Online First, the immediate online publication of selected papers as soon as the authors have returned the corrected proofs.

As each paper is ready for publication, it will be published Online First. Contributions published Online First are citable by journal title and DOI. The production phase includes journal layout and quality assurance activities. When the next scheduled issue is complete, the Online First manuscript becomes part of that issue and will no longer appear on the Online First page.

Please cite appropriately when referencing.

Online First June 2019:

Adaptation challenges faced by Pakistani university entrants

Fareeha Javed, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan

This paper reports on a study conducted to explore the challenges faced by Pakistani university entrants in adapting to university culture. Several studies have been conducted on first-year experience and challenges faced by students in adaptation to university culture globally. However, this was the first study conducted on this topic in the Pakistani context.

Online First August 2019:

Student responses to a tough early assessment: A useful “kick up the bum”?

Kate Wilson, University of Canberra, Australia and Kate F Wilson, UNSW Canberra, Australia

This study uses a mixed methods design (weekly surveys and in-depth interviews) to explore the effects of a purposefully tough early assessment on first year engineering students at an Australian university. We find that, across the cohort, the high failure rate was not associated with a significant slump or spike in motivation. Although some students were initially dismayed by their results, most went on to address their study with resilience, and appreciated the “kick up the bum”, as they described it.

Online First September 2019:

‘Get Ready’: Improving the transition experience of a diverse first year cohort through building student agency

Amy Larsen, Deanna Horvath and Christopher Bridge, La Trobe University, Australia

Numerous studies have identified transition program elements that correlate with improved success and retention for commencing students. Lizzio’s ‘five senses’ model (2006) rationalises these diverse features into a framework consisting of five affective domains that need to be developed in students to ensure successful transition. To assess how well a program based on the Lizzio model supports transition in practice, we evaluate our Get Ready transition program, developed for a large-enrolment first year Human Physiology subject with a highly diverse student cohort.

Online First October 2019:

Development, implementation and students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary for-credit subject to help students transition to university

Heike Schütze and Jenna Bartyn, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

Although there is considerable literature on the challenges students face when transitioning to university, there is limited research on successful interdisciplinary for-credit transition subjects that support students, particularly in Australia. An interdisciplinary for-credit transition subject for first year university students was designed, implemented and evaluated to determine students’ perceptions of its effectiveness in preparing them for the academic demands of university.