Event information
Online webinar
The final webinar in the Building Legacy and Capacity series put a spotlight on the long-term strategic vision for student equity in Australian higher education, and was presented by Matt Brett (La Trobe University), Daniel Edwards (ACER), Sally Kift (ALT Fellows), and Nadine Zacharias (NCSEHE).
The webinar reported on the discussion and insights generated at the Building Legacy and Capacity ‘Equity 2030’ Workshop held in Melbourne on 14 June 2018. A small group of participants—including researchers, practitioners, policymakers, senior managers and NCSEHE Equity Fellows—contributed their insights as subject matter experts to:
- define a collective knowledge base informed by research and practice
- engage in strategic and action planning to guide institutional practice and future research
- develop evidence-informed policy advice.
The NCSEHE Equity Fellows have brought a fresh perspective to the equity knowledge base through research, spanning equity groups; pedagogy; evaluation; institutional practice; and accountability.
The issues and challenges surfaced by the Fellows can be attributed (at least in part) to difficulties of aligning a vision for student equity with a dynamic higher education system. For example, the impact of digital technologies necessitates changes to policy, practice and evaluation that have yet to be fully integrated in equity policy and practice.
Challenges of adapting policy and practice to accommodate system growth and evolution are consistent with Martin Trow’s typology of elite, mass and universal participation. Australia is now at the cusp of universal participation, and it is timely to critically assess whether the vision for equity in higher education is fit for purpose.
The webinar synthesised discussions from the Equity 2030 Workshop with an emphasis on what a new long-term vision for student equity might include; how this vision can be integrated in policy and practice; and the evidence required to enhance the quality of access, participation and learning outcomes.
About the presenters
Matt Brett — Acting Director Planning and Institutional Performance, La Trobe University; 2017 NCSEHE Equity Fellow; 2018 NCSEHE Visiting Research Fellow
Daniel Edwards — Research Director, Tertiary Education, Australian Council for Educational Research
Sally Kift — NCSEHE 2018 Visiting Fellow; President, Australian Learning and Teaching Fellows (ALTF)
Nadine Zacharias — NCSEHE Senior Research Fellow; 2016 NCSEHE Equity Fellow
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Jane Hawkeswood and the team from the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) for their ongoing support in conducting this webinar series.
