If one in three students never make it past their foundation year, would we still call this widening participation?
That was the reality in STEM foundation year courses at our university, when nearly a third of students withdrew before they even reached degree level. Across the UK, foundation years have been criticised as expensive “add-ons” for students who don’t fit traditional entry routes.
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But foundation years can be where equity succeeds or fails. They are at the front line of widening participation. We need to shift the mindset on foundation years, to recognise them as a genuine cornerstone of access.
Timetables built for students
The challenge is not capability but connection. Many foundation year students balance part-time work, caring responsibilities and financial constraints. Yet provision is often treated as a bolt-on, designed around staff rather than student need.
At our university, six modules stretched “long and thin” across the year left students overwhelmed and disengaged. With little visible support and few meaningful connections with tutors or peers, attrition was inevitable.
When faced with falling progression rates, we knew small tweaks would not be enough. We redesigned both the timetable and the support system because timetables and support are not admin. They are pedagogy.
Rebuilding the foundation year
We took a bold approach:
- Support redesign: Every student was assigned a dedicated personal tutor. Biweekly sessions covered academic progress and well-being. We delivered themed engagement weeks, from money advice to skills development, in informal spaces with free food and social activities.
- Timetable reform: We introduced a block-hybrid model. Instead of juggling six modules at once, students focused on fewer subjects intensively, reducing campus attendance from five days a week to two or three. Mathematically demanding modules were balanced with discipline-specific ones and applied content to reduce overload help contextualise.
Making support visible
We made support unavoidable. Students had a consistent tutor who knew them personally. Services came to them in relaxed, social settings rather than formal offices. The message was clear: support is for everyone, not just those in crisis.
Timetables as pedagogy
For foundation students, the timetable is the learning design. Juggling multiple modules across five scattered days on campus, with no space for work or family commitments, prompted disengagement and withdrawal.
The block-hybrid timetable gave students time to consolidate, study independently and manage their lives. It reduced their cognitive overload, while still challenging them academically.
A lifeline for students at risk
Even with better structures, some students will still disengage. Traditionally, the response is a warning email, which can disengage them further.
We tried something different. Students who had missed assessments were sent a personal invitation to a support session with refreshments provided – 75 per cent turned up. Many booked follow-up support and resubmitted work. A simple act of hospitality rebuilt connections that a stock message never could.
The results speak for themselves
Embedding equity, flexibility and belonging into foundation years has produced clear results:
- Overall pass rates increased 8 per cent in a single year.
- Pass rates in one subject area rose by 23 per cent.
- Progression improved by 30 per cent.
Other subject areas saw striking improvements, with some doubling pass rates in a year. Students told us they felt less overwhelmed by their timetables and more connected to their peers. Staff noted a cultural shift: well-being was no longer a bolt-on, but central to curriculum design.
What is the opportunity for the sector?
There is so much more that the sector could be doing to support students to succeed in foundation years to truly widen access.
- Foundation years are cornerstones of access.
- Timetables are crucial to this and an essential part of curriculum design. They should not be viewed simply as logistics.
- Belonging is critical and an academic outcome, so what can be put in place to actively promote and embed this?
- Support is not remedial. It is pedagogy. Embedding proactive, personalised support drives success.
Our responsibility, not their resilience
The sector spends a great deal of time debating what drives student outcomes rather than focusing on the structures we control. Students don’t fail because they lack determination. They fail because we make it harder than it needs to be to belong, to engage and to succeed.
If we want to widen participation and tackle skills shortages in critical STEM fields, we can’t afford to leave foundation years as an afterthought. If one in three students are still falling through the cracks, the problem isn’t student resilience. It’s ours.
Hannah Seale is faculty foundation coordinator and Darryl Morgan is head of learning, teaching and student experience, both at the University of South Wales.
The university has been shortlisted in the Outstanding Student Support category in the THE Awards 2025. The full list of nominees can be found here. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 13 November.
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