Understanding the lived experiences of Joint Honours graduates: how can educators best enable student success?

Combined or joint honours degrees represent 10% of all UK undergraduates. 50,000 out of 500,000 currently enrolled on all honours degrees. This significant and special way of learning therefore warrants scrutiny. This type of degree facilitates students combining the study of two subjects to honours level, with modules delivered from two academic disciplines. The large proportion of students on such degrees across universities in England and Wales means that debate is needed as to the intrinsic value of such degrees especially in relation to graduate employability and career opportunities. This paper examines the lived experiences of joint honours graduates, evaluating the impact that studying joint honours had on their careers, and whether they were well prepared for graduate roles. We draw out themes and characteristics that will assist educators in supporting their students and enabling their future success

Combined degrees & employability: a comparative analysis of single and joint honours graduates of UK universities.

Over the last decade, there has been an increase in the popularity and number of combined or joint degrees in English and Welsh Universities. Combined or joint honours represent 10% of all undergraduates. 50,000 out of 500,000 currently enrolled on all honours degrees. This significant and special way of learning therefore warrants scrutiny. Combined degrees enable students to enroll on two or more subjects, with varying levels of integration of the courses, which leads to either a BA or BSc honours joint award. The growing number of students on such degrees across universities in England and Wales has led to a debate as to the intrinsic value of such degrees especially in relation to graduate employability and career opportunities. This paper examines the nature and relative attractiveness of combined degrees and explores the employability of combined honours degree graduates in comparison with single honours degree graduates

Understanding the educational needs of joint honour United Kingdom higher education sector.

The motivation for this research was to explore the lived experience of joint honours students, for whom there is little in the literature at present. The objective was to critique primary data collected from the students via a self-administered questionnaire. This phenomenological methodology permitted and unfiltered view of the students’ learning experiences to be explored. The research is based on a cross-university student survey, conducted over a period of six months. The online survey, which ran between June 2016 and January 2017, involved self-administered questionnaires designed to collect information on the learning experience of students on joint honours degrees, from four different Universities in England. A key finding of this paper is the need for university administrators to pay particular attention to joint honours degrees in their portfolios in the light of the growing and significant number of students opting to study these degrees and the general tendency amongst universities to focus attention on single honours degrees. Particular areas of concern are highlighted where students on joint honours degrees feel improvements in their educational experience could be made. The future scope of the survey results are discussed in the context of Britain exiting the European Union and in relation to the growing debate on the intrinsic value of university education and the increasing necessity for university management to recognise the unique nature of joint honours degrees and design policy to meet the needs of students enrolled on joint honours degrees.N/

Does subject choice in a joint jonours degree affect highly skilled graduate employment?

Joint or combined honours degrees generally permit students to study two subjects to full honours degree depth, by studying half the curriculum content of the respective equivalent single honours degrees. This affords students the opportunity to study a more diverse curriculum that they feel passionate about. However this is at the expense of breadth of study in each particular subject, which is a strong defining feature of the majority of UK single honours degrees. Does the decision to study certain subjects in a joint or combined honours degree affect the graduate’s subsequent highly skilled graduate employment? The literature is weak in examining this, either for joint honours subjects generally or for specific combinations of subjects. This paper presents an analysis of the UK Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey between 2011/12 and 2014/15 at the level of the individual combinations studied – a national dataset which has not previously been critiqued in this particular way in the public domain. This analysis will determine whether certain combinations lend themselves to higher rates of highly skilled graduate employment, irrespective of other factors affecting employment, for example the characteristics of different universities. We conclude with recommendations around the preparedness or otherwise of graduates for highly skilled graduate employment, as determined by their choice of subjects to study.N/

Employability outcomes for university joint honours graduates.

Purpose In the UK, the vast majority of university students specialise and study just one subject at bachelor degree level, commonly known in the UK as a single honours degree. However, nearly all British universities will permit students if they wish to study two or even three subjects, so-called joint or combined honours degrees, internationally known as a double major. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the study of a joint rather than a single honours degree had an impact on employment outcomes six months after graduation. Design/methodology/approach The authors analysed the complete data set provided from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Destination of Leavers from the Higher Education survey. The data were analysed to establish whether there was a difference in the highly skilled graduate employability of the joint honours students. The authors established whether there were any differences inherent in completing a joint honours degree in a post-1992 higher education institution, by nation within the UK or within a Russell Group higher education institution. Findings The authors found an approximately consistent 3 per cent point negative gap nationally in the highly skilled employment rates of joint compared with single honours graduates. This gap was at its lowest in the highly selective Russell Group universities (−1.52 per cent points) and highest in post-1992, vocationally oriented universities (−7.13 per cent points) and in Northern Ireland universities (−12.45 per cent points). Joint honours graduates of Scottish universities fared well, with a +3.09 per cent point advantage over the national average for joint honours. The authors found that universities that had a higher proportion of joint honours graduates generally had a lower employability gap between their joint and single honours graduates. Research limitations/implications This study focussed on joint honours degrees in the UK where the two or three principal subjects fall into different JACS subject areas, i.e. the two or three subjects are necessarily diverse rather than academically cognate. Future work will consider the class of joint honours degrees where the principal subjects lie within the same JACS subject area, i.e. they may be closer academically, although still taught by different academic teams. This grouping will include, for example, pairs of foreign languages, some social sciences pairings such as politics and sociology, and pairings such as history and theology from the historical and philosophical subject area. Originality/value The potential disbenefits of studying for a joint honours degree are apparent in this study. Joint honours students may face organisational, academic and cultural challenges that require a positive, conscious and sustained effort to overcome, on both the part of the student and the higher education institution. In particular for graduates of the post-1992 universities, it appears that there is a negative relative impact on highly skilled employment. This impact is lessened if the university is Scottish (four-year degrees with in-built breadth of study) or where the proportion completing joint honours degrees is relatively high.N/

Thematic analysis of the learning experience of joint honours students: their perception of teaching quality, value for money and employability

The focus of the research was students’ perceptions of whether joint honours degrees represented a sound student learning experience and led to good academic and employability outcomes. In this minority mode of study for the United Kingdom, students study two academic subjects, rather than the more usual single subject. The qualitative methodology followed was a thematic analysis of self-administered questionnaire data, collected from joint honours students at four English universities in the United Kingdom. The principal results were that the students experienced difficulties in fitting into the two communities of learning for their respective subjects; in being adequately supported; in disparities in teaching, learning and assessment between their two subjects, and in a high workload. The major conclusion was that although the students perceived their learning experiences to have value by virtue of having studied two subjects, a number of issues stymied their achieving the best learning experience possible.N/

DOES SUBJECT CHOICE IN A JOINT HONOURS DEGREE AFFECT HIGHLY SKILLED GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT?

Joint or combined honours degrees in the UK generally permit students to study two subjects to full bachelors degree depth, by studying half the curriculum content of the respective equivalent single honours degrees. This affords students the opportunity to study a more diverse curriculum that they feel passionate about. However this is at the expense of breadth of study in each particular subject, which is a strong defining feature of the majority of UK single honours degrees. Does the decision to study certain subjects in a joint or combined honours degree affect the graduate’s subsequent highly skilled graduate employment? The literature is weak in examining this, either for joint honours subjects generally or for specific combinations of subjects. This paper presents an analysis of the UK Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey between 2011/12 and 2014/15 at the level of the individual combinations studied – a national dataset which has not previously been critiqued in this particular way in the public domain. This analysis will determine whether certain combinations lend themselves to higher rates of highly skilled graduate employment, irrespective of other factors affecting employment, for example the characteristics of different universities. We conclude that subject choice greatly affects graduate employment, and we present recommendations around the preparedness or otherwise of graduates for highly skilled graduate employment, as determined by their choice of subjects to study

An epitope-based approach of HLA-matched platelets for transfusion:A noninferiority crossover randomized trial

Platelet transfusion refractoriness results in adverse outcomes and increased health care costs. Managing refractoriness resulting from HLA alloimmunization necessitates the use of HLA antigen–matched platelets but requires a large platelet donor pool and does not guarantee full matching. We report the first randomized, double-blind, noninferiority, crossover trial comparing HLA epitope–matched (HEM) platelets with HLA standard antigen–matched (HSM) platelet transfusions. Alloimmunized, platelet-refractory, thrombocytopenic patients with aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or acute myeloid leukemia were eligible. HEM platelets were selected using HLAMatchMaker epitope (specifically eplet) matching. Patients received up to 8 prophylactic HEM and HSM transfusions provided in random order. The primary outcome was 1-hour posttransfusion platelet count increment (PCI). Forty-nine patients were randomized at 14 UK hospitals. For intention to treat, numbers of evaluable transfusions were 107 and 112 for HEM and HSM methods, respectively. Unadjusted mean PCIs for HEM and HSM methods were 23.9 (standard deviation [SD], 15) and 23.5 (SD, 14.1), respectively (adjusted mean difference, −0.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], −2.9 to 2.8). Because the lower limit of the 95% CI was not greater than the predefined noninferiority limit, the HEM approach was declared noninferior to the HSM approach. There were no differences in secondary outcomes of platelet counts, transfusion requirements, and bleeding events. Adequate 1-hour PCI was more frequently observed, with a mean number of 3.2 epitope mismatches, compared with 5.5 epitope mismatches for inadequate 1-hour increments. For every additional epitope mismatch, the likelihood of an adequate PCI decreased by 15%. Epitope-matched platelets should be considered to support HLA alloimmunized patients. This trial was registered at www.isrctn.com as #ISRCTN23996532