Contextual Background
Graduate employability support at UAL operates on an opt-in, extra-curricular basis. Participants span from final-year students to alumni up to five years post-graduation. This inherently creates a diverse cohort across disciplines, career stages, and levels of industry awareness. Many graduates face intersecting challenges: navigating a competitive and often inequitable job market, managing learning differences, balancing financial pressures, and, for international graduates, contending with cultural and linguistic barriers. These factors can impact their confidence, wellbeing, and motivation to pursue creative career paths.
Evaluation
To better understand participant needs, my webinar booking forms include a question:
“What do you hope to gain from this session?”
This helps me identify expectations and steer discussions accordingly. Despite encouraging learners to share needs before and after sessions, response rates remain low. In line with Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2018), I therefore strive to create inclusive, flexible learning environments from the outset, without requiring prior disclosure. In-session, I offer practical tools such as a career action planner, curated follow-up resources, and bookable one-to-ones for more tailored support and to assess individual learning outcomes.
Moving forwards
Inspired by observing a colleague from Academic Support Bowen, E. (2025), I incorporated a collaborative tool—Padlet—into a recent webinar. It added interactivity and offered examples of applying learning beyond the session. However, engagement was low. Reflecting on this, I recognised the task’s complexity as a potential barrier. Next time, I plan to simplify instructions, use it only live (not in recordings), and provide clearer scaffolding to support participation without overwhelming learners.
A peer observation in a physical classroom prompted reflections on group composition. A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Fry, Ketteridge and Marshall, 2015) supports the idea that diverse groups promote adaptability and broader learning, yet also acknowledges that homogenous groups can feel safer and foster a quicker sense of belonging. This was particularly relevant for international graduates I work with, who often express urgency in demonstrating the return on their educational investment. Creating a psychologically safe space can be more important than immediate exposure to difference. In practice, this has led me to trial tailored support spaces—such as international-only networking events and one-to-ones—to assess whether this enhances engagement and motivation. The evaluation of this approach will let me know if it is a model I could echo for other identifiable groups of graduates, if proving to be successful.
Dall’Alba (2005) argues that teaching should move beyond skill acquisition to support graduates in developing ways of being, embracing their evolving identities. While I recognise the value of preparing learners for globalised and diverse workplaces, I also acknowledge the immediate pressures many face, and communicate to me through the support interactions and feedback surveys. Striking a balance between celebrating diversity and recognising shared experiences is key. Rather than “seeing graduates as one” who require a blanket support approach that currently pushes for immediate adaptability, I am exploring how shared identity—whether by nationality, stage, or discipline—can provide a launchpad for deeper learning and progression, catapulting graduates towards their achievable goals to help build foundations for confidence and progression.
This reflection aligns with the ongoing development of my practice: to design inclusive, compassionate, and context-aware learning environments that meet graduates where they are, while nudging them toward where they could go. This approach reflects Race’s (2001) emphasis on recognising the diverse ways in which students engage with learning and assessment, and the value of offering differentiated and adaptive strategies that support inclusion and ownership of learning.
References:
- CAST (2018) Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Available at: http://udlguidelines.cast.org (Accessed: 12 March 2025).
- Dall’Alba, G. (2005) ‘Improving teaching: Enhancing ways of being university teachers’, Higher Education Research & Development, 24(4), pp.361–372. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360500284771
- Fry, H., Ketteridge, S. and Marshall, S. (eds.) (2015) A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Enhancing Academic Practice. 4th edn. Oxford: Routledge.
- Race, P. (2001). A Briefing on Self, Peer and Group Assessment. LTSN Generic Centre.
Bowen, E. (2025) Researching skilfully through object reading, 31 January. University of the Arts London. Available at: https://academicsupportonline.arts.ac.uk/workshops-tutorials/110755? (Accessed: 31 Jan April 2025).