A Forward Glance in a Mirror: Diversity Challenged—Access, Equity, and Success in Higher Education

The issue of equity in higher education has gained prominence as it has become increasingly clear that opportunities for higher education are not equitably distributed among different student groups. This paper provides a thorough understanding of the key components of equitable access and success in higher education, primarily in the context of the United States. It also seeks to explore the effectiveness of affirmative action, financial aid and scholarship systems, successful initiatives, cultural and sociological attitudes, and institutional structures and services in promoting equitable access and success in higher education. The paper uses a systematic review methodology to analyze academic and policy documents, program evaluations, and case studies. The analysis includes a synthesis of key findings and themes from the literature review, an examination of successful initiatives and programs in higher education institutions in the United States. The findings suggest that while affirmative action and financial aid programs have been successful in promoting equitable access and success in higher education, further efforts are needed to address cultural and societal attitudes that perpetuate inequities in higher education. Recommendations for future research include the long-term effects of financial aid and cultural barriers to building a more equitable education.

Despite ongoing efforts to promote widening participation (WP) in higher education (HE), significant disparities persist in students' access to and success in HE. Students from various intersecting groups remain underrepresented, less likely to complete HE studies, and less likely to achieve high grades compared with peers from groups such as second‐generation and socio‐economically advantaged backgrounds. Synthesising existing research is essential for developing a unified understanding of WP approaches and their impacts. This article presents findings from an umbrella review aimed at consolidating evidence to inform future research and policy directions. Following PRISMA guidelines and employing a systematic review methodology, this umbrella review analyses 48 review studies published between 2012 and 2024. While the importance of equity in education is widely acknowledged, WP research remains uneven across different student groups. Effective WP strategies, including mentorship, summer schools, and experiential learning, show promise but depend on addressing issues such as accessibility and financial constraints. The umbrella review highlights a critical gap in WP activity and research targeting younger student cohorts, and on the influence of integrated support services on students' academic outcomes once they are in HE. The study calls for further investigation into the long‐term effects of WP interventions and the scalability of specialised programmes. Despite some limitations—notably, that the evidence presented in the included reviews predominantly comes from the UK, US, and Australian contexts—this umbrella review provides valuable insights for future research and policy development.

In this paper, the relationship between relative and absolute participation in undergraduate higher education in Slovenia is investigated. That relationship results from the interrelationship between factors contributing to relative participation in higher education and the size of youth populations. The development patterns of the relative and absolute participation in undergraduate higher education in Slovenia are presented. In order to empirically test the authors' hypotheses, two separate multiple regression analyses were conducted. The first analyzes factors of the demographic base, and the second analyzes factors of the relative participation in undergraduate higher education. The results reveal the factors contributing to both the demographic base and relative participation in undergraduate higher education and identifies the significant factor linking them to each other. This factor works in one direction in the case of the demographic base and in the opposite direction in the case of the relative participation in undergraduate higher education, causing the relationship between changes in relative and absolute participation in higher education. At the end of the paper, findings confirming the hypotheses are presented with an explanation of the background of the empirical findings.

Widening participation in higher education can be a force for democratization. It can also map on to elite practices and contribute to further differentiation of social groups. Those with social capital are often able to decode and access new educational opportunities. Those without it can remain untouched by initiatives to facilitate their entry into the privileges that higher education can offer. This article is based on our ESRC/DFID-funded research project on Widening Participation in Higher Education in Ghana and Tanzania: Developing an Equity Scorecard (www.sussex.ac.uk/education/wideningparticipation). Meritocratic discourse infers that individual achievement is the most important principle determining access and success in higher education. The project is statistically and discursively deconstructing merit. We are mapping meritocracy in order to identify if the most marginalized communities are being included in the widening participation agenda. In this article, we demonstrate how current opportunity structures reflect traditional beliefs about meritocracy and reproduce privilege and exclusion. We argue that when gender is intersected with socio-economic status, participation rates of poorer women are seen to be extremely low in both African countries.

This paper investigates the determinants of the relative participation in undergraduate higher education in Slovenia. The determinants of participation in higher education can be investigated at the micro or macro level. Using regression analysis we focus on the macro-level determinants of the increasing relative rate at which the relevant population of youth participates in undergraduate higher education in Slovenia from 1980-81 to 2006-7. Since 1980 the relative participation in higher education has increased more than twice the initial level. We investigate possible reasons for that dramatic increase in association with the overall economic conditions, the financial conditions of individuals, the expected benefits from undergraduate higher education, the proportion of the relevant population who fulfilled the enrollment requirements, the changing personal and social values related to higher education, and the supply side variables of higher education. In a regression analysis we include trend and autoregression effects. Finally, we make a simple simulation estimate of the expected development of the relative participation in undergraduate higher education in Slovenia in the near future.

Disruptions create both new opportunities and challenges in higher education. In settled times, education systems plod along with an assumed and uncritical acceptance of normalcy of the status-quo. When the status quo is disrupted, suddenly the patched-up cracks reveal the depth and magnitude of the simmering problems of the sector in graphic ways. Access and success are arguably the two most poignant indicators of the performance of higher education systems. In post-colonial societies such as South Africa, access is used to estimate progress in broadening participation in higher education, particularly to young people from previously disadvantaged communities. Access has two broad meanings: increased enrolments and enhanced epistemological impact. Success, on the other hand is measured variously but mainly through graduation and progression rates across different socio-economic higher education students groups and also on the quality of their performances. In this article we provide a theoretical discussion of the notions of disruptions and their impact in higher education; examine the questions of access and success in higher education; and conclude that the chasm lying between access by participation and access by success requires substantial transformation of a knowledge system that is alien to the cultural context of the country; rebalancing and recalibrating the broader ideological environment that privileges liberalism while paying token attention to social justice and inclusion beyond mere symbolism; and a persistent refocusing on emancipatory pedagogies, designed to liberate rather than subjugate graduates into pigeon holed choices in the labour market which are designed to serve the needs of owners of capital as the primary motive of employment. We conclude by identifying critical factors that appear to lead to a failure by universities to bridge the gap between access by participation and access by success or epistemological access. Most of these tend to be structurally embedded in the fabric of higher education institutions and the sector and include, a persistent coloniality of the sector, disjuncture between the intended ideological framework guiding national development and the operating economic models and institutional inertia to move beyond the canonical bases of higher education based on western epistemes.

In 1988 the release of the Higher Education: A Policy Statement White Paper focused Australia’s national higher education equity policy on “changing the balance of the student population to reflect more closely the composition of society as a whole” (Dawkins 1990, 2-3). While improvement in access and participation has been noted for women, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, and people with disabilities, the interventions has remained less effective for people from Lower Socio-Economic Status (LSES backgrounds), Indigenous peoples; rural, regional and remote residents; (Gale & Tranter, 2011; Koshy & Seymour 2014). In 2009, in response to the Bradley Review (2008), the Australian government set a new agenda again focused on equitable participation in higher education, along with associated equity targets (which have since been abandoned), and funding to enable this reform as well as increased participation. Funding was delivered through the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP), renamed the Higher Education Participation Program (HEPP) in 2015 (Australian Government Department of Education and Training, 2015). A range of national partnerships, policy initiatives and programs has been used to facilitate improved achievement in schools as well as enable access, participation and achievement in higher education. These actions have included targeted programs through the use of intervention strategies aimed at widening participation in, and improving access to higher education.

Scholars of academic success in higher education in South Africa struggle to find an integrated framework that can explain the interplay between heterogeneous elements that combine in dynamic ways to influence the academic success of students. Language of teaching and learning is indicated as an important element in academic success in higher education. In South Africa, students are multilingual and this is often ignored or perceived as a hindrance to academic success. Conversely, there are studies that have found a positive relationship between bi- and multilingualism and cognitive development during the past 40 years. The aim of this article is to view multilingualism and academic success in higher education in South Africa from a complex systems approach. It is argued that a complex systems approach provides an integrated framework for studies of multilingualism and academic success in higher education in South Africa.

Private participation in higher education in India, though inherited from its colonial past, has continued to exist, albeit with a metamorphosis. The phenomenon has undergone tremendous changes in forms, structure, extent and impact on access, equity, and quality in higher education. Limitations and drawbacks of the private sector in higher education notwithstanding, the sector has continued to grow in size and significance. The rise in the private participation in higher education has also been concurrent with the plunge in the relative significance, quality, and impact of the public system due to plummeting public investment. This chapter seeks to present an account of India's experience with the private higher education since Independence but particularly focuses on the new generation private participation that has gained ground since the eighties. Private participation in higher education has become so integral to the higher education landscape that it is most likely to remain the mainstay in the future. Given the failure of the regulatory mechanism to prevent malpractices, ensure quality, and promote excellence, the chapter is a search for workable policy imperatives.

Purpose This chapter critically analyses the current participation of Indigenous Australian students in higher education and identifies new directions for seeding success and enabling Indigenous students to flourish in higher education contexts. Methodology Statistical reports, government reports and the scholarly literature were analysed to elucidate the nature of participation of Indigenous students in higher education, identify strategies that are succeeding, identify issues that need addressing and explicate potentially potent ways forward. Findings The findings have important implications for theory, research and practice. The results of this study demonstrate, that while increasing numbers of Indigenous Australian students are accessing higher education, they still are not participating at a rate commensurate with their representation in the Australian population. The findings also suggest new ways to enable Indigenous Australians to not only succeed in higher education, but flourish. Research implications The findings imply that more needs to be done to seed success in increasing the numbers of Indigenous Australian students in higher education to be representative of the population and ensuring participation in higher education enables Indigenous students to succeed and flourish. The findings also imply that there is a dire need for further research to identify key drivers of success. Implications The study supports the need for increasing the number of Indigenous Australians participating in higher education and enhancing higher education strategies to enable Indigenous students to succeed and flourish. Social implications Enhancing the participation of Indigenous students in higher education internationally can help to contribute to the well-being of individuals, Indigenous communities and nations. Originality/value This chapter provides an up to date analysis of the nature of Indigenous Australian participation in higher education and identifies potentially potent new ways forward to seed success that have international implications.

Equitable access and participation in higher education from regional youth is a major concern in Australia (National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE), 2015). Currently 0.9% of all university students in Australia come from a regional or remote area (NCSEHE, 2015). This statistic is alarming in the context of the ever-rising digital economy in Australia, and the increasing importance of higher education for employment. This article synthesises current literature relating to Australian regional youth’s low participation in higher education, and the implications of this for their employability in the rapidly-developing digital economy. The compilation of data relating to Australian youth and higher education emphasises the need for further research and understanding into how these young people make the decision to pursue university, and furthermore pursue a career in digital media. In relation to all undergraduate enrolments, the proportion of regional higher education students is stagnant or falling (NCSEHE, 2015). As a nation, the demand for digital competencies in the workforce is rising (Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), 2015). Access to these technologies in regional Australia is more limited and expensive than metropolitan areas (Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee, 2015). Consequently, regional youth risk missing out on the opportunity to master digital technologies to participate in the workforce both via their limited access to them at home, and their lack of participation in higher education where they would acquire skills for digital workplace contexts (Duncan-Howell, 2012).

Purpose: the aim of this paper is to identify the problems of low effectiveness of public participation in higher education on the basis of the analysis of theoretical-methodological and empirical literature. Methods: this study is based on the institutional paradigm, through the application of the tools of which the main actors with the potential for participation in higher education, roles, opportunities for influence and interests of participants in relation to the system of higher education are identified. The problems of efficiency of interaction between universities and society were identified and characterized in terms of institutional economics. Results: the directions of organization of social involvement in higher education were defined, the taxonomy of directions of interaction between university and society on the example of Ural State University of Economics was given. Based on the correlation of interests and opportunities for influence, their projection on the potential of interaction between the main stakeholder groups of the higher education system was carried out. The problems of low efficiency of interaction between society and higher education were revealed. The most important problems include the lack of a system of informal institutions that mediate the participation practices of the population, employers, and civil society institutions in the implementation of higher education programs. There is no consistent formalization of the processes of interaction between society and higher education through state regulation of this sphere. The most widespread problem is the lack of an established mechanism (model) of public involvement in the educational process that has the necessary methodological and instrumental support in the state policy in the sphere of education. The right of the public to participate in education management is not obvious and understandable for individuals. Сonclusions and Relevance: the potential of studying the sphere of public participation in higher education requires the creation of an independent research program in order to develop areas for improvement and development of institutions mediating the interaction between universities and society.

Globally, correlations are reported between lower academic attainment and university students being a member of an ‘equity’ or ‘historically under-represented’ group. We seek to illuminate how this so-called awarding gap might transpire. Taking a longitudinal qualitative approach, 35 undergraduate students from equity and diverse backgrounds at an Australian university participated in a series of interviews. Using a metaphorical framing, we liken the students’ participation in higher education to building a house of cards, which refers to studying within a precarious, unstable or fragile situation. Students learn to work with the cards they are dealt through much scheduling, ordering and invisible work. Inevitably, when one of the cards wobbles and impacts their study, a partial or complete collapse of the structure can swiftly occur. In the aftermath, students try to rebuild. The house of cards metaphor illustrates how universities reproduce disadvantage through the institutional structural barriers that interact with individual students’ lives. Of concern, students perceive participation challenges to result from their individual faults, instead of from precarious structural foundations on which their house of cards is built. This article makes a contribution to critically interrogating structural inequities that influence students’ participation and, ultimately, success in higher education.

Despite the feminisation of universities in terms of their student intake [1,2], formal positions of academic leadership in higher education remain concentrated in male hands[…]

Over time, many students that enroll in programmes at the university end up dropping out without completing their studies. This trend is worrisome as it points to a defeat of the objectives of entering and graduating from the university. Therefore, this study explored the perspectives of contributory factors to student success in higher education at a South African University. The study addressed one objective namely, participants’ understanding of factors that contribute to student success in higher education. To address this objective, a qualitative case study design located in the interpretive paradigm was employed to generate data through a semi-structured interview from twelve participants purposively selected from undergraduate and postgraduate students. Of these twelve participants, four represented First Time Entering (FTEN) students, four (4) second year and third year respectively and four (4) postgraduate students across two faculties, namely the Faculty of Education and School Development and Faculty of Economics and Information Technology Systems , Komani campus,Walter Sisulu University, South Africa. The data was analysed thematically. The results revealed the following themes, namely, no student left behind, the need for an enabling environment, students as partners, data-informed practices, assessment for sustainability, and a multi-dimensional approach for success. With these findings, the study concludes that addressing the needs of all students collectively, creating an enabling environment, involving students as partners, the use of data-informed practices, and assessment for sustainability among others all impact students’ success in higher education. Thus, as part of the contribution to the body of knowledge, these findings highlight factors that contribute to the debate on students’ success in higher education. Key Words: First Time Entering Students (FTENs), Higher Education, Enablers of Student Success