New report shows how universities can put student equity research into practice

Dear colleagues,

The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) is excited to announce the release of From Evidence to Impact 2026, a new report bringing together recommendations from some of the most impactful student equity studies of the past 12 months.

This publication presents policy and practice summaries from 14 ACSES-funded research projects in one concise resource for tertiary practitioners, policymakers, and institutional leaders.

The first edition showcases the work of researchers across Australia on subjects ranging from increasing the number of Aboriginal school teachers to addressing student placement inequities.

It looks at key equity groups including students from low socio-economic backgrounds, First Nations communities, regional and remote areas, and students with disability.

Several projects also address students who are the first in their family to attend university, as well as students experiencing compounding disadvantage.

Importantly, the report comes as institutions work towards achieving new participation and equity targets set by the Australian Universities Accord.

This timely collection of research directly provides the evidence base universities and governments will need to meet the Accord’s ambitious equity targets.

I encourage all readers to consider how the findings can be put in practice to inform policy and practice in your own context and drive meaningful change.

You can now read the full report here.

Kind regards,

Professor Shamit Saggar CBE FAcSS
Executive Director
Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success

ACSES Equity Hub: 2026 Community of Practice #3

ACSES will be hosting its third Community of Practice (CoP) event for 2026, bringing student equity colleagues together to provide an opportunity for practitioners to share their lessons learned and best practices in student equity and program evaluation.

This event, to be held online, will include presentations from Griffith University and Waipapa Taumata Rau/University of Auckland, with Griffith discussing their recent work to understand the cumulative impact of multiple initiatives/programs, and Auckland their growing University Entrance (UE) Success secondary schools partnership focusing on Māori and Pacific University Entrance attainment and how they are measuring the impact.

For further information on each presentation, visit here.

📅 Tuesday, 28 July 2026
⏰ 11:00am–12:30pm AWST | 1:00pm–2:30pm AEST
📍 Online via Zoom

ACSES in the News

• "Beyond the Numbers: What the ACSES Enabling Programs Report Doesn't Tell Us", Needed Now in Learning and Teaching

• "Research highlights key role of ISEP pathways", Education Matters