Melbourne Graduate School of Education Centre for the Study of Higher Education

Monday 16 April 2012
12.30pm - 2.00 pm

Barbara Falk Room
CSHE Building
(Lvl 1, 715 Swanston St, Carlton)

All welcome

To register please email
Caterina Ho catho@unimelb.edu.au CSHE

Dr Tim Pitman
Research Development Adviser
Faculty of Law
University of Western Australia

Tim Pitman researches on higher education policy and practice, with particular interests in a) access and inclusion and b) the research activities of universities. His PhD, completed in 2012, considers the recognition of prior learning (RPL) policies and practices of selected Australian universities. For this seminar, Tim also draws upon his personal experience as a manager of a large university's admission department.

Abstract:  
The Australian Federal Government wants to see participation of students from lower socio-economic status backgrounds in higher education lifted to 20 per cent by 2020. Broadly speaking, universities have two ways in which to achieve this. First, they can create new (or improve existing) 'alternative' admissions pathways: ones that directly target these types of students. The second is to incorporate greater flexibility in current admission processes - for example, mechanisms to recognise and validate non-traditional learning. What are the precedents and antecedents of each strategy, and what are their ramifications in the contemporary context of Australian higher education?