Broadening undergraduate university admission pathways: student achievement success at course completion

ABSTRACT The global demand for higher education has resulted in government imperatives and policies aimed to increase student participation from under-represented groups, such as those who reside outside urban areas and from low socio-economic backgrounds. In Australia, the recent Universities Accord report (2024) signals achieving a larger, fairer higher education system with broadening of access. Thus, it is timely to examine the mechanisms that may have an impact on broadening participation in higher education for under-represented groups. One aspect of this is admission pathways and how they might contribute to greater inclusivity. Implications for how differing admission pathways are managed and their impact on student achievement levels are a likely consideration for universities. This paper reports on this under-researched area through analyses of large-volume data from one university over 5 years to ascertain undergraduate achievement at course completion according to admission pathways. The data show that non-traditional admission cohorts follow national trends of growth as a proportion of admissions. Results revealed that diversifying admission pathways has little impact on these students’ achievements at course completion and as such may be an important strategy in achieving greater equity in higher education. However, demographic data signalled that students from higher socio-economic areas course achievement were higher than their low- and middle-area peers. Interestingly, students from regional locations outperformed their urban peers and study mode did not impact achievement. These results are significant in that they contribute to discussions of advancing higher education participation for under-represented groups.