The provision of academic language and learning (ALL) support to undergraduate and postgraduate students has been a staple across higher education institutions in Australia and New Zealand for some time. However, research has established that there are multiple challenges inherent to working across institutional spaces in the ways that ALL staff…

This paper discusses the impact of a series of professional development workshops for peer leaders to enhance the student learning experience at an Australian enabling education institution over the period of three years (2019-2021). It reports the impact of these workshops on peer leaders' professional development and, more importantly, on…

Academic support at Australian universities has become an important aspect of higher education, as student cohorts continue to diversify, and universities need to ensure the students' success and the institutions' reputations. Often, students in need do not access academic support services and little is known about what influences students'…

In Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) programmes, students provide academic and social support to fellow students. Recent PAL iterations include drop-in programmes to improve higher education students' general academic literacy in an open, non-judgemental, learning environment led by experienced students. The majority of the PAL literature, however,…

University students frequently use campus Facebook Confessions pages to engage with their peers about their university experiences. This article explores the utility of Confessions pages in providing novel data to aid the development of student services generally, and academic skills support in particular. Through a qualitative thematic analysis…

A growing number of single mothers are seeking entry to higher education via enabling programs; however, these students face unique struggles to make their dream a reality. There is some research on the challenges faced by student-mothers in higher education; however, research specifically on single mothers in enabling education is limited. This…

Despite the continued investment in Indigenous support networks and dedicated education units within universities, levels of key performance indicators for Indigenous students--access, participation, success and completion (attainment)--remain below that of the overall domestic student population in most institutions. It remains important to…

This article contributes a novel perspective on the common vulnerabilities of the Indigenous and international student experiences at higher education institutions in Australia. Through a review of 88 publications in the leading journals we show that the majority of these articles focus on international students rather than Indigenous students.…

While no major change in relation to student attrition and retention data has been recorded over the past 20 years, the increasingly neoliberal agenda imposed on Australian higher education institutions has led to increased scrutiny around such data. In this case study, we explore discourses of attrition and retention to understand better the…

Research suggests that tertiary students with dyslexia are less likely to achieve high or passing marks in their studies than students without dyslexia. The aim of this investigation was to discover the nature of barriers faced by students with dyslexia at an Australian regional university where two thirds of the overall population had a distance…

Many higher education institutions now have offshore campuses in foreign countries. To attract students in the host country, these international branch campuses typically rely on the parent institution and home country higher education system reputations. Institutions that operate international branch campuses typically claim that the student…

Cohesive integration practices within 'one-stop' student support services are critical for student success, however empirical studies in this area are limited in number and scope. This case study addresses this gap by exploring the lived experience of staff and managers who support students at a regional Australian university's integrated student…

This study explored the lived expectations of second-year undergraduate science students at a large, government-funded university in Australia. The investigation made use of a mixed methods approach to inform the understanding of the second year of study expectations. Findings identified three key contributors to expected second-year experiences:…

This research conducted an exploratory study of online students' perceptions of forms of support which might promote their retention and success. Data came from interviews with 41 online students at a dual-mode regional Australian university. Interviewees reported very limited involvement with centralized support services. These appear to have…

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are increasingly completing university at rates higher than their male counterparts. However, the reasons for this trend, including factors that support Indigenous women's determination to persist with university study, remain undocumented in the literature. We applied a strengths-based approach to…