On the 20th September 2019, members of the Foundation Year Network came together to discuss ‘Assessing the value of integrated degrees with Foundation Year in context: institutional level responses to Augar’. We were joined by Chris Millward, Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students. He outlined some of the current policy landscape, and set us a number of challenges to respond to as a network of Foundation Year practitioners.
We then heard 4-minute ‘elevator’ pitches from a variety of institutions around the distinctive features of their foundation years, and some themes emerged from these. One of the most important themes, which was common to all foundation years represented, was summed up by the University of Lincoln: “If you want to learn to swim the Channel, learn in the sea, not a swimming pool”. Foundation years are seen by both staff and students as an important extended induction into university life and offers a mode of studying that other pathways cannot provide. Foundation Year students are immersed in university workloads, assessments, and expectations, and are ready to face them in year one. Crucially, they are also studying on campus, so are inducted into student life and are part of the university from day one
