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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.

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You are reading: The impact of enabling programs on students’ academic success and retention: A propensity score modelling approach

Trial overview

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

What was trialed

In Australia, “enabling programs” (also called enabling pathways) are fee-free, government-funded preparatory programs designed to help students gain the academic skills and confidence required to succeed in university study.

There are 48 enabling programs across Australia (Habel et al., 2016), attracting 32,579 student enrolments in 2020 (Department of Education, 2022). Although study options vary, enabling programs were found to have highly comparable learning outcomes in foundational mathematics, academic communications and study preparation, as well as teaching and learning practices (Davis et al., 2023).

This study uses a propensity score modelling approach, whereby we will match students who follow through with higher education enrolment from enabling programs with students who did not follow from an enabling pathway, to estimate the impact of enabling programs on retention and subject pass rates.

 

What was found

The results will be available in December 2026.

How the trial was delivered

To estimate the propensity score for each student, we draw upon administrative data routinely captured by the institutions at the time of application and enrolment. These variables may include, a student’s age, socio-economic status, parental education or first-in-family status, Indigeneity, alternative pathways into higher education, self-identified disability, and ATAR score (or equivalent).

We examine the outcomes of: (1) subjects (units) successfully completed within the first two years after enrolling in higher education and (2) retention in the first and second years of their undergraduate qualification. Our primary analyses take into account the impacts on these outcomes across and between institutions, and if the numbers permit, how these impacts may differ for students with different “cumulative disadvantage”.

The study is being undertaken in 2026, and is being led by Federation University, with contributions from Murdoch University, University of Southern Queensland, Central Queensland University, University of South Australia, Charles Darwin University, Southern Cross University, University of Tasmania, Edith Cowan University and the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES).