Abstract:

A research project on Non-Traditional Students (NTS) in Higher Education (HE) is being carried out in two Portuguese HE institutions (University of Aveiro and University of Algarve). The pertinence of this project, that started in May 2013 and is funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology, comes from the lack of systematised research on NTS in HE in Portugal, from conceptual, theoretical and empirical perspectives. Although the project is composed by four interconnected research lines, considering learning experiences and trajectories of four different groups of NTS, the authors intend here to focus on one line in particular: the Technological Specialisation Courses (TSC).

The TSC can be described as post-secondary courses that award a student with a level 5 professional qualification (EC, 2010 - European Qualification Framework) through the combination of the secondary-level education, either general or professional, with a post-secondary technical training. The holders of a TSC may also benefit from a special access procedure when applying to a degree into Higher Education. These 60 to 90 ECTS courses have training plans comprising approximately 860 hours of general training and 540 hours of technical expertise training, spent in companies and other professional entities in the region of Aveiro. The partnership agreements that University of Aveiro (UA) made with these companies/entities in this context underline the well-established cooperation between the UA and the industry in the region.

Since this communication is part of an on-going project, it will be based in preliminary data.

The authors intend to answer the following questions:
(i) What are the typical profiles of the students who enrolled TSC?
(ii) What are the main motivations and aims for students to access TSC?
(iii) What are the students’ expectations regarding TSC, namely regarding the technical expertise training?

To answer these questions, the authors analysed the data collected through an online questionnaire filled out by 265 students, distributed among 15 TSC. This questionnaire was applied at the beginning of TSC.

The results indicate, for instance, that most students consider the TSC as an important way to get into the labour market and/or an alternative to access Higher Education. The results also present the technical expertise training as one of the main strengths of the TSC.

To conclude, with this communication, the authors intend to contribute to the research regarding the post-secondary education and to emphasise the importance of cooperation between the university and the industry, to the region in which they operate.