NEWS, INFORMATION, RESEARCH AND RESOURCES ON STUDENT EQUITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

We are very pleased to announce that the NCSEHE will be leading the development of a National Regional University Centres Network, alongside Geraldton Universities Centre (GUC) and the Country Universities Centre (CUC).

The Network is being funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

The Network will support a "community of practice" amongst all Regional University Centres (RUCs) in Australia, facilitating collaboration and ensuring Network activities are informed by the needs of RUC staff and stakeholders. 

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We are inviting students with disability, their parents/carers, and stakeholders to contribute to exciting new research on careers support.

The National Careers Institute has funded the project to investigate best practice career support for students with disability with the aim of establishing the first dedicated national Career Development Learning (CDL) Hub for students with disability. 

You can get involved by completing a survey, participating in an interview or contributing to a discussion forum.

More information

Nearly 200 participants joined us for a very successful National Careers Week event on 21 May.

In 2019, the NCSEHE commissioned four large-scale projects to improve access to information about higher education study options, pathways and careers for disadvantaged students and those who influence them.

In this Careers Week event, the research teams presented key findings, outcomes and recommendations from the year-long projects, followed by audience Q and A.

If you couldn't to make it on the day, the recording, slides and transcript are now available online.

View the webinar recording, slides and transcript

Timely, frequent career discussions between students, parents, teachers and friends support educational and career aspirations, research has shown.

In a new article for the International Journal of Training Research, NCSEHE Adjunct Fellow Dr Lynette Vernon (Edith Cowan University) and NCSEHE Research Fellow Dr Catherine Drane present findings from their study on the role of career discussions, between high school students and significant others, in supporting career pathways.

Read the open access article

A recent Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project has investigated the delivery of higher education by vocational institutions across Australia.

Our latest feature article, co-authored by NCSEHE Research Fellow Dr Paul Koshy, offers an overview of the research, providing new insights into this emerging non-traditional pathway for higher education.

The research raises issues for ongoing policy around how widening participation is viewed and evaluated, particularly at the fringe of higher education delivery.

Read the full article

In 2020, the NCSEHE allocated funding for 17 research projects under the annual NCSEHE Research Grants Program, with a particular focus on the implications of COVID-19 for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This month, Dr Lucy Mercer-Mapstone from the University of Sydney presents a progress update and preliminary findings from one of the projects, exploring university supports for equity students during the pandemic and future crises.

Read the full article

How can we best support university students' mental wellbeing? It's the little things that count, say NCSEHE Senior Research Fellow Dr Nicole Crawford and the University of Tasmania's Sherridan Emery.

"A major finding of a recent NCSEHE Equity Fellowship investigating student mental wellbeing is the central importance of teaching and learning. Students’ everyday interactions with their course content, assessment tasks, lecturers, tutors, support staff and their peers can make a real difference."

Continue reading the article from the Campus Morning Mail series edited by Professor Sally Kift

The NCSEHE partnered with the Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) to present an online discussion on 20 May, featuring NCSEHE-funded research on online Work Integrated Learning (WIL) for equity students.

The session included student speaker Jose Escobar and a presentation by Associate Professor Amani Bell (University of Sydney) on the NCSEHE-funded project, Exploring benefits and challenges of online WIL for equity students.

View the recording

The National Conference for Regional, Rural and Remote Education was held on 24 May, themed Inspiring leaders in regional education.

The event featured a panel discussion by the 2019/20 NCSEHE Equity Fellows who outlined their projects, expanding upon the relevance of their findings to regional, rural and remote Australia.

Also included in this year's event, ABC Heywire Education Producer, Simone Tunbridge discussed storytelling and media literacy workshops in the regions; regional students discussed the joys and challenges of relocating to study; and the annual SPERA Australian Rural Education Awards were presented. Congratulations to all the 2021 award winners!

More details and event recording

With some exciting announcements and research to be released in coming months, make sure you stay connected with the NCSEHE on Twitter and Facebook!