Australian Journal of Adult Learning - Volume 57, Number 1 - April 2017 - Insights into attrition from university-based enabling programs

Oct 15, 2026

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High attrition from university-based enabling programs and low articulation rates continue despite extensive research and administrative effort. The article addresses why students withdraw and why non-completers rarely participate in studies, limiting access to their motivations. It draws on “insider” perspectives from relatively successful enabling students to identify motivations and barriers, and links these insights to participation pathways from enabling study to university programs across ages and demographics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Enabling university for all ages

Funding and transition effects

Growth in enrolments and changing demographics

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 57, Number 1, April 2017 Insights into attrition from university-based enabling programs Cheryl Bookallil and Bobby Harreveld CQUniversity, Australia High attrition rates from university-based enabling programs continue to be the subject of much research and administrative effort. Understanding the factors behind decisions to withdraw from such programs is difficult since those who do not successfully complete an enabling program may not readily agree to participate in research into their motivations for enrolling, and reasons for withdrawal, leaving them silent in the literature. Students who are relatively successful with enabling study have ‘insider’ perceptions to share concerning the motivations of their fellow students, and the barriers some face. They can provide unique insights into factors behind the intractable problem of high attrition from enabling programs and the low rates of articulation into university study. Keywords: University-based enabling programs, attrition, articulation, barriers Insights into attrition from university-based enabling programs 59 Introduction University-based enabling programs provide both a social justice strategy for addressing equity in access to higher education and a strategy for increasing the economic efficiency of the nation. Building productive capabilities is an important recognition that in the 21st century accumulation of human capital has superseded physical capital as the “prime mover of economic growth”(Galor, 2011: 466) . In higher education globally,“human capital derives from the credentialing power of degrees in the labour market”(Marginson, 2011: 31) . However, high attrition from enabling programs and low rates of articulation between enabling and undergraduate study continue to occur thereby frustrating efforts to widen participation in university study (Ramsay, 2004; Silburn & Box, 2008; Orth & Robinson, 2013) . In Australia, this form of enabling education has a 40-year history. When the first enabling program commenced at the University of Newcastle, NSW in 1974 with an average student age of 36 it was an innovation expected to “drain its market” within five years, yet in 2012 a total of 2,000 people were enrolled (May & Bunn, 2015: 1). By 2013 there were 35 Australian universities funded to offer enabling education (Hodges et al., 2013). In addition these programs, that were initially designed to assist mature-aged students to prepare for university study, are now enrolling ever-larger proportions of recent school leavers (Silburn & Box, 2008; Hodges et al., 2013; Bookallil 2014) . These younger students either did not gain the required tertiary entry score or had made study choices in senior secondary school that meant they completed without eligibility for university entrance. Therefore many student cohorts in enabling programs have evolved to include both mature age and young adults as learners. As this previously unforeseen demographic change has emerged, attrition from these programs has come onto the radar of university administrators and researchers. This paper first examines attrition through a necessarily very brief overview of enabling programs that now encompass learners of all ages. This is followed by methodology and methods of data collection and analysis for the first-phase of a mixed methods study exploring this problem. Findings and discussion are then provided, followed by a conclusion with some recommendations for future administrative and academic practice. 60 Cheryl Bookallil and Bobby Harreveld Enabling university for all ages Since 2005 universities have received specific funding for enabling programs, including an additional ‘Enabling Loading’, from the Australian Government so that programs may be offered free of tuition charges to participants (Higher Education Support Act, 2012) . A benefit to the university supplying the enabling program is a potential increase in

FAQs

Why is researching withdrawal from enabling programs difficult?

Non-completers may not agree to participate in research about their reasons for enrolling and withdrawing, leaving them underrepresented in the literature.

What role do successful enabling students play in understanding attrition?

They can share “insider” perceptions about classmates’ motivations and barriers, offering unique insights into drivers of attrition.

How have enabling programs changed in student age and enrolment levels?

Enrolments expanded substantially between 2004 and 2014 while the cohort age declined, with programs increasingly enrolling recent school leavers alongside mature-age learners.

Oct 15, 2026

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