opening page ornament

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.

Enter website
Back to Trials Registry
You are reading: The First Year Success Program: Do bridging courses improve success and retention at university for equity students? A randomised trial with imperfect compliance

Trial overview

Registered
Users Priority Students: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders, Low socio-economic status backgrounds, Regional, remote, or rural locations, Non-English speaking backgrounds
Academic Cap Stage of Intervention: During Higher Education
Chart Line Outcomes: Progression

What was trialed

The intervention is the First Year Success Program (FYSP). FYSP consists of a range of activities that aim to help equity students transition to university life. These include academic bridging courses, workshops, social events, and peer mentoring.

The bridging courses are in biology, chemistry, physics, algebra, calculus, and advanced mathematics. Each bridging course runs for two weeks, with classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Students attend a combination of lectures and small-group tutorials, for a total of 32 hours (4 hours per contact day).

The bridging courses are open to all students at a cost of $120-200 per course. These are, however, free to students in the FYSP.

FYSP also includes a HeadStart Workshop, a one-day introduction, as well as peer mentoring – from January to June, UTS orientation, encouragement to participate in study groups such as U:Pass, and a mid-year social event.

FYSP is hypothesised to improve grades, success, and attrition.

What was found

The results will be available in December 2026.

How the trial was delivered

A randomised trial is being implemented to estimate the impact of FYSP on a student’s performance in their first year at university.

This randomised trial will have imperfect compliance by design, for two reasons. Firstly, the randomly selected treatment group will be offered participation in FYSP but will not be compelled to participate. Secondly, the bridging courses are also available for students in the control group to take (at a cost).

First year students in the study population are identified and grouped according to their specific equity categories (“blocks”). Each block of students are randomised equally into one of two groups: the Treatment Group – who will be offered participation in FYSP (through  multiple forms of communications) and incentives to do so, and the Control Group, who will not be eligible for FYSP but may choose to participation in a bridging course for a fee.

University Technology Sydney administrative data is being used to estimate the impact of the intervention on: standardised average grades and grades in subjects related to the bridging course, attrition (enrolment in the second semester), and success (proportion of classes that are passed).

The trial is being undertaken at the University of Technology Sydney, during Semesters 1 and 2 in 2026.