Practical and profound: multi-layered benefits of a university enabling program and implications for higher education
This small-scale study focused on the University of Tasmania’s (UTAS) University Preparation Program (UPP) in Launceston, Tasmania. It set out to identify the benefits of UPP from the perspectives of former UPP students, once they were in a degree. The research approach is qualitative; former UPP...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2014
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| Online Access: | https://novaojs.newcastle.edu.au/ceehe/index.php/iswp/article/view/11 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80709 |
| _version_ | 1848764255320408064 |
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| author | Crawford, Nicole |
| author_facet | Crawford, Nicole |
| author_sort | Crawford, Nicole |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This small-scale study focused on the University of Tasmania’s (UTAS) University Preparation Program
(UPP) in Launceston, Tasmania. It set out to identify the benefits of UPP from the perspectives of former UPP
students, once they were in a degree. The research approach is qualitative; former UPP students were
interviewed one-on-one or in focus groups, and data were analysed thematically. The themes that arose were
expected and practical, such as development of academic skills, confidence and connections, and understanding
the expectations and demands of the university culture. In addition, some findings were unexpected and
profound; former UPP students had taken on leadership roles in their first semester of undergraduate study, and
had changed their long-standing attitudes towards, and understandings of, people from cultures different to their
own. Enabling programs, such as UPP, have multi-layered benefits, influences and flow-on effects, which
students carry into their degrees, benefiting other students and the university, as well as potentially influencing
their families, friends, and communities. Such impacts prompt a reconsideration of the meaning of ‘success’ in
higher education, and challenge the argument that widening participation risks decreasing course quality and
lowering university standards. Furthermore, enabling programs are a transition strategy and social inclusion in
practice. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:16:27Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-80709 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:16:27Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-807092021-01-25T05:46:40Z Practical and profound: multi-layered benefits of a university enabling program and implications for higher education Crawford, Nicole This small-scale study focused on the University of Tasmania’s (UTAS) University Preparation Program (UPP) in Launceston, Tasmania. It set out to identify the benefits of UPP from the perspectives of former UPP students, once they were in a degree. The research approach is qualitative; former UPP students were interviewed one-on-one or in focus groups, and data were analysed thematically. The themes that arose were expected and practical, such as development of academic skills, confidence and connections, and understanding the expectations and demands of the university culture. In addition, some findings were unexpected and profound; former UPP students had taken on leadership roles in their first semester of undergraduate study, and had changed their long-standing attitudes towards, and understandings of, people from cultures different to their own. Enabling programs, such as UPP, have multi-layered benefits, influences and flow-on effects, which students carry into their degrees, benefiting other students and the university, as well as potentially influencing their families, friends, and communities. Such impacts prompt a reconsideration of the meaning of ‘success’ in higher education, and challenge the argument that widening participation risks decreasing course quality and lowering university standards. Furthermore, enabling programs are a transition strategy and social inclusion in practice. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80709 English https://novaojs.newcastle.edu.au/ceehe/index.php/iswp/article/view/11 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Crawford, Nicole Practical and profound: multi-layered benefits of a university enabling program and implications for higher education |
| title | Practical and profound: multi-layered benefits of a university enabling program and implications for higher education |
| title_full | Practical and profound: multi-layered benefits of a university enabling program and implications for higher education |
| title_fullStr | Practical and profound: multi-layered benefits of a university enabling program and implications for higher education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Practical and profound: multi-layered benefits of a university enabling program and implications for higher education |
| title_short | Practical and profound: multi-layered benefits of a university enabling program and implications for higher education |
| title_sort | practical and profound: multi-layered benefits of a university enabling program and implications for higher education |
| url | https://novaojs.newcastle.edu.au/ceehe/index.php/iswp/article/view/11 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80709 |