POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS ON SUPPORT FOR SOCIAL AND ACADEMIC INTEGRATION

Student support and need-based aid, particularly in the first year of study, are vitally important to university students' social and academic integration and achievement. Additionally, exploring experiences, needs and wishes of students may help to improve the quality of all students' learning experiences and reduce students' relative deficits in satisfaction, adjustment and performance. Taking account of the increasingly diverse student population, this paper explores the perceptions of new entering post-graduate students concerning support for social and academic integration. Focus group interviews (n=5) and individual interviews (n=35) were conducted between Spring and Autumn of 2014 with transfer students (n=35) and working students (n=14) enrolled in the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the Free University of Brussels. Using Appreciative Inquiry, the findings highlight what respondents believe to be positive about their support for integration (Discovery stage), what they want to achieve (Dream stage), and what actions they consider necessary to make their vision a reality (Design stage). Respondents suggest that student support need to address specific criteria for enhancing social and academic integration and peer support. The main themes discussed by respondents are: welcome activities, social activities and extra-curricular activities, co-curricular activities. This article aims to prompt further discussion on the potential, value and purpose of peer support programs and activities for integration.