The Gap Year Project

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The Gap Year Project

• Maximising the benefits of a pre-course Gap Year

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Project Team

• Dr Alan Blackburn
• Dr Gordon Clark
• David Pilgrim
• Funded by Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund

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Project Aims

• Explore the relative merits of a Gap Year
• Develop recommendations for students and
  University departments
• Explore some links between taking a gap year and
  student learning

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How many people take a gap year?

• Varying estimates, 50,000 100,000 p/year
• 20,000 defer
• Growing market estimated to treble in next 3-5
  years

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What to do?

• Stay in the UK
• Travel Abroad

• Work for money
• Work for experience
• Travel
• Volunteer
• Increase qualifications

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Research Areas

• Literature Review
• Student Focus Groups
• Admissions Tutors thoughts
• Phone interviews with gap year organisations

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Findings from Literature Review

• Take time away from study
• Earn money
• Work experience
• See new cultures
• Learn new skills
• To do something exciting
• Time out to ensure best decision is made
• Gain independence

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Findings from focus groups
Benefits of taking a gap year

• Mature during the year
• Earn money
• Life experience
• Come back to University more motivated
• Work Experience
• Have an adventure
• Develop C.V building skills

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Findings from focus groups
Potential barriers to taking a gap year

• Lose rhythm of study
• Forget previous knowledge
• Money
• Feel left behind friends
• Worried parents
• Girl/Boyfriend
• Safety/illness worries

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Does a gap year help you get to University?

• we look for real-life experience outside of the
  classroom, evidence of a well rounded
  personality, able to accept responsibility for
  their own learning so we look at gap years in a
  positive way
• Admissions Tutor De Montford University

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Results from admissions tutors

• Hard Sciences less positive
• Arts very much in favour
• All mentioned maturity, ability to settle and
  likelihood to succeed.
• Personal development

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Gap Year Providers

• Big business upwards of 300 providers
• Providers are at the costly end of market
• Many cheaper opportunities though, in
  volunteering sector and domestically.
• Increasing government involvement
• New gap year standards market starting to
  regulate itself. (Year-Out-Group and gapyear.com)

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Key points from research

• Structured year is very important
• Potential gappers need to
• clarify aims and costs
• What will you get from a year out?
• record experiences / skills acquired
• Very little research done into gap years
• Brings different kinds of students into university

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Final Quotes

• A gap year is proven to put young people ahead
  in life
• Two out of three sixth formers want to take a
  year out or are thinking of doing so
• Gapyear.com - annual report, 2001