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NCSEHE Equity Fellowship final report David Eckstein, Swinburne University of Technology Executive summary All people have the right to work and free choice of employment, but some Australians continue to face employment barriers because they live with disability. University students with disability (SwD) are disadvantaged in the job market. While universities have limited influence on […]
23 February 2022
Tim Pitman1, Katie Ellis1, Matt Brett2, Elizabeth Knight3, Darlene McLennan4 Executive summary This report details findings of the NCSEHE-funded project, Calculating the costs of supporting people with disability in Australian higher education. The project sought to investigate how the Australian Government and universities invest to support the inclusion of people with disability in higher education. […]
22 February 2022
Joanna Tai1, Rola Ajjawi1, Margaret Bearman1, Joanne Dargusch2, Mary Dracup1, Lois Harris2, Paige Mahoney1 Executive summary Exams and other high-stakes time-limited assessments can act as barriers to success for some students in higher education. Though required by Australian law, adjustments do not necessarily lead to equitable academic outcomes (Brett, 2016; Kilpatrick et al., 2017), nor […]
21 February 2022
Dr Ian W Li1, Dr David R Carroll 2, Professor Denise Jackson3 Executive summary There have been expansionary policies aimed at widening participation in higher education in developed countries worldwide. In Australia, increasing participation among underrepresented groups is a national priority. This has led to the formation of six official student equity groups whose access, […]
17 February 2022
Dr Sarah Lambert1, Ms Habiba Fadel1 Executive summary This study investigated the potential for open textbooks to assist with improving the experience and outcomes of under-represented higher education students in the Australian context. Open textbooks are a recent innovation in free, digital texts that can be: distributed at no cost; printed at cost price; and modified […]
3 February 2022
Since 2016, the NCSEHE Equity Fellows Program has supported 12 Fellows to undertake high-impact projects, specifically to improve higher education access, participation and success for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The 2019/20 Equity Fellows, Mr David Eckstein, Associate Professor Tim Pitman, Dr Janine Delahunty, Dr Andrea Simpson, Dr Katelyn Barney and Dr Nicole Crawford focused variously […]
10 December 2021
Amani Bell1, Kathryn Bartimote1, Lucy Mercer-Mapstone1, Gulwanyang Moran1, James Tognolini1 and Nora Dempsey2 Executive summary The Universities Australia audit of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) revealed alarming discrepancies in access to WIL for students from Regional and Remote areas, from Low and Middle socioeconomic status (SES), and Indigenous backgrounds: all are more than five percentage points […]
10 August 2021
Julia Cook1, Matthew Bunn1, Penny Jane Burke1, Hernan Cuervo2, Stephanie Hardacre1, Jace Blunden1 Executive summary Regional, rural and remote (RRR) tertiary students’ unequal access to, participation in and completion of higher education when compared to their metropolitan peers is a key area of policy focus for the current federal government. This focus led to the […]
27 July 2021
Tim Pitman, Matt Brett and Katie Ellis Originally published in Disability & Society Published online 7 July 2021 Abstract In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act and associated Educational Standards prevent educational institutions from treating people with disability less favourably than those without disability – directly or indirectly. However, people with disability are still subject to both […]
21 July 2021
Lisa Andrewartha and Andrew Harvey Centre for Higher Education Equity and Diversity Research La Trobe University Executive summary Australians who care for people with a disability, illness, or a broader need often embody many of the qualities sought by universities. In providing unpaid labour to support family members and friends, carers typically demonstrate resilience, selflessness, […]
24 March 2021