ABSTRACT
The U@Uni Academy provides a case study of a composite preparation and access programme, integrating key elements of widening participation, alternate entry and enabling schemes. It is offered to students from a low socioeconomic background andfocuses on non-traditional indicators of attainment in order to prepare for, access and successfully transition from secondary school to higher education. This article outlines the methodological and theoretical approach, purpose, and context surrounding the programme, as well as its significancewithin the contemporary Australian and international education systems. The strengthening momentum of alternate entry and enabling schemes within the context of equity and diversity in higher education is illuminated, highlighting the need for innovative approaches in this sector. Such a perspective invites the international education community to reframe how they approach attainment, admissions and success, shifting from a traditional focus on high-stakes, single-mark assessment, to a rich, layered and contextualised representation of a student’s skills and, through this, revealing the often invisible potential of a student. This is timely within the global context of future-focused tertiary education and debate surrounding admissions processes across the Australian higher education sector. Its significance is underscored by potential to influence the landscape of university admissions on a broader scale.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Verity Firth, Tracie Conroy, Simon Buckingham Shum, Darrall Thompson, Peter Kandlbinder, and Muna Musarrat, along with the many student ambassadors and various stakeholders, for their invaluable contribution to programme support, development and delivery. Thanks also for the insightful and constructive feedback from two anonymous reviewers.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The latter, with 48 programmes in 27 universities as of 2015, has become a core mechanism in Australia to improve the knowledge, skills and transition confidence of students from underrepresented backgrounds, with specific quality assurance and governance through a peak body along with designated government funding and an ‘Enabling Loading’ (Bookallil and Rolfe Citation2016; Hodges et al. Citation2013, 5; O’Rourke et al. Citation2019, 8; Willans and Seary Citation2018, 48). Indeed, university-based enabling programmes provide a pathway for up to 20% of undergraduate enrolments at Australian universities (Morison and Cowley Citation2017).
3 Such results often apply to a distinct cohort, context or pathway and cannot typically be generalised to other contexts. Lawrence (Citation2004, 364) suggests that findings can be applicable to similar groups of students.
6 Some equity admissions schemes at Australian universities, for example, still require students to perform relatively high in the traditional academic sense (evidenced via high school grades or ATAR).
7 The ATAR is a measure of a student’s overall academic achievement relative to other students in the same cohort (see Blyth Citation2014, 270; Pilcher and Torii Citation2018, 4ff).
8 It is now clear that broadening admissions criteria does not necessarily correlate to diluted academic standards (see e.g. Chesters et al. Citation2018, 43).
9 UTS is a medium size, city-based university located in Sydney, NSW, Australia.
11 The literature related to these concepts is vast. Of particular relevance to this article, see: Beattie and Thiele Citation2016; Bourdieu Citation1977, Citation1986, Citation1992, Citation2011; Corson Citation1999, 20; Hannon, Faas, and O’Sullivan Citation2017; Harvey, Burnheim, and Brett Citation2017; Hughes and Brown Citation2014; Ives and Castillo-Montoya Citation2020; Lawrence Citation2004; Luzeckyj et al. Citation2011; Meuleman et al. Citation2015; Norodien-Fataar Citation2016; Norton and Cherastidtham Citation2018; O’Shea and Delahunty Citation2018; O’Sullivan et al. Citation2019; O’Sullivan, Robson, and Winters Citation2018; Raciti and Dale Citation2019; Reed, King, and Whiteford Citation2014; Webber Citation2014; Woolcock Citation1998; Yee Citation2016; Yosso Citation2005.
12 ‘Bonding’: inward facing relationships and collaborations between people of similar backgrounds to achieve shared goals; and ‘bridging’: connections forged between heterogenous groups, promoting social connections and linkages across diverse groups and providing potential access to ‘new’ opportunities (O’Sullivan et al. Citation2019, 557). Lawrence (Citation2004, 51ff) uses the similar term ‘socio-cultural capital’.
13 This is concisely illustrated in Lawrence’s (Citation2004, 379ff) Model for Student Success Practices at University.
15 In the state of NSW a number of secondary school courses have optional final exams, namely for vocational subjects, listed as VET or Category B (NESA Citation2020, 9; UAC Citation2020).
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Notes on contributors
Emlyn Dodd
Dr Emlyn Dodd is a program manager at the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion (CSJI). He has practiced and researched within student equity, widening participation and access pathways to higher education for eight years across a number of institutions in New South Wales, Australia. Emlyn currently also holds fellowships and honorary academic positions at the Australian Academy of the Humanities and Macquarie University.
Sarah Ellis
Sarah Ellis, also program manager within the CSJI, has seven years’ experience working in the higher education sector leading strategic planning for student equity initiatives and academic support programmes. She has experience coordinating the design, implementation and evaluation of outreach programs that aim to increase the participation of students from identified equity backgrounds, with an emphasis on equitable academic attainment and access.
Sonal Singh
Sonal Singh is the Manager Student Equity at University of Technology Sydney. Sonal researches on refugee-educational outcomes, culturally inclusive research methodologies and student equity practice in Australia.