Adults aged 25+ currently make up a growing number of students at Australian
universities. The majority of them are enrolled in online study which in this case refers to
online delivery covering at least 80% of subject content. A higher first year attrition rate
among this cohort compared to that of younger students, highlights the need to better
understand the transition of older students into the online study space. Past research has
provided important information regarding the first-year experience of university students
across the board. However, the literature is limited with regard to the lived experience of
adult students in the early ‘make-or-break’ period of the first trimester, including the
important formation of student identity, self-efficacy and the intrinsic motivation to persist.
Using an approach informed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, this
study examines the experiences of twenty-four adult participants. It accompanies them as
they transition into the higher education online study space during their first twelve-week
trimester at an Australian university. Data consists of a reflective journal and two semistructured interviews. While the journals were ongoing, the first interview was conducted
within the first three weeks and the second was conducted at the end of the trimester.
The data were transcribed and analysed through a systematic process of coding,
categorisation and the development of themes focusing upon the students’ lived
experience. During analysis, the data was further filtered by the application of three
characteristics of the Threshold Concepts Framework: liminality, troublesome knowledge
and transformation. The Threshold Concepts Framework was employed in two ways.
Firstly, it was used to illuminate the affective dimension of the multiple and complex
challenges, upheavals, hurdles and achievements experienced by those involved. Secondly,
it provided a framework by which to examine for evidence of an experiential threshold
concept. The findings show that to 'become’ a new adult online student can be problematic,
exciting, troubling and humbling. So often not understanding the meaning of what they are
doing, some adult online learners are unable to tolerate the uncertainty they experience,
while others embrace it. Their resilience is incremental and fragile, not only in an
academic sense, but also as their identity as independent learners develops. Despite the
levels of computer integration into everyday life, adult students can be ill equipped
technologically and emotionally for online study and its academic and time management
demands. Circumstances involving financial considerations, isolation, and even
unprecedented opportunity, can further disrupt their transitional journey.
This study offers a deep understanding of the ontological and conceptual shifts
experienced by these adult students during their initial transition to the online space and
their negotiation of the troublesome knowledge inherent to this space. In terms of retention
policy and curriculum development, it informs online educational practice and policy so as
to better identify learning support to counteract the specific issues faced by this cohort.
Finally, it contributes to the scope of research into the Threshold Concept Framework and
its relevance to the experiential domain.