Nicole Tieben: Biographical Diversity

The diversity of the student populations in higher education gains relevance in admission procedures and quality assurance in higher education. Likewise, issues of trajectories and success rates of non-traditional students in higher education have been an issue in higher education research of different disciplines for a long time.
This lecture will give an introduction to concepts, terms and measures of biographical diversity and link these with the specific institutional conditions in different higher education systems.

Besides a more general overview, the case of Germany will be discussed and the different “non-linear” pathways into higher education will be connected with theoretical and empirical questions of individual life courses and study conditions.