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Promoting Access, Increasing Opportunities for University Education: a study of mature aged students from disadvantaged regions 
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Report on research funded by the Higher Education Innovation Program Higher Education Group Department of Education, Science and Training August 2004.
This research was conducted between 1999 and 2002 and follows the academic progress (between 2000 and 2002) of mature-aged students of Education and Accounting at the University of Tasmania. The aim was to examine in depth a range of factors which affect the academic achievement of students recruited from disadvantaged areas, many of them mature age students taking up a 'second chance' of higher education. Patterns of recruitment and selection were placed under scrutiny, along with the patterns of continuing support – academic, social and financial. Pathways to higher education through Technical and Vocational Education (TAFE) or Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs were also reviewed through monitoring progress of students who had been granted credit for prior vocational qualifications. The study shows that what happens at enrolment and university entry is less important than the orientation, academic and social support which students receive throughout the course of their studies, and their own aspirations and expectations for themselves. Despite the small number of students involved, the study has widespread practical implications for the increase of opportunity for university education for disadvantaged and mature age students in Australian universities, especially those with a TAFE or VET background.
Phase one of the study in 1999 focussed on research planning, research and instrument design, choice of student selection processes and the development of an intensive advertising campaign through print and radio media during the first weeks of November 1999. Unfortunately, numbers of applications for mature entry into the University dropped for the 2000 intake, and intakes from the North-West of the state are traditionally small, which affected the potential survey sample. It was also impossible to measure what effect the advertising had on recruitment and how far the decline in numbers was part of a broader trend. In student interviews it became clear that word of mouth and/or having a relative or friend recently involved in tertiary study was a more potent means of recruitment to university than through advertising.
Phase two covered the invitation to participate to students who had already been offered a place by the University, their allocation to alternative ‘selection’ groups, and the application of ‘selection’ procedures. As explained to the participants, the results of these procedures would in no way affect the offer already made, for obvious ethical reasons. Thirty-one students out of a possible 54 accepted the invitation to be in the project and were assigned to interview, test, or interview plus test groups. A score was generated in interviews based on answers to questions concerning attitudes towards the profession and university study, and demonstrated communication skills. Those participating in the test situation were also allocated a score on the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT). These scores were subsequently combined and categorised into the Allocated Entry Score (AES) and the student's ranking correlated with academic progress over the following three years. This measure of academic progress was based on self-assessment (by questionnaire) and university student records, accessed on a privileged and confidential basis. Demographic data and student ID were removed from these records, therefore protecting the anonymity of participants.
Phase three concerned the impact of study skills support – and monitored students’ knowledge, access to and evaluation of university support provided. There was also a built-in action-research component in that study support was offered through invitation at entry to participate in Unistart (preparation) study workshops before Semester 1; provision of study materials in kit form; and referral to a study adviser if requested in progress interviews. Phase four overlapped with phase three and followed the academic progress of students in the project over the three years. This mapping of student progress allowed the comparison of Unistart and non-Unistart participants, as well as those admitted with TAFE credits, as compared with the rest. In these concurrent phases feedback from participants was gained by a series of 3 progress interviews, and focus groups. These covered reactions to about the alternative selection processes, reasons for coming to university, and changing attitudes over time to study and to the university as a whole. Questionnaire surveys were also conducted towards the end of students’ years 2 and 3. The triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods has provided validation of findings, despite the small numbers involved, and comparisons made with findings from other surveys.
Findings showed variations in performance in relation to selection by interviews and tests were observed particularly among those who did both an interview and a test. Some people did well in one and poorly in the other form throwing doubt on the predictive validity of either method. Many students opposed the test as a single means of selection for university entry, but showed less concern for interviews as a single means of selection. Most students, as well as university staff involved in the interview and testing process, believed a single selection procedure to be insufficient and indeed there was more general support for open entry for mature age students. In order to test the efficacy of this method a second cohort of 12 Accounting students was recruited in 2001 (under the normal open entry methods of the School of Accounting). The progress of the students recruited in this way was compared with that of students recruited/selected by other methods –a sample of 43 students in all.
Extensive analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from interviews and surveys, and analysis of student records over the three years revealed no significant correlations between the Allocated Entry Score (AES) and future academic progress and success. Numbers however are very small so that findings must be regarded as tentative. In terms of cost effectiveness, and the expense in time and labour of running interviews and/or tests, findings suggest that open entry for mature-age students is to be preferred. Findings also show the part played by pre-course orientation and study skills support (such as Unistart) as important to students’ persistence and success. The role of study support in encouraging student retention is examined in the research with recommendations for further action.
Analysis of the progress interview data shows the students to be highly motivated in terms of learning skills, strongly supportive of one another, and increasingly confident throughout their course in accessing university staff and services. The contribution played by preparatory programs such as the Unistart program to student persistence and success is demonstrated not only by project participants, but also by comparative findings from an earlier Evaluation of the Unistart program. Another important finding is that the study progress of those entering university from TAFE streams is shown within the project not to differ significantly from that of other students in the same year cohort, revealing that, once a ‘settling in’ period has taken place, no disadvantage results to the student from the TAFE/University transition. This finding has implications for Universities developing credit transfer arrangements with TAFE institutions, and for mature-age students who might be considering upgrading their professional TAFE qualifications by undertaking a university degree.