Managing the expectations of non‐traditional students: a process of negotiation

In the past decade there has been a dramatic growth in UK student numbers. Widening participation policies are encouraging students from non‐traditional backgrounds to enter higher education. Southampton Institute has found that many non‐traditional students have had little preparation for academic life. These students often have unrealistic expectations of higher education, expectations that sometimes are at odds with a successful transition from secondary to higher education. In addition higher education institutions are often unaware of the way that higher education is perceived by non‐traditional students. This situation cannot remain unchecked and requires some form of discourse. In this paper, a framework used to model a reflective discourse between stakeholders (student, institution) is introduced, and a case study demonstrating the behaviour of an automated negotiation mechanism is presented.