LearnHigher Year Planner

A flexible time management tool

Students have many competing demands on their time, so it is often hard for them to see an overview of their ongoing deadlines and daily commitments. 

Our research also shows that students use different tools and techniques for planning their time depending on their preferred way of working.

Therefore, any successful time management tool needs to be flexible, support different ways of working, and enable overview time lines and weekly views to be seen on the same tool.

With this in mind, the University of Reading and the University of Brighton collaborated with design company Chalet Alpin to develop the LearnHigher Year Planner: A flexible, folding planner specifically designed for university students. 

The year planner is based on a similar creative, folding sheet design as the Drawing a Day sheets used for the Big Draw at the University of Brighton.  

How to use the planner

The LearnHigher Year Planner includes space for listing daily commitments, making notes for each month, and a time line to show how different tasks may overlap. There are also large working spaces that may be used for project planning, pattern notes on modules, or revision planning.

There are numerous ways to use the planner, depending on your preferred way of working: 

• Carry it with you like a diary

• Fold it open so only the current month is showing

• Flip it open to see the time line

• Open it out as a wall planner for the whole year

Pilot study and feedback survey

A 6 month pilot of 500 planners was carried out at the University of Reading in 2007:

• 92% of respondents said the planner helped their time management.

• 41% of respondents were still using the planner at the end of the academic year.  

More than just a planner - top tips

The planners have monthly time management tips specifically suited to the cycle of the academic year.

These were developed based on research into student time management at the University of Reading and they received very positive feedback from students.    

New for 2009-10! We have introduced the option of having LearnHigher Top Tips panels on the planners.

These panels collate the best tips and links to resources from each of the 20 LearnHigher learning areas. We developed these panels in response to student feedback that said they found the time management tips helpful and wanted more help with studying on the planner. 

Unlike most study guides which can be filed away and never looked at, the planner is functional and designed to be something that students will look at every day.

Further information and to order your copies of the planner

For more information and to receive sample copies of the planner, please contact Michelle Reid This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Download a pdf about the planners.

For further pictures of the planners see our Flickr site.

Read the report on our project to publicise the planners including a detailed feedback survey for 2008-09.  

For more details of Chalet Alpin's innovative Foldedsheet designs, see the Foldedsheet website.

In 2008-09:

The University of Brighton gave planners to all 7,500 First Year students

Liverpool Hope University supplied planners to all 3,000 Year 1 students

The University of Reading funded planners for all 10,000 undergraduate students

The planners are also being piloted at Nottingham Trent University, University of Plymouth, and Manchester Metropolitan University.

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"It's like a noticeboard in your bag" - Feedback comments

"They are a lot more functional than the garish wall planners I always get at Freshers' Week."

"I don't know what I would have done without mine - I'd be lost."

"The planner is great for revision planning - I could see all of my modules and exams on one sheet."

(Comments from University of Reading students)

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