How to help tertiary learners change their course

Tertiary learners may want to change courses for a variety of reasons. Forty percent of people doing Bachelor’s degrees in New Zealand change their qualifications before they complete them.

When you talk to someone who wants to change their course, ask them a lot of questions to find out why. Then you can help them decide what their best options are.

Here are some tips on talking to tertiary learners about course changes.

Learners change courses for all sorts of reasons. It’s important to find out exactly why they want to change.

• Is their course too easy or too hard?
• Have their interests changed?
• Is there a personal reason that is unrelated to the course itself?

A learner has already taken the first step if they’ve asked for your help. Now find out what other steps they’ve taken.

Discuss all the good and bad points of the learner finishing their course instead of changing it. Make sure they have thought about all the possibilities.

• What could be the consequences or benefits if they change their course?
• Can they transfer credits to their new course?
• How would their career path be affected by changing their course?

Ask the learner what they hope to do after they graduate.

• Where do they want to work after graduating?
• Do they know about all the courses available in their field?
• Are they better off finishing their current course or changing?

• Plan or change your career
• Sign up to our e-newsletter for tips to support young people with their study and careers

Sources

• Studytime NZ, ‘What I wish I knew before going to uni’, 28 September 2018, (www.studytime.co.nz).
• Tims, A, ‘What if you have chosen the wrong degree?’, 20 November 2010, (www.theguardian.com).