety of educational and social issues including:

• C-SAP funded project evaluating the embedding of citizenship skills into the sociology undergraduate curriculum
• Connecting Communities funded evaluation of the relationship between careers in the Probation Service and ethnic minorities
• HECSU funded evaluation of the Talent Bank student recruitment service
• Surveys of graduate employment destinations (including the DLHE survey)
• Study of political activism in the UK (published as Activism in the Public Sphere)

He has also taught widely on a range of social science courses at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Birkbeck and Central Missouri State University.

Deborah Holt

Research Project Officer

Deborah is a research consultant specialising in educational research, particularly in the area of qualifications and qualification frameworks. Before working on the FE to HE Transitions project, she spent over eight years as a researcher at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). Her previous experience has included conducting research across all levels of the curriculum and qualifications, and includes carrying out both qualitative/quantitative research and analysis.

Claire Larkman

Research Interviewer

Claire is a Research Consultant specialising in educational and social research. She has fifteen years research experience working at a range of organisations including University of Westminster, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, and the Institute of Education. Her experience has included working across various levels of curriculum (including foundation stage, key stages 1,2 and 3), general and vocational qualifications, and Further and Higher education.

Anita Shanbhag

Research Administrator

Anita works within CaSE's Research and Development team. Her role involves co-ordinating the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey and other careers research projects. She also deals with management information statistics on usage of CaSE services. Anita has a BSc in Management and an MSc in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). Her previous experience includes managing employment/recruitment research projects, as well as conducting qualitative/quantitative research and analysis for clients in the Higher Education sector.

John McMenamin

Employability and IT Consultant

John is part of CaSE's Research and Development team. He has responsibility for developing IT systems within CaSE, maintaining and updating the website and supporting the delivery and implementation of Career Management Skills. John has a BA (Hons) in Business Education with IT and Qualified Teacher Status from the University of Brighton. His previous experience includes: Resources and IT Technician, IT Teacher and Assistant Manager of an IT Training Centre in an FE College.

In this section we will keep you up to date with events and developments related to the project. Please check for regular updates.

24 August 2010

The West London Lifelong Learning Network contains a news article on the fe2he project:

http://www.westlondonlln.org/news/986/fe2he-launching-a-new-project-exploring-transitions-from-further-education-to-higher-education-and-beyond

22 June 2010

Wayne Clark presented the findings of the FE to HE Transitions project at the annual Learning & Teaching Symposium (University of Westminster). Entitled FE to HE Transitions: Bridging the gap?, the presentation provided an overview of the project and demonstrated the content of the fe2he web resource.

27 May 2010

The full FE to HE Transitions report is now available via the Linking London Lifelong Learning Network website. Click here for the report.

21 May 2010

The FE to HE Transitions project was featured at the Linking London Lifelong Learning Network Annual conference at Birkbeck, University of London

Link to conference photos

A poster presenting a summary of the progress of the project was on display.

14 May 2010

The FE to HE Transitions flyer is now available. This A4 one sheet flyer provides summary of the project and link to the fe2he web resource. Please circulate this to anyone you think would be interested in the project.

12 May 2010

The fe2he web resource is now live. We will be updating this events page on a regular basis to keep you informed of developments relating to the FE to HE Transitions project.

We welcome your feedback on this resource and on the FE to HE Transitions project. Please contact Wayne Clark if you have any comments.

• CaSE www.westminster.ac.uk/careers
• Education Liaison team www.westminster.ac.uk/about/education-liaison
• LLLLN www.linkinglondon.ac.uk