This study investigates the relationships between equity scholarships and the retention and success outcomes of rec... Show more
This study investigates the relationships between equity scholarships and the retention and success outcomes of recipients at three deliberately different universities, Deakin University, Queensland University of Technology and the University of Sydney, for the academic year of 2013. The key finding of this study is that equity scholarships are effective in retaining recipients, across the three universities, across demographic groups and across different scholarship products. The receipt of a scholarship reportedly reduced stress, boosted morale and allowed scholarship holders to dedicate more time to their studies at each of the universities. There were more varied results with regard to the success rates of recipients which may reflect design features of the scholarship products and programs and other variable institutional characteristics.
Universities and policy makers should consider that money does not overcome all barriers to participation and scholarships reach only a tiny minority of students. They need to be embedded in comprehensive support systems to attract, retain and graduate students from financially and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. The greatest contribution the Commonwealth can make is to provide consistent, predictable and appropriate levels of income support to all students by providing means-tested grants through the Centrelink system. There is great opportunity to build on these findings and explore the trends [the authors] found over time, and to assess and validate the observed relationships between scholarship types, recipient demographics and student outcomes using statistical and other methods.
Excerpts from publication.
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Authors:
Zacharias, Nadine; Cherednichenko, Brenda; Ryan, Juliana; George, Kelly ... [+] Show more
Zacharias, Nadine;
Cherednichenko, Brenda;
Ryan, Juliana;
George, Kelly;
Gasparini, Linda;
Kelly, Mary;
Mandre-Jackson, Smitha;
Cairnduff, Annette;
Sun, Danny [-] Show less
Date: 2016
Geographic subjects:
Australia; Oceania; New South Wales ... [+] Show more
Australia;
Oceania;
New South Wales;
Queensland;
Victoria [-] Show less
Resource type: Report, paper or authored book
Subjects:
Students; Equity; Finance ... [+] Show more
Students;
Equity;
Finance;
Participation;
Outcomes;
Demographics;
Disadvantaged;
Policy [-] Show less
