Abstract
Part-time study is one of the foci of the widening participation agenda in the UK. The experiences of part-time students, however, have received remarkably little attention from scholars, especially in a comparative context. This paper explores existing historical data going back over a decade to identify the main themes of part-time experience at a number of UK higher education institutions and how it compares and contrasts with the full-time experience. The surveys use the Student Satisfaction Approach. The main themes emerging from institutional survey data over time are the work/family/study balance, assessment and feedback, access to learning and catering resources, and students’ financial situation. There is sometimes a question of identity, but unlike many studies of part-time student experience, which focus on aspects of disadvantage, social, and cultural capital, the data for this paper indicate that many part-time students have a sense of themselves as being ignored or at worst marginalised in contemporary higher education.
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Williams, J., Kane, D. The Part-Time Student’s Experience 1996-2007: An issue of identity and marginalisation?. Tert Educ Manag 16, 183–209 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2010.497342
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2010.497342