Efforts to widen the participation of nontraditional students in higher education have resulted in the implementation of a range of pathways programs in many universities. While this has provided nontraditional students with a range of alternative routes into higher education, ongoing concerns persist around issues of student access, participation, and retention in these programs. In this chapter, the notion of “barriers” will be used as a conceptual lens to illustrate and examine issues of access and participation in one university’s pathways program. The conceptualization of these barriers will be considered, and a case will be made for avoiding deficit views that limit institutional accountability and disregard the many other factors that produce and perpetuate barriers. The notion of bounded agency is offered as an alternative framing of barriers in pathways programs, as it recognizes that students’ ability to successfully navigate their educational journey may be constrained by a wide range of external factors. A bounded agency approach to issues of access and participation in pathways programs can highlight the role played by policy and institutions in constraining learning and provide insights into how these issues may be addressed effectively.