TY  - JOUR
A1  - Mah, Dana-Kristin
A1  - Ifenthaler, Dirk
T1  - Academic staff perspectives on first-year students’ academic competencies
JF  - Journal of applied research in higher education : JARHE
N2  - Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the expectations, perceptions and role understanding of academic staff using a model of academic competencies (i.e. time management, learning skills, technology proficiency, self-monitoring and research skills).
Design/methodology/approach:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten members of academic staff at a German university. Participants’ responses to the open-ended questions were coded inductively, while responses concerning the proposed model of academic competencies were coded deductively using a priori categories.
Findings:
Participating academic staff expected first-year students to be most competent in time management and in learning skills; they perceived students’ technology proficiency to be rather high but their research skills as low. Interviews indicated a mismatch between academic staff expectations and perceptions.
Practical implications:
These findings may enable universities to provide support services for first-year students to help them to adjust to the demands of higher education. They may also serve as a platform to discuss how academic staff can support students to develop the required academic competencies, as well as a broader conversation about higher education pedagogy and competency assessment.
Originality/value:
Little research has investigated the perspectives of academic staff concerning the academic competencies they expect of first-year students. Understanding their perspectives is crucial for improving the quality of institutions; their input into the design of effective support services is essential, as is a constructive dialogue to identify strategies to enhance student retention.
KW  - Expectations
KW  - Support
KW  - First-year experience
KW  - Academic competencies
KW  - Academic staff perspectives
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-03-2017-0023
SN  - 2050-7003
SN  - 1758-1184
VL  - 9
IS  - 4
SP  - 630
EP  - 640
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
CY  - Bingley
ER  -