The Central Foundation Years Programme started at the University of Sussex in 2015 and has since gone on to have profound impacts across the institution and beyond. Its student-centred approach and capacity for creative innovation within the team have led to it being regarded today as a space of excellence in transitional pedagogies, holistic student support and working with students-as-partners.
Over a short period of time, the Programme has supported around 2,000 students to not only progress into their chosen degree subject, but to do so from a position of confidence and with the ability to realise their potential. It is a great source of pride that so many of our progressed Foundation students go on to do better academically than their peers with higher entry qualifications.
This is a team with experience of teaching and supporting students at a wide range of levels and it has a deep commitment to widening university access. Providing an alternative path to success for students, and seeing them flourish, is our motivation. This can be seen in the initiatives that we have developed to make this happen, from bespoke student support processes which are influencing practices across our institution and others, to the innovative integration of technology to support students transitioning into a new identity, this Programme draws its strength from the ambition and ingenuity of its team.
The Foundation Years Team is a wide-ranging one, led by Graeme Pedlingham (English) and supported by Mark Clark (Management) as Director of Teaching and Learning and Wendy Garnham (Psychology) as Director of Student Experience. The core team includes cross-disciplinary module convenors Wendy Ashall (Global Studies), Michael Barrow (Economics), Annie Bresh (Management), Belinda Hackney (Languages), Jill Kirby (History), Darcy Leigh (Law), Ronan McKinney (English), Charlotte Morris (Education and Social Work), David Munn (Academic Development), Adhip Rawal (Psychology) and Susan Robbins (Academic Development). This core team is completed by our administrative unit (Holly Dore, Karen Tucker, Jack Nugent and Gina Stevens).
Many members of this team are Senior Fellows of the HEA, with others currently applying. We aim for all to have SFHEA in the next two years.