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Access Programmes and Higher Education Outcomes

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Economic Insights on Higher Education Policy in Ireland

Abstract

Access programmes (APs) aim to encourage young adults from socioeconomic groups that are under-represented in higher education, mature adults, persons with disabilities and ethnic minorities, to go to university. This chapter presents an overview of why APs are important, followed by a review of the history of APs in Ireland. It then discusses in detail an evaluation of the comprehensive ‘New ERA’ AP at University College Dublin. The results of this evaluation show a positive effect of the programme on first year exam performance, dropout rates and final graduation outcomes. This finding is consistent for access students entering through the standard admissions system and for those entering with grade concessions. The chapter concludes with a discussion of possible avenues for future research.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Research/Sociology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Patricia McMullin

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  1. Patricia McMullin
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

    John Cullinan

  2. University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    Darragh Flannery

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McMullin, P. (2017). Access Programmes and Higher Education Outcomes. In: Cullinan, J., Flannery, D. (eds) Economic Insights on Higher Education Policy in Ireland. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48553-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48553-9_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48552-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48553-9

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

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