Who provides academic skills support at your institution? The answer may be more complex than you think

Since access to higher education expanded in the 1990s and 2000s, the student support ecosystem grew considerably, as more students needed extra help to transition into university life. This was not only academic skills support, but also how to make sense of higher education’s unwritten rules and conventions, known as the “hidden curriculum”. 

Given this speedy expansion, over time, several individuals and teams have become responsible for formal (and informal) academic skills guidance within a university. This could result in a situation where multiple employees in the same institution are supporting academic skills development, risking confusion for students, unnecessary duplication and inconsistent messaging. Here, I’ll outline who might be supporting which academic skills, and how to best coordinate everyone. 

Course teams play a fundamental role in academic skills development. Courses can have dedicated academic skills units and/or scaffolded academic skills development opportunities across multiple units or levels of study. Integrated foundation years often focus on the transition into higher education and the academic skills required.

A personal academic tutor will periodically meet with allocated tutees during their studies, either individually or as a small group. Discussion topics will vary depending on where students are with their studies. It is very likely that a tutor will be asked for academic skills guidance on more than one occasion. 

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Learning developers act in an educational bridging capacity. Their remit can vary but will typically include supporting development of academic writing, maths and study skills. 

Librarians support students’ information literacy skills. As per the SCONUL 7 pillars model, this involves use of library platforms (including reading list software or collection discovery tools), how to establish information needs, search techniques, evaluating results and how to correctly cite and reference sources. They would also cover copyright compliance.

Learning technologists work to ensure that digital learning systems and environments are aligned to university community needs. Students will need to develop digital skills that involve usage of commercial software applications, institution-specific digital platforms, such as virtual learning environments, and increasingly AI. The guidance of digital learning teams is critical in terms of developing the academic skills needed to succeed.

English for speakers of other languages (ESoL) tutors may offer supplementary targeted support for certain student groups. For instance, offering international students access to a summer school, enhanced induction or co-curricular workshops. 

Employability advisers support the development of students’ graduate skills and competencies. Although they’ll focus on employability, their guidance on developing specific competencies will likely often apply to degree studies. 

Success coaches are typically faculty-based positions, who provide targeted support to students identified as retention risks. Several institutions are introducing them into the student support ecosystem. Their support will span across pastoral and academic issues, and include advice on issues such as time management and navigating the hidden curriculum. 

Peer-assisted learning schemes are likely to provide informal academic skills support. Experienced students leading these sessions may find that new starters raise questions related to transitioning to university (eg, how to study independently and use university systems) or assessments (eg, related to academic writing style and conventions). Sharing their experiences of how to study effectively will therefore likely involve some academic skills-focused mentoring or coaching. 

Library staff working on service desks or roaming floors will likely also informally triage a range of academic skills-related issues. Examples could include using computers, the virtual learning environment or other digital learning platforms. 

Consolidating academic skills provision became a trend in the 2010s, usually by merging learning development and library teams. An approach like this can help facilitate cross-team working, but we should be careful that skills, knowledge and professional identities within specific teams are not diluted or lost. 

The true diversity of academic skills support across an institution means that it won’t be practical (or even possible) to converge all academic skills providers. Here is what I suggest. My university has adopted two such strategies:

1. We developed a centralised skills for success hub to consolidate academic skills guidance and development opportunity (such as bookable appointments) details, irrespective of which team may provide the support. This will act as the golden record, in terms of how academic skills development should be framed and approached when working with students.
2. We also introduced monthly Faculty Academic Success Team (FAST) meetings, in which representatives from support teams meet with faculties to monitor the effectiveness of existing support, and whether additional targeted support is needed. This ensures that academic skills support can be effectively coordinated, and each stakeholder has a distinct and well-defined role to play. 

Ultimately, conceptualising and presenting academic skills development opportunities as a collective institutional offer should make it easier for students to access support and succeed in their studies. With the necessary institutional buy-in from all stakeholders, this in turn should enhance both student experience and outcomes. 

Steve Briggs is director of learning, teaching and libraries at the University of Bedfordshire.

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