Social Inclusion and Higher Education

Book excerpt: As higher education has made deliberate strides in recent decades to become more inclusive and accessible, the number of students from non-traditional backgrounds has increased dramatically. There has been much study of the effects of higher education on previously underserved populations, showing that it can lead to higher lifetime income and higher status. But there has been little research on what happens to those students once they are in a university. This book fills that gap, taking a close look at this issue and drawing on case studies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to illuminate the problems that face non-traditional students, the resources they and their families are able to draw on, and the ways that administrators and staff can help them succeed. This paperback edition is well suited to postgraduate students and practitioners and alike.