Welcome pack for new UG students.
I will focus my intervention on my work as a college Admissions tutor.
I propose to make a welcome pack tailored to one of the courses (BA Acting & Performance), which aims to provide the First Year lead with information on students (access) needs, prior to starting. The pack would be given to the students upon completing enrolment when they receive their UAL e-mail.
Often, there is a gap where information doesnt pass from the admissions process to enrollment, and so with regards to access needs or support plans academic staff often don’t know until way after the student has arrived, how best to adapt teaching plans for the individual and the cohort. For example, last September a student enrolled who has cerebral palsy, and who needed to access a lift, as well as needing a chair and at times a wheel chair in sessions. The students classes were all planned on the second floor in a building which requires a key for the lift from Estates, and the staff (at the time) did not have access to the key. Furthermore, the academic team, for example movement practitioners, had not planned the sessions for participants with physical limitations. Whilst this of course is not a problem as plans were adapted, it was the lack of previous information that made for a clumsy start for the student.
The welcome pack would include information such as the courses dress code for practical sessions, but also a section on, wellbeing within the art of doing (the practicalities). Providing an opportunity for the students to share any information they think will be useful for the tutor. For example, is could look like:
Working with voice:
On the course you will work with your voice, both spoken and singing or other wise.
Working with movement:
You will be working with movement and getting to know the limitations as well as all the possibilities of moving your body. This means working standing, on the floor, sitting as well as running or jumping with in your physical possibilities.
Working with breath:
Breath work is an essential part of performance, you will be working with your breath and getting to know how this can be useful for voice and movement work.
Working with script:
You will be working with words, punctuation, as well as creatively playing with script and text.
With all this in mind: are there any concerns or anything you think is useful for us to know about so that we can best provide support when you arrive?
I have structured these to help situate the student in the course content. For example, breath work can be overwhelming for someone with acute anxiety, here they are able to think that breath work is a requirement of the course, and ( hopefully) feel they are able to voice an concerns before starting.
Small things like this can go a long way into making a student feel welcome, but also for academics to have sufficient time to prepare and plan, not just the practical elements of unit 1, but also reading materials.
Similarly this will allow yr 1 leads to quickly asses which students will need to be sign posted to which student services on day 1, as opposed to month 3.
Of course all this is subject to:
-students being willing to disclose personal information (which usually isn’t a problem on this course)
-students reading their e-mails to receive the welcome pack (this I see as the biggest hindrance).