Open access enabling courses: risking academic standards or meeting equity aspirations

Shah, Mahsood; Whannell, Robert

doi:10.1080/13603108.2016.1203370

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…There is no national framework to enable transparency and to compare learning outcomes and standards of achievement across the sector. This lack of quality assurance means that students can be denied portability of qualifications between institutions (Pitman et al, 2016;Shah & Whannell, 2017). As well, enabling educators often work in isolation at the periphery of their institutions (Crank, 2022) with limited opportunities to demonstrate the quality of their programs through external peer review, scholarship and research (Bennett et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benchmarking Australian Enabling Programs for a National Framework of Standards

Davis

Cook

Syme

et al. 2023

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Enabling education programs in Australia assist students, who would otherwise have been excluded from higher education, to transition into undergraduate study. These programs emerged independently in response to the needs of individual universities and the varying cohorts of students they serve. The exclusion of these programs from the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) has meant they remain unregulated, with no national framework for standards. The development of academic standards is a dynamic, consensus driven process, and benchmarking provides a method through which academics from across institutions can work in partnership to reach shared understandings and improve and align practices. This practice report outlines the results of the first comprehensive cross-institutional benchmarking project involving nine Australian universities and demonstrates there is shared understanding of the standards of enabling programs between institutions. These findings will contribute to the establishment of national standards for enabling programs in Australia.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benchmarking Australian Enabling Programs for a National Framework of Standards

Davis

Cook

Syme

et al. 2023

SUCCESS

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“…As universities have sought to expand, pathway or enabling programs, which provide preparation for and access to undergraduate study for previously excluded students, also expanded (Agosti & Bernat, 2018). However, this expansion is contentious, and has been accompanied by concerns that expanding access not only threatens higher education quality (Burke, 2013;Shah & Whannell, 2017), but places unsustainable pressure on public expenditure (Marginson, 2013;Sadler, 2017). Higher education has become increasingly subject to regulation and standardisation (Bradley et al, 2008), with a particular emphasis on measuring and evaluating the impact of widening participation efforts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community, Engagement and Connectedness: Reflections on Pathway Programs at a Regional Australian University

Spence

Davis²,

Green³

et al. 2022

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The progressive democratisation of Australian higher education has numerous causes including the increase in the number of universities and therefore university places across the later 20th and into the 21st century, as well as initiatives by governments of different ideological hues to increase the total percentage of the population with a university degree. This latter impulse, in particular, has increased significantly the number of students entering university via pathway programs, meaning programs which provide the opportunity to undertake study to inculcate university-standard skills and enable matriculation into university for people who are otherwise ineligible. The students in pathway programs are sometimes disengaged from learning, coming from so-called non-traditional pathways that may signify a disconnect between them and their institutions of learning. This practice report, therefore, examines efforts to address “connectedness” in pathway programs at a regional university in Australia. The pathway programs at UniSQ College are underpinned by an inclusive and holistic teaching philosophy that supports students’ access to higher education. Through the lenses of social, emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and collaborative engagement, practitioners examined and reflected on ways in which this philosophy was embedded in the day-to-day work of UniSQ College through deliberate efforts to promote and maintain connectedness. By reflecting on and articulating these connections, we have provided a base for developing a future evaluative framework that will critically examine the extent to which our practices, through student engagement, foster connectedness.

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“Come One, Come All”: The Question of Open Entry in Enabling Programs

Hodges¹

2018

University Pathway Programs: Local Responses Within a Growing Global Trend

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Open access enabling courses: risking academic standards or meeting equity aspirations

Cited by 12 publications

References 33 publications

Benchmarking Australian Enabling Programs for a National Framework of Standards

Benchmarking Australian Enabling Programs for a National Framework of Standards

Community, Engagement and Connectedness: Reflections on Pathway Programs at a Regional Australian University

“Come One, Come All”: The Question of Open Entry in Enabling Programs

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