Policy, Pathways, and Potential for Mature Students in Canadian Universities

AbstractThis article examines how mature students are positioned within Canadian university admissionspolicies, arguing that their experiences are shaped not only by what policies state, but also bywhat they leave unsaid. Drawing on the Capability Approach, the study analyzes publiclyavailable admissions documents from three Canadian universities—Cape Breton University,Brock University, and the University of British Columbia—using content analysis. The findingsreveal that mature students are frequently rendered invisible through fragmented, opaque, andinconsistently labeled policies that obscure access pathways and place the burden ofinterpretation on applicants. While formal criteria are often present, the absence of clearguidance, institutional accountability, and visible supports constrains mature students’ realopportunities to convert access into meaningful participation. To conceptualize these systemicabsences, the article introduces the metaphor of Dark Matter Policy, describing how unseenpolicy gaps shape lived experiences in powerful yet unacknowledged ways. The studycontributes to critical higher education policy scholarship by reframing access not as a neutralprocess, but as a capability-shaping structure that can either expand or restrict educationalfreedoms for mature learners.Keywords: Mature students; higher education admissions; Capability Approach; contentanalysis; Dark Matter Policy