University of Western Sydney students at risk : profile and opportunities for change

Many studies have acknowledged a shift from elite to mass participation in Australian higher education over the last decade. As the diversity of the student intake rises there is a growing interest in the factors predicting their success or failure. This article identifies a set of variables predicting University of Western Sydney (UWS) student academic performance and retention in various data on 8,896 undergraduate students commencing at the university in 2004. The study then integrates a number of characteristics associated with low probability of success in a profile of UWS students. This means that such students either had relatively poor academic achievements or did not complete their studies or both. These characteristics include: part-time attendance type, mature age, non-English speaking background and low socioeconomic status. Further, the study discusses a range of targeted pro-active interventions and support services to be focused on the discipline areas with high concentrations of students at risk.