Making the invisible, visible: a twenty-first century approach to tertiary preparation, attainment and access for student equity

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.

KEYWORDS:

• Access
• student equity
• widening participation
• assessment
• alternative entry
• capabilities

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 2016; Hodges et al. 2013, 5; O’Rourke et al. 2019, 8; Willans and Seary 2018, 48). Indeed, university-based enabling programmes provide a pathway for up to 20% of undergraduate enrolments at Australian universities (Morison and Cowley 2017).

2 Of particular note in Australia: Bradley et al. 2008; DEET 1990; DEEWR 2009. For relevant international examples, see: Simson et al. 2012, 42–3; European Commission Council 2012; Milburn 2013; Schwartz 2004.

3 Such results often apply to a distinct cohort, context or pathway and cannot typically be generalised to other contexts. Lawrence (2004, 364) suggests that findings can be applicable to similar groups of students.

4 For appropriate definition and exemplary distinction between ‘alternative entry’ and ‘enabling’ programmes, see Australian Government 2012, 26; Chesters et al. 2018; Hodges et al. 2013, 14; Irwin, Baker, and Carter 2018; Morison and Cowley 2017, 342; O’Rourke et al. 2019; Pitman et al. 2016; Willans and Seary 2018.

5 See e.g. Chile (Hilliger et al. 2018); Netherlands (Vossensteyn 2013); New Zealand (Curtis et al. 2016; Turner et al. 2017); South Africa (Norodien-Fataar 2016); UK and Ireland (Budd 2016; Cotton, Kneale, and Nash 2013; European Commission 2014; Keane 2011; O’Sullivan et al. 2019; O’Sullivan, Robson, and Winters 2018); United States (Zimdars 2016).

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 2014, 270; Pilcher and Torii 2018, 4ff).

8 It is now clear that broadening admissions criteria does not necessarily correlate to diluted academic standards (see e.g. Chesters et al. 2018, 43).

9 UTS is a medium size, city-based university located in Sydney, NSW, Australia.

10 For appropriate definitions of ‘academic literacies’: Baker and Irwin 2015; Irwin, Baker, and Carter 2018; Lawrence 2004, 21ff.

11 The literature related to these concepts is vast. Of particular relevance to this article, see: Beattie and Thiele 2016; Bourdieu 1977, 1986, 1992, 2011; Corson 1999, 20; Hannon, Faas, and O’Sullivan 2017; Harvey, Burnheim, and Brett 2017; Hughes and Brown 2014; Ives and Castillo-Montoya 2020; Lawrence 2004; Luzeckyj et al. 2011; Meuleman et al. 2015; Norodien-Fataar 2016; Norton and Cherastidtham 2018; O’Shea and Delahunty 2018; O’Sullivan et al. 2019; O’Sullivan, Robson, and Winters 2018; Raciti and Dale 2019; Reed, King, and Whiteford 2014; Webber 2014; Woolcock 1998; Yee 2016; Yosso 2005.

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. 2019, 557). Lawrence (2004, 51ff) uses the similar term ‘socio-cultural capital’.

13 This is concisely illustrated in Lawrence’s (2004, 379ff) Model for Student Success Practices at University.

14 Defined by NESA (2020).

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 2020, 9; UAC 2020).

Additional information

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.