The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success acknowledges Indigenous peoples across Australia as the Traditional Owners of the lands on which the nation’s campuses are situated. With a history spanning more than 60,000 years as the original educators, Indigenous peoples hold a unique place in our nation. We recognise the importance of their knowledge and culture, and reflect the principles of participation, equity, and cultural respect in our work. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future, and consider it an honour to learn from our Indigenous colleagues, partners, and friends.

You are reading: New research: Equity implications of non-ATAR pathways: Participation, academic outcomes and work-readiness

During 2020/21, the NCSEHE will fund research led by Ian Li at The University of Western Australia which will compare the outcomes of ATAR and non-ATAR pathways to higher education for equity group students.

This is one of 17 projects to be supported under the 2020/21 round of the NCSEHE Research Grants Program.

Much of the research and policy attention on improving higher education access,  participation and outcomes for equity group students has focused on disadvantaged secondary school leavers and university entry pathways through an Australia Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR).

This study will address fundamental and important policy issues, using existing national and institutionally linked datasets, by examining the proportions and trends of equity students who enter Australian higher education through various non-ATAR pathways. It will compare a range of outcomes for equity students with their more advantaged counterparts, focusing on differences by entry (ATAR versus non-ATAR) pathways across different fields of education.

Read more about this research project on The University of Western Australia website.

The final report will be published by the NCSEHE in 2021.