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Universities spend considerable time preparing students academically. We teach disciplinary knowledge, critical thinking and independent learning. Yet some of the most important things students need to succeed rarely appear in the formal curriculum.

How do I know when to ask for help? What does independent learning actually look like? What should I do with feedback?

For experienced academics, these things can feel obvious. For students entering an unfamiliar educational environment, they are anything but. We need to pay greater attention to what students must learn beyond the curriculum.

Here are five areas that educators should focus on:

1. Make the unwritten rules visible

Higher education has a substantial hidden curriculum. Students are expected to know how to write an appropriate email, interpret assessment briefs, manage deadlines, participate in seminars and seek support proactively. Yet many of these expectations remain implicit.

For students arriving from more structured educational environments, these conventions may be unfamiliar. Universities can therefore mistake them for established skills rather than practices that still need developing. This may particularly affect first-generation students with less exposure to higher education norms.

Programme induction, first-year modules and academic advising can include practical discussion of questions such as: When should you contact a lecturer? What does useful independent study look like? How should you respond if you do not understand feedback? Who can help when academic or personal circumstances start to affect your studies?

Module leaders can unpack terms such as “critically evaluate” through worked examples; tutors can surface misconceptions and normalise help-seeking; support teams can feed recurring areas of confusion into programme design. This should continue beyond induction and be revisited at key transition points. Small interventions can remove considerable uncertainty.

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2. Teach students how to become independent

Independence is central to higher education, but it should be treated as a developmental outcome rather than an entry requirement.

Students arrive with different experiences of learning and assessment. Some are used to regular milestones and feedback; at university, they may encounter more open-ended assessment and greater responsibility for judging their progress.

Simply telling students to “be more independent” is unlikely to help. Programme and module teams can instead build independence through low-stakes tasks, formative feedback, exemplars, discussion of assessment expectations and guidance on planning independent study.

The aim is to develop the skills that make independence possible. Communication, self-management, judgement and responsibility also underpin graduate employability. Independence is not about providing less support but about designing support that helps students become progressively more self-directed.

3. Treat help-seeking as a skill

Universities provide extensive support, yet students can still reach difficulty without accessing it. Knowing when and how to seek help is itself a learned behaviour.

Students must recognise a problem, identify the support needed, know who to contact and feel confident doing so. For those used to staff identifying problems and directing them towards solutions, this can be a major shift.

Academic staff should therefore move beyond simply telling students that support exists. They can explain what students should bring to them, while programme teams and services can introduce support when it is most likely to be needed. Advisers and personal tutors can help students recognise early warning signs and judge when independent problem-solving is appropriate and when support is needed.

4. Design for belonging rather than hoping it happens

Belonging is closely linked to academic confidence. found that 72 per cent of students who felt they belonged reported confidence in their academic skills, compared with only 34 per cent of those who did not.

Yet belonging is often left to emerge naturally. It can instead be designed into learning. Small-group activities, peer discussion, low-stakes problem-solving tasks and recurring seminar groups can help students build relationships through academic engagement. Programme and module teams can create predictable opportunities for participation through structured discussion, rotating group roles and peer feedback, allowing different forms of contribution rather than rewarding only the most confident speakers.

Academic staff matter too. Learning students’ names, normalising questions and responding constructively can signal that participation is welcomed. Tutors and advisers can also check in with students who appear disengaged.

When students feel known and able to participate, they are more likely to ask questions and access support early. Belonging is part of the learning environment, not an optional extra. 

5. Help international students learn and unlearn 

For international students, transition into higher education can mean adapting not only to a new institution but to a different education system. Students may arrive with approaches to learning, assessment, participation, academic writing or relationships with staff that suited their previous context but do not align with local expectations. Transition can therefore require both learning and unlearning.

Some may need to become more comfortable questioning a lecturer, contributing an opinion or taking greater responsibility for independent study. Others may need to adjust to unfamiliar expectations around academic integrity, criticality or the role of the tutor.

The risk is that such differences are interpreted as lack of ability rather than prior educational norms. Programme leaders, module leaders, advisers, international support teams and academic skills specialists should make these differences explicit to individual students rather than expecting them to absorb them through experience.

But this should not become a one-way process of “fitting in”. International students bring valuable educational experiences with them. Successful transition can involve adaptation and negotiation rather than assimilation.

Stop assuming students already know

The common thread is simple: we need to stop confusing unfamiliarity with lack of ability.

Professional communication, seeking help, self-management, academic confidence and independent learning are not innate qualities. Nor is understanding how a particular education system works. These capabilities develop through experience, feedback, practice and explicit guidance. If universities consider these behaviours important enough to expect from students, we should also consider them important enough to teach.

The formal curriculum tells students what they need to know about their discipline. What sits beyond it may be just as important to their success.

Katharina De Vita is faculty director of education and reader in innovation, Lucy Pittaway is department education lead and senior lecturer in events management and Melanie McHale is department employability lead and senior lecturer in banking and finance, all at Manchester Metropolitan University.

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