Experiences at the University of Western Sydney

In response to the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education (2008), the Australian Government has clearly articulated a policy of increasing the percentage of Australians who study for and complete university degrees. Prime Minister Gillard has declared that her primary goal is for an extra 300,000 people to start university by 2025 with about 200,000 additional graduates by the same date. The aim is for forty per cent of all people aged 25 to 34 to hold a bachelor's degree or higher by that date (Gilmore & Narushima 2009). It can be argued that this is unlikely to be achieved without pathways that encourage a considerable number of those currently in the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) sector to extend their education at university.