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A scaffolded learning and embedded skills educational framework was adopted by an intersectoral university teaching team for the foundational nursing course unit of study: 'Frameworks for Nursing Practice.' The scaffolded learning and embedded skills approach is espoused as recognising the unique learning needs of students who are transitioning to higher education studies from a variety of entry points (Green, Hammer, and Stephens, 2006; Kift, 2009; McWilliams and Henderson, 2008). The embedded skills approach adopted in this unit attempts to ensure that students transitioning from a variety of contexts acquire a range of introductory academic skills in a supported learning environment. A mixed methods evaluation of the unit of study over two years (2009-2010) has revealed that students are mostly appreciative of the scaffolded and embedded skills delivery format and cite that elements of the model have supported their learning needs.

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The transition from a secondary to a university education environment is one rife with opportunity and novelty. It can be a difficult time for students as they begin to participate and take part in a new culture. Lessons learned from a specific programme for first-year students, the Emerging Leaders Development Programme (ELDP), provide an example of an initiative that not only assists with the transition, but also offers leadership development opportunities. Data collected from ELDP participants suggests that there are valuable, relatable, and transferable ideas that can inform the design and implementation of other transition programmes generally, and leadership development programmes specifically.

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At a campus in a low socioeconomic (SES) area, [this] university allows enrolled nurses entry into the second year of a Bachelor of Nursing, but attrition is high. Using the factors, described by Yorke and Thomas (2003) to have a positive impact on the attrition of low SES students, [the authors] developed strategies to prepare the enrolled nurses for the pharmacology and bioscience units of a nursing degree with the aim of reducing their attrition. As a strategy, the introduction of review lectures of anatomy, physiology and microbiology, was associated with significantly reduced attrition rates. The subsequent introduction of a formative website activity of some basic concepts in bioscience and pharmacology, and a workshop addressing study skills and online resources, were associated with a further reduction in attrition rates of enrolled nursing students in a Bachelor of Nursing.

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The University of Tasmania's (UTAS) UniStart program is a pre- and early-semester academic transition support program available to all [Higher Education Contribution Scheme] HECs-eligible incoming students. The aim of the program is to nurture critical thinking and independent study skills in commencing students. UniStart has been offered to commencing UTAS students for over 10 years, with a significant increase both in enrolments and in the flexibility of delivery over recent years. Evaluation of the program indicates that students feel more confident and prepared for their academic studies after undertaking the program and that the majority of students affirm, later in the year, that they have utilised and applied the skills developed in UniStart during their core studies. The program represents an important component of the university's approach to supporting the first-year experience and student transition.

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A concerted institutional approach to improving student outcomes resulted in a faculty-based, student-focussed model for student success at the University of Pretoria (UP). The student academic development and excellence model (SADEM), developed by a steering committee for student success, employs developmental research and systems theory and targets all years of undergraduate study while prioritising the first year. Underpinned by a systemic metric framework and continuous improvement, interventions comprise institutional and faculty-based projects that target high impact modules and diverse students to improve retention, pass, and throughput rates. Though context specific, it offers solutions to international concerns - lack of a systemic approach; initiatives located in peripheral units; initiatives located outside academic disciplines and lack of participation by academic staff; and a focus on retention of limited student subgroups instead of retention, pass, graduation and throughput rates of all students. The circumstances that led to its development, its key features and application at the UP, ways it can be adapted to other contexts, as well as its limitations and possible future directions, are presented.

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Pacific peoples are a migrant minority ethnic group in New Zealand. They suffer disproportionately from poor health and education outcomes compared to the total population, and share similar socio-economic challenges with Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Improving education outcomes can contribute to improving health outcomes. Pacific peoples are poorly represented in the health workforce. The Pacific Orientation Program at Otago (POPO) initiative is a new program seeking to provide a holistic approach to improving academic outcomes for Pacific students in health sciences in New Zealand. The program involved setting up systems for support, monitoring performance and addressing concerns early in the first year at university. This article outlines the development of the program, lessons learnt, and early indications of its usefulness in improving academic outcomes for Pacific students studying first year health sciences at university.

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Current research and practice related to the first year experience (FYE) of commencing higher education students are still mainly piecemeal rather than institution-wide with institutions struggling to achieve cross-institutional integration, coordination and coherence of FYE policy and practice. Drawing on a decade of FYE-related research including an [Australian Learning and Teaching Council] ALTC Senior Fellowship and evidence at a large Australian metropolitan university, this paper explores how one institution has addressed that issue by tracing the evolution and maturation of strategies that ultimately conceptualize FYE as 'everybody's business'. It is argued that, when first generation co-curricular and second generation curricular approaches are integrated and implemented through an intentionally designed curriculum by seamless partnerships of academic and professional staff in a whole-of-institution transformation, [there is] a third generation approach labelled here as transition pedagogy. It is suggested that transition pedagogy provides the optimal vehicle for dealing with the increasingly diverse commencing student cohorts by facilitating a sense of engagement, support and belonging. What is presented here is an example of transition pedagogy in action.

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Engaging students from lower socio-economic backgrounds in higher education is an ongoing issue in the tertiary education sector. Despite schemes to widen participation, low [socio-economic status] SES entry rates remain below 20 per cent in Australia. Various factors have been posited for the low rates of success and strategies aimed at universities, high schools and individual students have been suggested. The literature on transition to university has informed a student-centred approach and the need to acknowledge dimensions of cultural capital. Resources to address difficulties in transition have been suggested. In response to this need, the University of Sydney developed a widening participation scheme where successful applicants were provided a benefits package supporting their transition into university. In this paper, [the authors] report on qualitative research exploring the perspectives of students who entered a Faculty of Health Sciences via a widening participation scheme. [The] findings indicate that while transition strategies must be in place, the provision of ongoing material resources is also an integral factor in supporting students.

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Transition pedagogies relate not only to transition into higher education, but also transition out - and into the workplace. This paper explores the way in which a suite of new capstone work integrated learning subjects at James Cook University's Faculty of Law, Business and Creative Arts forms part of a deliberately designed program inculcating reflective skills at introductory and developmental levels, in preparation for this final transition. It highlights the importance of integrating first year experience, including content and skill development, with the whole degree.

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Successfully supporting wider participation in higher education requires a coherent blend of administrative, social and academic support. Access is a necessary but insufficient element of equitable participation. This is a vital distinction given the outcomes of the Bradley Report and the expectation that higher education institutions will significantly increase the enrolment and participation of equity target groups. [This] project, [Mature age Access Pathways] MAPs to Success, was designed to achieve the best possible outcomes for underprepared mature age students who have been granted alternative entry to the University of Western Australia through the Mature age Access Pathway (MAP). This alternative entry pathway was first offered in July 2008. In late 2009 [the authors] secured a Learning Teaching Performance Fund Grant to provide support for the original and subsequent cohorts. This paper outlines the theoretical perspectives underpinning this project's social and academic components, and evaluates the impact this project has achieved after its first year of operation.

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