The pre-arrival questionnaire and how it will allow Student Services to support new students

2pm – 2.30pm GMT, 13 February 2026 ‐ 30 mins

Presentation

The pre-arrival academic questionnaire (PAQ) has evolved over many years. It's become a powerful tool to correct assumptions, raise awareness about incoming students' concerns, and change practice. It lays solid foundations to improve success for students and meet regulatory requirements.

The PAQ provides a multipurpose roadmap of information for both students and staff upon entry:

• Taking entrants through a reflective learning journey to get them to start thinking about their upcoming studies.
• providing staff across academic and professional support services with vital information that'll assist with the development of their provision to bridge skill and knowledge gaps for students.
• offering invaluable insights to enable institutions to provide targeted support and to develop strategies and policies.

This session will report on the headline findings from Phase 1 of the first national pilot currently being undertaken in the UK, funded by the Office for Students. Results will cover professional service-related activities such as recruitment, expectation of use of support services, and concerns during entry across undergraduate and postgraduate-taught study.

Speakers

Dr Michelle Morgan

Dean of Students, University of East London

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Dr Thandi Gilder

Researcher, Advance HE

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Dr Michelle Morgan

Dean of Students, University of East London

Dr Michelle Morgan is a national and internationally recognised Student Experience Transitions Specialist across all levels of study and is extensively published in the area. She is Dean of Students at the University of East London. Michelle is a National Teaching Fellow and Principal Fellow of the HEA, Fellow of the AUA  and SRHE, recipient of the European First Year Experience Leadership Award, an elected council member of UKCGE and Student Minds Mental Health Charter Assessor.

During her varied career, Michelle has been a faculty manager, lecturer, researcher and academic manager. She describes herself as a ‘Third Space Integrated Student Experience Practitioner’ who develops initiatives based on pragmatic and practical research. Michelle has over 50 publications and has presented over 100 national and international conference papers (including 60 keynotes and 40 invited papers). She has developed a free portal for staff which provides a range of information and links for anyone interested in improving the student experience in higher education www.improvingthestudentexperience.com

: https://www.improvingthestudentexperience.com/

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Dr Thandi Gilder

Researcher, Advance HE

Dr Thandi Gilder is a researcher at Advance HE working as part of the team delivering the pre-post arrival questionnaire project, supporting institutions to better understand studetns' expectations, preparedness, and early transition experiences.

Before joining Advance HE, Thandi spent over a decade working in higher education as a Senior Lecturer and Learning and Development Leader for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Alongside her academic role, she worked closely with professional services teams across student support, quality, learning and teaching and wellbeing, leading initiatives to address awarding gaps, improve retention and embed inclusion across the student lifecycle. 

Thandi has extensive experience working with Student Services colleagues to translate data into practical action, supporting evidence-informed decision making that centres student voice and lived experience. Her work has been particularly founded in understanding how structural inequality, belonging and institutional culture shape student outcomes. As a psychologist, Thandi also has a profound interest in student mental health and was an academic member of a Student Led Mental Health Strategy and Implementation group at her previous institution. 

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