Willing and Enabled: The Academic Outcomes of a Tertiary Enabling Program in Regional Australia

This paper examines the achievement levels of students undertaking the Tertiary Enabling Program (TEP) at La Trobe University. The TEP is an alternative pathway program that traverses multiple institutions, campuses, and disciplinary areas, and is designed to prepare a diverse student cohort for tertiary study. The Program integrates several sources of support, including tutorials, mentoring, and counselling. We found high overall achievement levels, indicating success in teaching and supporting students with variant needs. Nevertheless, there was substantial variation in achievement between subjects, campuses, and student groups. Variable achievement is likely to reflect differing levels of prior educational attainment and preparedness among students. However, results also highlight the complexity in managing a Program across multiple sites, subjects, and institutions. We suggest further comparative research into curriculum and teaching practice of enabling programs nationwide to enable more effective benchmarking and expansion of these pathways.