Many institutions were forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to change admissions policies as a response to logistical challenges around testing. However, even as logistical challenges have resolved, pandemic-era changes to higher education testing policies which reduced or eliminated testing requirements have remained in place in many schools. Now,…

Direct Admissions is a system developed and piloted recently in the US that defaults graduating high school students into post-secondary admittance by data-matching their profiles (transcripts, standardized test scores, and prerequisites) with institutions' preset eligibility criteria. As applicant and institutional interest in direct admissions…

English university admissions increasingly make use of contextual offers, where applicants with certain socio-demographic characteristics can be offered marginally lower entry conditions. This paper presents novel insights on the impact of contextual offer policy on one institutions' patterns of enrolment in 2022/23 via a mixed methods…

Individuals released from prison often struggle to begin their lives again. Finding employment and acceptable housing may be at the top of their To Do lists but the list of requirements may not stop there. Hefty fines or rigorous probation requirements are often part of one's reentry experience. Others may wish to seek training or educational…

This brief is part of the Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, and Empowering Action initiative. This brief--which draws on a thorough review of existing research, original data analysis, and conversations with institutional leaders and experts--urges college leaders and admissions officials to address longstanding inequities in college access by…

This brief is part of the Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, and Empowering Action initiative. This brief is focused on holistic review, a strategy in college admissions that assesses an applicant's unique experiences alongside a range of indicators that include grades, extra curriculars, environmental context, among other factors. For…

Widening participation in higher education for under-represented groups is a priority internationally. In Australia, the most common entry pathway for domestic undergraduate students is by obtaining an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in the final year of secondary school. The ATAR system, however, has been criticised as disadvantaging…

Universities may offer students from disadvantaged personal or socioeconomic contexts a lower threshold for entry compared to students from a more stable or affluent background; this is termed a contextual offer. Examples may include having a health condition, disability or living and going to school in a less affluent area. While there has been…

All New Hampshire public school districts must provide access to a free appropriate public education for preschool-aged children with an identified disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B. Children identified under IDEA Part B have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to support their learning. Some…

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) through strategic policy development has been at the forefront of institutional change, especially within the higher education sector. Canadian colleges have a large equity-seeking student population due to their open admission structure, but despite this, there are implicit biases and actions that impede…

The college admissions process (application, audition, acceptance) serves as a crucial milestone for many aspiring music educators. It also functions as a barrier to accessing the profession for historically marginalized students. In this article, we employ anti-racism as a lens to critically examine the admissions process as it exists in many…

A subset of individuals with learning disabilities is currently prevented from accessing postsecondary education; these individuals experience general learning disabilities, or GLD (Greenspan, 2017, p. 117). GLD is not a formal disability category in K-12 special education; individual students might not be eligible for academic supports and…

England has a language education crisis: fewer people are studying languages at school and university language programmes are closing. This study analyses data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), the UK admissions service for higher education. The study quantifies how entry tariff and socioeconomic background affect…

It is commonly accepted that primary and secondary education help maintain social and economic stability, but there is also consensus that postsecondary education contributes to social and economic mobility. While there have been improved enrollment numbers among minoritized and low socioeconomic populations over time, there is still…

Despite the growing popularity of computing bachelor's programs, women remain vastly underrepresented in these fields. Using Social Cognitive Career Theory and intersectionality as guiding theories, this qualitative study explores how postsecondary institutions shape women's experiences choosing and entering computing bachelor's programs.…