Bridging the online gap in enabling education: Counteracting the disconnect

Abstract

The University Preparation Course (UniPrep) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Western Australia, provides one of Australia’s largest alternative-entry programs for future undergraduate students, who do not yet have the confidence or qualifications required for direct entry to university. This cohort is often new to university expectations, may have had past negative learning experiences, limited opportunity to engage meaningfully with post-secondary education or are returning to higher education after a significant time lapse. Some students opt to complete UniPrep to maximise their future study success and efficacy. Both on-campus and online flexible delivery modes are offered. Despite on-going success in the on-campus mode, attrition rates among online learners are significantly higher than on-campus rates. For this reason the online delivery mode became a focus for the UniPrep team..