The use of targeted bulk SMS texting to enhance student support, inclusion and retention

The University of Wolverhampton serves a region of considerable social, economic and educational diversity and disadvantage in the UK. The University is aware of the potential of mobile learning, teaching and administration in addressing the needs of its students and it has national Centre of Excellence (CETL) status for using innovative technologies in its work. After several pilot projects with handheld computers and mobile phones (cell phones), it is now moving to a large-scale scheme that will use targeted bulk SMS texting to enhance student support, inclusion and retention. This paper examines the range of technologies and pedagogies that underlie the educational use of texting, the institutional issues that the proposed large-scale texting scheme must address and the interim results and progress of the scheme prior to its launch at the start of the academic year 2005/2006.