A helping hand with HE preparation

Sophie Craven

Schools and Colleges Liaison Service, The University of Huddersfield

A guest blog from Sophie Craven – Schools and Colleges Liaison Officer

It’s that time of year again when schools and colleges are busy with the vital groundwork of preparing students for their UCAS applications next year. For those of us working in the HE sector, supporting students through this difficult decision-making period is at the heart of our jobs as Liaison Officers.

Dominated as this process is by the UCAS process, the nature of our work is very cyclical as we repeat the same activities year on year. But for the young adults we support, this is not a cycle at all. For them this is a hugely important transitional stage in their journey through life –so it’s vital that we help them to get it right first time round.

Quality HE preparation has never been as important as it is now. With the rise in tuition fees, increased competition for HE places – not to mention in the graduate labour market, making the right decisions are crucial for longer-term success. No pressure then! With this in mind and with the collective support of tutors, parents and HE staff – we can all contribute to that future success.

The great news is that we are here to help you to help your students. Here’s how to maximise your HE preparation, without having to do all the work yourself.

  • Include a broad range of HE sessions including generic and subject specific – at Huddersfield we offer a wide range of generic HE preparation activities , as well as the subject specific Discover Lecture Programme. Cover career planning, course choices, gap years, volunteering and work experience preparation, personal statements, interview preparation and student finance.  
  • In particular, enhance the UCAS application process for students through Personal statement workshops, and for tutors through UCAS reference writing workshops
    Invite different institutions to participate in your activities and from further afield to broaden your students’ horizons of HE.
    Support students in attending Open Days and other campus based activities such as subject taster days
  • Support students in attending UCAS fairs and ensure they are fully prepared before hand.
  • Engage HEIs with your students’ parents – at Huddersfield we offer talks for parents and a range of other online and printed resources
  • Attend teachers’ and advisers CPD and conferences to keep up with latest developments in the sector. The next CPD event at Huddersfield is Educating England on 14th May
  • Make good use of the free available resources for tutors on the UCAS website. There are other really useful sources of information and resources – on topics such as student finance and Which University?

If you are looking for more support and structure for your HE preparation then here at Huddersfield we offer a comprehensive off-the-shelf HE preparation programme in the form of the Progression Module. The Module supports tutors in the delivery of post-16 careers education, and work-based routes as well as HE are considered.

  • From a personal perspective, knowing that my advice and support can help students along this journey towards realising their hopes, ambitions and aspirations, then that makes me feel tremendously proud and confident that the job of Liaison Officer is a truly invaluable one.

For more information about the Progression Module, contact Sophie Craven.