Developing pathways to university entry for low socioeconomic status students : a progress report

Increased participation in tertiary education is widely seen as fundamental to economic, social and cultural wellbeing. Higher education has a major role to play in meeting the lifelong learning needs of both individuals and the workforce of the future through increased participation. The current emphasis on the provision of increased participation has never been stronger. The solution is not simply increasing participation in higher education, but increasing participation from groups not currently accessing such education in a proportionate way. This paper examines the early establishment phase of a current pathway being developed for the Bachelor of Construction Management at the University of Western Sydney (UWS). The pathway aims at increasing participation in the degree program by students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Four structured interviews were conducted with undergraduate students. This study gives an early indication of the possible effectiveness of the newly established pathways. Future research in this ongoing project will map effective learning and teaching pathways for achieving diversity within the higher education sector of the built environment in Australia generally.