Support for first year university students in a limited resource environment: Recommendations from an Australian university

This study reports on two years of implementation of a student support officer (SSO) program across multiple allied health related disciplines in a regional Australian University. Recommendations from our findings indicate that, in order to best meet demand, SSO services should be focused on commencing first year students in lower ATAR courses. Within subjects, priority should be given to the initial and final weeks, as well as timed around assessment pieces. Training of SSO in specifically addressing high demand topics would be advantageous, such as nonattendance, assessment failure or marginal pass, learning issues and support for students with personal issues impacting their studies. Our study demonstrates that SSO can provide effective and targeted support for first year students and contribute to enabling improved academic success and retention.