ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on an international qualitative benchmarking exercise that took place in September–October 2023. The exercise complemented survey research which was carried out alongside and which gathered data from academic staff in Australia and the UK. Chapter 3 of this book reports on the latter piece of research. Participants in the benchmarking exercise were from eight institutions located in Nigeria, Mexico, Australia and the UK. Three questions were asked of the participants, and they were discussed in groups: Question 1 – How best can working age adults with limited knowledge of higher education provisions be informed about their entry requirements, means of engagement and potential outcomes? Question 2 – How should the entry requirements for higher education programmes be nuanced to encourage and secure engagement by working age adults? Question 3 – How should the provisions of higher education programmes be organised and enacted to make them accessible to, supportive of and securing positive outcomes for working age adults? The themes which arose from the discussion among participants included recruitment methods, the significance of local economies, the needs of industries, empowerment of mature students, the thought processes of mature students, the issue of stereotyping courses of interest to mature students, institutional support, barriers, removing barriers and data gathering by institutions. The interest in the benchmarking forum shown by participants, the inter-organisational similarities and differences and the variety of ideas that have arisen through the process indicate that there is a future role for benchmarking in the field of widening access for mature students.
