Findings and final observations

Broadening participation in higher education for previously underrepresented students is an international objective at the outset of the 21" century. It is con­sklerec.1 necessary in order for advanced and developing economies to have ac­cess to the skilled workforces required by modern economies. Pathways into higher education then provide meieU' of Australian Higher Education (Bradley et al .• 2008) and the South African government's Green Paper on Higher Education Transformation (1996). As ac­cess and equity initiatives, they also play an important role in contributing to­ward Monash University's own !IOcial inclusion strategies (Monash University, 2003 & 2010). This project has sought to report on the transition experiences of srudents ac­cessing undergraduate degrees at Monash University in Australia and at Monash South Africa through two pathways that provide students who did not meet the conventional access criteria with the opportunity to experience tertiary educa­tion. It is hoped that hearing tht-ir voices will equip educational providers with a more nuanced appreciation of the characteristics of one part of the increasingly diverse student body they seek to attract into Wgher education. It is also hopec.l this information will provide insights into how better to provide genuine aca­demic opportunity to these stuc.lents. A second audience may well be prospective and new students seeking to access university through similar pathways. It is our belief they will find the voices or dleir peers who have preceded them useful in gaining a deeper appreciation of what lies ahead and the necessary changes they may need to make in order to experience success. The student's reflections are illustrative of what many of their peers have experienced within the pathways over the last decade