[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-205454-105":59,"doc-detail-205454-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","alternative-pathways-into-university-are-tertiary-preparation-programs-a-viable-option-paper-analysis","Alternative pathways into university - Are tertiary preparation programs a viable option? - Paper analysis","","Explores whether students who enter Australian universities through alternative entry pathways—especially on-campus tertiary preparation programs—achieve and retain at levels comparable to students who follow the traditional route after Year 12. The study uses administrative data from one regional university and situates findings within policy changes that broaden access. Results indicate that students not eligible based on secondary school results are no more likely to discontinue than traditional students, informing debates on social mobility and equity.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/alternative-pathways-into-university-are-tertiary-preparation-programs-a-viable-option-paper-analysis/205454/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/alternative-pathways-into-university-are-tertiary-preparation-programs-a-viable-option-paper-analysis/205454.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Jiven","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-26","2026-09-05",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",12,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What alternative pathways into university are examined in the paper?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The paper focuses on students entering through alternative entry pathways, with particular attention to on-campus tertiary preparation programs.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What data and method does the study use?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"The analysis is based on administrative data provided by one regional university in Australia.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What do the results show about retention for non-traditional students?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Students who were not eligible to enrol based on secondary school results were no more likely than traditional students to discontinue their studies.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},205454,1788579679,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":52,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},1099513958607,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/100002390cf8733938c?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1778829742770036399","A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nAlternative pathways into university  \nAre tertiary preparation programs a viable option?  \nJenny Chesters University of Melbourne  \nKerry Rutter & Karen Nelson  \nUniversity of the Sunshine Coast  \nLouise Watson University of Canberra  \nDuring the past three decades, the student populations of Australian universities have become more heterogeneous as the higher education sector expanded and new alternative entry pathways were established. Broadening access to university study and, therefore, to professional and semi-professional occupations, provides avenues for social mobility. In this paper, we examine whether students entering university via alternative entry pathways, and in particular, on-campus tertiary preparation programs, have similar levels of achievement and attainment as students who entered via the more traditional pathway after completing Year 12. Our analysis is conducted on data from one regional university and our results show that students who were not eligible to enrol on the basis of their secondary school results were no more likely than traditional students to discontinue their studies.  \nKeywords: higher education; alternative entry; retention  \nIn the latter part of the twentieth century, Australia, like many other nations, transitioned into a post-industrial economy, shedding jobs in manufacturing and creating jobs in the services sectors, fuelling demand for a more educated population with higher levels of skills and the capacity for lifelong learning (Gale & Tranter, 2011; Ryan & Watson, 2003) . To meet rising demand for university degrees, the Australian Government expanded the higher education sector by increasing the number of universities and introducing alternative entry pathways. In 2010, the government introduced equity targets to encourage universities to provide more opportunities for students from a wider segment of the population and to provide  \nvol. 60, no. 1, 2018  \nadditional support to these non-traditional students (Pitman, 2017; Thomas, 2014) . The expansion of higher education sectors in Australia and other Anglophone countries such as the UK and the US is associated with more heterogeneous student populations in terms of family background, previous level of education, life stage and motivation (Gale & Parker, 2014; Schuetze & Slowey, 2002) . However, as Walker, Matthew and Black (2014)  \nnote, social background is not the only barrier to the successful completion of university study with students from non-traditional backgrounds requiring additional support throughout their studies to overcome feelings of alienation (see also Thomas, 2014).To assist in preparing Alternative pathways into university Jenny Chesters et al. 35  \nA U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \na more diverse student population for the rigours of academic life, universities have developed enabling programs to upskill students who did not complete secondary school or who completed secondary school without the required level of achievement.  \nIn this paper, we analyse administrative data provided by a regional university in Australia to examine the association between pathway into university and achievement and retention. After providing an overview of the context and the results of previous research, we introduce the data and then present and discuss the results of our analysis.  \nHigher education in Australia  \nThe Australian higher education sector expanded after 1989 when colleges of advanced education and institutes of technology were ‘re-invented’ as new universities, through rebranding or mergers with other colleges, institutes or universities (Moodie & Wheelahan, 2009) . Since then, the Australian Government has implemented several policies aimed at widening participation. In 2010, the government uncapped quotas for Commonwealth supported students, which led to a dramatic increase in commencing-student numbers as universities ","cbCaiudpWjBEdrie","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiudpWjBEdrie","pdf",185652,"English","# Alternative pathways into university\n## Higher education in Australia\n## Data and analysis approach\n## Results and discussion","[{\"question\":\"What alternative pathways into university are examined in the paper?\",\"answer\":\"The paper focuses on students entering through alternative entry pathways, with particular attention to on-campus tertiary preparation programs.\"},{\"question\":\"What data and method does the study use?\",\"answer\":\"The analysis is based on administrative data provided by one regional university in Australia.\"},{\"question\":\"What do the results show about retention for non-traditional students?\",\"answer\":\"Students who were not eligible to enrol based on secondary school results were no more likely than traditional students to discontinue their studies.\"}]","Alternative pathways into university - Are tertiary preparation programs a viable option? - Paper analysis | PDF",25]