"This case study responds to the debate over ‘toxic teachers’, tertiary entry ranking and access to university. Implications for federal and state policy are proposed. For 22 years Avondale College of Higher Education has been operating a tertiary pathway course designed to widen access to higher education for nontraditional applicants. The course, now known as the Diploma of General Studies [DGS], has been accredited as a 2-year higher education sector diploma since 1995. Thus far, just over 1000 students have spent at least one semester in the diploma. Not one has opted to complete the diploma; instead students use it as a pathway to a higher award....For those who complete an Avondale degree, there is no correlation between rank and average college grade."