Why do “at risk” students choose to attend or avoid specific support programs: A case study of student experience at the University of Canberra

Abstract

In 2008 the Australian Government released a seminal review which set the future direction of Higher Education in Australia (Bradley 2008). This paper looks pragmatically at the consequences of increasing enrolments and recruiting a cohort of students who are likely to be challenged by university study. While it may seem obvious that offering additional support programs are warranted it is not necessarily the case that students will attend them (Kennelly, Maldoni, & Davies, 2010). This paper attempts to address some of the issues raised by Ransom (2007) and others concerning non-attendance at support programs. The study is exploratory, based on a small sample, and it looks through the prism of assessment results and interview data at two cohorts of ‘at risk’ students, one cohort regularly attending a specific support program and one cohort irregularly attending. It uses existing ‘English as an Additional Language students’ as a basis for analysis because they represent a cohort that shares many characteristics with other university recruits who find university life challenging. This paper seeks to document the language and academic backgrounds of students and speculates on future strategies to attract greater student participation and suggests the potential direction for further research.