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Mature age unmatriculated students and the justification of a more liberal admissions policy

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Abstract

In 1974 the University of New South Wales established a procedure for the admission of unmatriculated applicants of over 25 years old. The novel selection procedure employed is described and its effectiveness evaluated. Extensive interview and questionnaire data are reported relating to student motivation, expectations, adjustment problems and responses to the experience of advanced study. The academic performance of successive entry cohorts is shown to be consistently superior to that of students entering direct from school. The implications of the data for more liberal admission policies are then considered.

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Barrett, E., Powell, J.P. Mature age unmatriculated students and the justification of a more liberal admissions policy. High Educ 9, 365–383 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00144143

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