They can hear it in my accent when i talk – I’m an Englishman in New… Orleans.

Or rather I was, for a year between 2015 and 16 working as a Student Success Counselor in the First Year Experience team at the University of New Orleans (UNO), also taking a PhD class in educational administration. Having worked in the UK education system for over ten years (and studied in it for over 15 more) this made me somewhat of a fish out of water. What I found amused, bemused, interested and excited me – sometimes all at once. What follows are some of my random thoughts on the whole thing. Some similarities between our systems, some differences and some ideas as to how we may just learn from each other.

First of all some context – y’all are obsessed with Harry Potter, or at least those of you who like it tend to LOVE it. Unfortunately it isn’t representative of the British education system, which is as complex,  broad and varied as the US education system. For the purpose of this blog I will have to generalise more than a little about both – knowing that of course that  the institutions I have studied or worked in back home (Bournemouth, Brighton, Roehampton and Derby if anyone is interested) are no more representative of UK Universities than UNO is of US ones.  UK University admissions have always been decided, for most students almost solely, on high school level qualifications acquired only weeks before fresher enrollment. For institutions this means they don’t know who or how many students they will have until they turn up and unfortunately this means many students make rushed, expensive and ill informed choices they later regret.

My perspective on the US was that there was a bigger disconnect between the final year of high school (where many students appear to coast or focus on university admissions assessments largely unrelated to their school work) and the first year of college. However, as many more students know (with a fair degree of certainty) where they will be studying at a far earlier stage their engagement with their institution and orientation activities can begin a lot earlier enabling a potentially better managed transition with important choices such as accommodation and classes being less rushed and potentially more measured.  Additionally the best and brightest high school students can take University credit in the US, whereas this is extremely rare in the UK. I like the idea of this very much… but to an outsider this was part of a process for choosing classes which was entirely bewildering!

In the UK students generally focus their attention more narrowly on specific subjects at a much younger age. When I learned, as a PhD student, I would have to take compulsory Math classes this was the first time I had been required to do so since I was 16 – so it came as quite a shock (by which I mean a sweat inducing, terrifying nightmare). I, like most other students, chose up to four subjects at that point and then one subject/major at degree level. So unless English or Math is directly related to your chosen subject you don’t take classes in them. I was never bad at either and had developed my English through essay writing as well as practical Maths through finance classes in my business undergrad – but these were largely utilising the knowledge and skills I gained at high school rather than learning entirely new content at a higher level. Retention and graduation rates in the UK are generally higher (and there are huge gaping flaws in our system) – I perceived, anecdotally, this to be one of the potential reasons.

I met many freshman students who struggled particularly in English and Math classes, which in the UK they could have completely avoided by choosing a specific course/major in a different field. Whether these subjects (alongside compulsory foreign language classes etc) are essential as part of a degree education, or to prepare fully for graduate employment is of course highly debatable… but personally I would favor a higher number of specialised graduates in other fields without higher level, English, Math and Foreign language skills over a higher number of drop-outs/students in further debt due to continued study but with those skills. That said choosing one subject of study in the UK before you have even begun university and with very limited opportunity to make changes (without delaying graduation and spending more in tuition fees) isn’t ideal either. This means far more people in the UK (myself included) graduate with a major they have long since known is not the right one for their interests, skills and potential career – at best this is inefficient.

I admired and envied the fact that, in the US, most students are afforded some time to explore what they can and may wish to study as well as eliminating what they can’t/won’t.  Whilst resources for supporting ‘undecided students’ may be limited I believe they were are generally far better supported in the US with academic advising performing a vital role. This established profession, developed over 40 years  and built upon strong foundations of academic research with many ‘primary role advisors’ across the sector led by experts in their field is an area which, in my opinion the US leads the world.

It may have partly come about because the options and rules for taking classes are so complicated that students need compulsory meetings with someone with a masters degree in the field to guide them. There were times in meetings discussing the decisions involved when I did feel like going all Avril Lavigne and screaming “Why d’ya have to go and make things so complicated?”! I am used to a UK system where, having pre-chosen their major, many students have no choice in the first year and potentially only a choice between 2 or 3 pathways in latter years and/or a choice of couple of electives from a small list. In terms of the student experience this may not directly be ideal… but the efficiency savings it creates (and confusion it avoids) may make it worthwhile for institution and student alike.

Whatever the reason for academic advising to have become the established profession it is, the wider contribution to the student experience it makes is clear for all to see. Once advisors have students in that room, assuming they have time to do so, advisors are often able to have hugely influential conversations on a 1-1 basis with students – asking the right questions built upon decades of exploration. It is from the conversations beyond course choice that I learnt the most and I feel the students do as well. 1-1, tailor made-support on all the things that students can do to help ensure their own success built upon theory and practical experience. Motivation, time management, personal organisation and study skills appear to me to be hugely influential on retention and achievement – yet often they receive little attention or are only supported in a reactive rather than proactive fashion.

It is here I found the role of the student success counselor (relatively unheard of the in the UK) to be highly influential – focusing on these core skills that underpin student success via a variety of programs.  They provided 1-1 success coaching for students in a highly individualized and targeted bi-weekly basis  They followed up (emails, calls and meetings) on students whose attendance, engagement or attainment had dipped below required levels on the request of and in coordination with tutors. They led a varied and extended calendar of orientation activities ensuring that freshman students had plenty of opportunities to get to know their peers in different settings. They taught an institution wide freshman success class which was compulsory for most students (almost unheard of in the UK).   The latter two of these supported well by an army of student workers (both undergraduate and postgraduate) – utilized to a far greater extent, and to better effect, than I had seen in the UK.

I was as enchanted by the student support systems I found at UNO as I was with the city itself. Like the city of New Orleans it wasn’t perfect but it had a character and passion that I both respected and learnt from. Comparing to the UK there was of course lots that was different but more that was the same. A student is a student, whenever you are in the world, and a lot of the issues they face are common to all.  Both systems have their strengths, both have their flaws and both can learn much from the other. It is for that reason that I will return to the Universities of New Orleans one day… probably around the time of Mardi Gras – purely coincidentally of course.

Dave Lochtie is the Student Opportunities Manager at the University of Derby Union of Students as well as chair of the Professional Development Committee for the UK Advising and Tutoring Group.  A link to his most recent article can be found here.