Editorial: University access and studies of non-traditional students: The situation in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

Providing access to higher education and establishing a conducive framework for lifelong learning are important goals of the European Higher Education Area. In the D-A-CH countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), the group of  “non-traditional students” includes graduates of technical and vocational training without a school-based university entrance qualification, employees, family workers and “learners in later life”. Based on current data, and operating from the perspective of diversity and inequality theory, the papers in this issue examine university access regulations, students’ time budgets, the effects of care responsibility, and student dropouts, including during the Covid-19 pandemic. Papers also discuss a learning program conducted at sea, as well as new ways potential educators can access teacher education opportunities for technical and vocational schools. The contributions represent deep dives in what is still an emerging field.