Academic language and learning services are a critical aspect of most university retention strategies, yet there are gaps within the current literature about the ways in which diverse student cohorts engage with these programs. This article analyses a three-year data set of the engagement by 11,111 students with four different types of services at an Australian university: individual learning adviser appointments, academic skills workshops, Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), and an online writing support service (Studiosity). The data presented demonstrates that in any given year, students tend to pick one type of service and only engage with that service: 74% of students in this study only engaged with one type of service in any given year, and fewer than 1% accessed all four. This choice appears to be influenced by demographic variables, including age and domestic or international status. These findings highlight the importance of providing a range of different academic language and learning services to accommodate diverse student preferences.

Peer learning programs are well established as an effective approach to improving students’ learning and wellbeing. However, they can be difficult to implement and grow in practice. This paper describes the introduction of a “just-in-time, just-for-me” Peer Skills Advisers program and how it has evolved over the last five years. The peer staff found that the role improved their sense of belonging and employability, but observed that it is challenging to set boundaries with students. The program grew steadily over time as students and staff became more aware of the service, although there is still room for growth in online support.

Students whose educational and personal development as 16–18-year-olds was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the associated isolation, and alternative assessments are having to adapt to the challenges of higher education. Our peer-assisted learning (PAL) scheme encourages engagement and aims to overcome the stigma of asking for help and struggling alone. PAL not only supports academic development but also has a social aspect. PAL attendees typically want to push boundaries and get the most from their degree. Often the same students attend each week, so friendships begin. Social connections and positivity are good for well-being. A STEM career has particular characteristics, being team oriented. PAL promotes collaboration and communication, which encourages social confidence and more articulate interactions with others, which boost well-being. For many, the industrial placement year within the degree is their first proper job, but the application process, including being rejected, is stressful. PAL leaders, having recent similar experiences, prepare students to be more resilient for this challenge.

The global higher education sector has been significantly disrupted by the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, especially in relation to its implications for assessment. However, few studies to date have explored student perspectives on these tools. This article reports on one of the first large-scale quantitative studies of student views on generative artificial intelligence at an Australian university (n = 1,135). When the survey was conducted, most students had low knowledge, experience, and confidence in using these tools. These results varied across disciplines and across some student sub-groups, such as mature-age students and international students. Confidence appeared to increase with experience, although the data also revealed a portion of students that have never used these tools yet still felt confident in using them. In exploring these results, this article aims to shed new light on this fast-evolving landscape and inform the future direction of supporting students to engage with generative artificial intelligence tools appropriately.

The release of ChatGPT has sparked significant academic integrity concerns in higher education. However, some commentators have pointed out that generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT can enhance student learning, and consequently, academics should adapt their teaching and assessment practices to embrace the new reality of living, working, and studying in a world where AI is freely available. Despite this important debate, there has been very little academic literature published on ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. This article uses content analysis to examine news articles (N=100) about how ChatGPT is disrupting higher education, concentrating specifically on Australia, New Zealand, the United States

Aim/Purpose: This paper analyses the textual features of contract cheating websites that offer thesis writing services for doctoral students and considers implications for practice. Background: Contract cheating is an increasing challenge for higher education institutions, governments and societies worldwide. However, relatively little is known about the prevalence of online thesis writing services and the ways in which these companies attract doctoral students as customers. Methodology: This study has a three-step textual analysis methodological approach: firstly, identifying contract cheating websites that target doctoral students; secondly, applying a top-down thematic approach to the literature to identify potential vulnerabilities; and, thirdly, using these themes in a textual analysis to interrogate the language used on these websites. Contribution: Much of the current research into contract cheating has focused on coursework students. This study builds on the small sub-field of scholarship that has investigated contract cheating in a research writing context, and in contradistinction to previous studies, analyses the persuasive language features used by online contract cheating websites in the context of commonly reported doctoral student challenges. This is a novel approach not yet explored in the literature. Findings: The analysis reveals that contract cheating websites include specific language to appeal to doctoral students’ vulnerabilities across four common themes: ‘balancing work and personal life’, ‘the complexity of doctoral academic writing’, ‘self-efficacy’ and ‘academic career progression’. Recommendations for Practitioners: The themes present in this study highlight the critical role thesis supervisors can play in supporting doctoral students’ thesis writing progression, as well as the value of peer learning groups in building self-efficacy. The limited research literature into contract cheating in a doctoral context also suggests a need for increased training and awareness-raising programs for supervisors, thesis examiners and new graduate students. Recommendation for Researchers: Future studies that further investigate the prevalence of these themes across a broader scope of websites and countries will provide greater insights into the extent to which these websites are a global threat to vulnerable doctoral students. Impact on Society: The paper provides a foundation for researchers and graduate schools to raise greater awareness of contract cheating amongst doctoral students and, in so doing, combats the reputational risks it can have on universities and the potential safety risks for the general public. Future Research: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with doctoral students and supervisors that explore their awareness of contract cheating for thesis writing and their ability to identify research writing that has been completed by a third-party.

Studying online is becoming an increasingly attractive option to prospective students worldwide, yet external completion rates tend to be considerably lower than those enrolled on campus. Through an autoethnographic critical reflection process of teaching 27 first-year online students at a regional Australian university, this article considers methods for increasing accessibility and student engagement as well as managing personal challenges supporting online students from non-traditional backgrounds. Among seven key implications for practice, this article argues the need for genuine and open-ended interaction with online students at the early stages of a semester. It also recommends that teaching staff consciously recognize the limitations of providing academic support to non-traditional students. Based on these practices, this article confirms the benefits of critical reflection in higher education settings and the broader impact it can have on pedagogic approaches to tertiary teaching and learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous and unprecedented effect on higher education. Perhaps most notably, the virus catalysed a speedy movement to online delivery in response to the range of mandatory physical restrictions to campuses and classrooms around the world. To that end, this article discusses the online self-access student support options that were implemented at a mid-size public Australian university during March and April 2020. Drawing upon reflections from three student support leaders at the institution, it explores the rapid development and deployment of three new initiatives: self-access resources and videos for preparing to learn online, videoconference appointment options with learning advisers and librarians, and peer-to-peer virtual guides to online learning. It also comments on the implications of these programs for future practice, including the personally observed criticality of student feedback on accessible short video guides, flexible online individual support options and avenues for connecting with peers for technical support. Through this exploration and reflection, this article contributes to the new emerging body of literature on student support during the outbreak of COVID-19.

In the wake of the massification of higher education in the 21st century, universities worldwide are under pressure to support the influx of non-native English-speaking students and students from non-traditional backgrounds; both of which can find it quite challenging to communicate effectively in an academic context. These students typically struggle with academic writing, due at least in part to limited opportunities to develop their grammatical awareness and written expression while studying at university. This article critically analyses why universities and respective teaching staff can be reluctant to offer more direct assistance with grammar problems to students, even though doing so can assist students’ understanding of correct form, develop their communication skills, and, over time, increase their general confidence in participating in academic discourse. In addition to exploring time constraints for instructors and students, it suggests that teaching staff with low grammatical knowledge will not generally seek to develop grammatical knowledge directly in university classrooms and feedback practices. While university teachers should not be expected to dedicate significant amounts of time to correcting grammar and instead focus on meaning and understanding, this article presents two templates to help demonstrate how embedding discipline focused grammar-based activities into relevant sections of curricula and delivering relevant professional development seminars to university teaching staff can improve student communication, retention, and future employment prospects.

Rickley, Dean Nogle and Michael Johnson at the Eisenhower Foundation were fantastic in their efforts to help me travel around Abilene, especially in very adverse

Co-teaching has been regularly used as a pedagogical tool in K-12 and postsecondary learning environments for decades, yet its practice in higher education institutions has only recently started to grow in popularity. This paper builds on recent recommendations for effective co-teaching in tertiary teaching settings by offering critical reflections and suggestions for practice from an early career academic that specialises in academic literacies. Key concepts explored include developing co-teaching norms and pedagogies through a community of practice, establishing two-way dialogue, diversifying strengths of teaching teams, and enforcing continual reflection and feedback. The paper also provides contextualised guidance notes, so that university educators and program managers have a clearer direction as to how co-teaching teams could be implemented across a range of higher education teaching programs.