‘Social mobility is about the whole student journey’

Hello, I’m Rulianda Purnomo Wibowo from Universitas Sumatera Utara. I believe universities have an important role in helping students improve their lives, but social mobility is not only about getting students into university. It is also about making sure they can succeed once they are here.

For first-generation students, university can sometimes feel like a completely new environment. They may not know who to ask, where to go or even what opportunities are available to them.

So, one of the first things we can do is make the transition easier. We need to give students clear and simple information about university life, not only when they apply, but also when they arrive. Campus visits, orientation, peer support and early guidance can make a big difference.

One question I find useful is, “If this is the first person in their family to go to university, what do they need to know?” It sounds simple, but it can really change the way we design our outreach and orientation.

The second is academic support. Students come from different educational backgrounds. Some may need extra support with academic writing, digital skills or particular subjects. The answer is not to lower our standards. It is to help students reach those standards. Foundation courses, bridging sessions, tutoring and peer mentoring can be very useful, especially during the first year.

Another thing we need to look at is how students access support. Universities may already have scholarship, financial assistance, counselling and career services, but having a service is not enough if students do not know that it exists, do not know how to apply or are not sure who to contact. That support may never reach them.  

Sometimes, we do not need another programme. We just need to make the support we already have easier to find and easier to use. And finally, we need to think about students’ networks.

Some students already have family or friends who can help them find an internship, prepare for an interview or understand different career options. But not every student starts university with that kind of network.

This is where alumni can really help. Through mentoring, internship, work placements, career talks and professional networks, alumni can help students see opportunities they may not have considered before.

We should also make different career pathways more visible so students can see where their education can take them.

For me, social mobility is therefore about the whole student journey. It starts before students arrive, continues through their studies and should extend to the transition into employment and their future careers.

So, if universities want to become stronger drivers of social mobility, I would focus on three things: make university easier to understand, make support easier to access and make opportunity easier to reach because opening the door is only the beginning.

We also need to make sure students know where that door is, feel confident walking through it and have the support and connection they need to keep moving forward.

Thank you.

Rulianda Purnomo Wibowo is a lecturer at Universitas Sumatera Utara.

If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.