Design for success: Did we get it right? Measuring the success of STEPS as a remodelled CQUniversity enabling offering

As a consequence of a 2011 external review of enabling offerings at CQUniversity Australia, the well-established Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies (STEPS) program (CZ01) underwent a significant remodel. Several recommendations of the review were adopted and the seven existing enabling program offerings were collapsed into a single enabling program which incorporated the best aspects of each of the prior offerings. The single enabling program model retained the name STEPS and was premised on the need to build greater flexibility into the offering as an acknowledgement of the conflicting demands that pose as challenges to students’ time. A curriculum refresh saw the STEPS program adopt one core course supported by a suite of eleven electives from which students can draw in accordance with the requirements of the undergraduate degree programs to which they will articulate. The desire for improved retention drove the establishment of the Access Coordinator role to manage the program on each campus and provide pastoral care to participating students, particularly those at risk of withdrawing from the program. The new model provides a more tailored preparation through the adoption of online diagnostic testing to ascertain student readiness, and the establishment of an individualised Required Study Plan for all students. This is based on the students’ career aspirations and the predetermined requirements of their chosen undergraduate program. Three years on, this paper captures the student voice as an indicator of the success of the new model.