Australian Journal of Adult Learning - Volume 60 - Number 1 - April 2020 - Opportunities for change - What factors influence non-traditional students to enrol in higher education

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 60, Number 1 (April 2020) investigates how non-traditional students are influenced to enrol in higher education and whether the “Widening Participation” agenda reshaped their perceptions. It reviews policy-driven changes such as demand-driven funding, participation targets for low socio-economic groups, and benchmarking against OECD countries. The study argues the “traditional student” construct is outdated and that non-traditional students have become the majority.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Widening participation: The changing face of the ‘traditional’ university student

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 60, Number 1, April 2020 Opportunities for change: What factors influence non-traditional students to enrol in higher education? Deanna McCall Deborah Western Melissa Petrakis University of Newcastle Monash University In recent years, the Australian federal government has sought to increase the diversity of students attending higher education through supporting students that have traditionally been underrepresented. This is due to a perception that the attainment of a higher education can enhance a graduate’s life as they have greater access to professional positions, which may also lead to higher wages and better career stability. Most of the existing research is focussed on the student’s process of deciding to enrol, and how to support students to succeed once they are enrolled, but fails to explore in-depth narratives of students’stated reasons of why they enrol, and if they consider these preconceptions to have been met or challenged. The current research contributes knowledge by investigating factors that lead students to enrol in higher education. The study aimed to examine how the Australian federal government's ‘Widening Participation’ agenda has affected Australians’perception of higher 90 Deanna McCall, Deborah Western, Melissa Petrakis education. It is important to examine how enrolment of non-traditional students has changed throughout the last fifty years, whether and how the Widening Participation agenda influenced enrolment of students and students’perceptions of the factors that led to their enrolment post completion of an enabling program. The research argues that the concept of a ‘traditional’student enrolled in higher education is outdated and that ‘non-traditional’students are now the majority. Keywords: higher education, widening participation, educational equity, first-in-family, neo-liberalism, gender Introduction In the Australian higher education sector, there has been an increase in the enrolment of students who have traditionally been underrepresented, due to the Rudd and Gillard Governments’adoption of the Bradley Review’s Widening Participation recommendations (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent, & Scales, 2008) . Some of the main changes to the enrolment into higher education were the implementation of a demanddriven system; that institutional-specific targets be set and monitoring of low socio-economic students’ participation and performance. These targets would then be further monitored through benchmarking them against other OECD countries (Bradley et al., 2008) . This significantly impacted upon which students enrolled in higher education, as institutions targeted low socio-economic students. As the sector gained a more diverse student cohort, this led to an increase in knowledge through education across Australia.It is important to understand how this educational shift has impacted upon Australian society, and if it has led to broader social change. Traditionally the majority of students who enrolled in higher education matriculated straight from high school into their degree of choice. However, over the last 50 years, this demographic has shifted to about 50%, interchangeable between different universities, of student enrolments being derived from alternative pathways programs, previous study (TAFE or workplace) or students who decided to take a career break before enrolling in higher education.This has led to a shift in the student demographic and the researchers are investigating why Opportunities for change: What factors influence non-traditional students 91 these ‘non-traditional students’ enrol in higher education.Also, in the research project we seek to explore if the students perceive that higher education has made an impact upon their lives and if so how.Has this increase in their education led to any significant changes in their perception of the benefit of education for future generations? Under-represented students may b

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study about non-traditional students?

It examines factors that influence non-traditional students to enrol in higher education and explores how the “Widening Participation” agenda affected their perceptions of those factors.

How did Australian policy changes affect enrolment patterns?

The study describes shifts linked to demand-driven systems and institutional targets for participation and performance of low socio-economic students, monitored through benchmarking against OECD countries.

Why does the article argue the idea of a “traditional student” is outdated?

It reports that non-traditional students have increased over time and argues this demographic is now the majority rather than the minority, based on changing enrolment pathways and student profiles.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet