Part-time undergraduates in higher education: a literature review

A review of the literature on part-time students focusing on: part-time students' reasons for studying and their experiences of study; links between part-time students and employment (e.g. employer support, negotiating work and study); careers services' and employers' approaches to workers engaged in part-time study. Part-time students have been recognised for some time as a very significant section of the HE student population. The Dearing Report noted that the overall proportion of part-time students in HE was approximately 37%, and that this had remained constant for some time (NCIHE, 1997). Davies suggests that since the mid 1990s part-time enrolments have been increasing faster than full-time (Davies, 1999). This section of the student population is extremely heterogenous, varying from each other in numerous respects, notably the qualification aimed for, the proportion of full-time equivalent credits studied at a particular time, the level of study, the length of the full course, and how study is funded. Details of the characteristics of current and recent part-time students can be found in work by Mason (2007) and Ramsden (2006).

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