UC widening participation and outreach

A key objective of the Government’s Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) is to increase equitable opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds in higher education. The reforms to the ‘Job Ready Graduates’ package increased the focus on achieving equitable outcomes for students from regional, remote, low SES, and Indigenous backgrounds.

The REC team works closely with the Student Equity and Outreach Team at the University of Canberra and other partner universities to increase opportunities for students from rural, regional and remote locations to participate in higher education. This includes increasing the reach of these programs, developing programs that are tailored to individual community needs, and undertaking research programs with communities.

Some key programs include:

• Higher education career advice for low SES and rural students<Link to 2.3.4Tertiary nav – Rural Students & Higher Ed Completed Project #1 page>

• Enhancing aspirations for STEM careers in rural, regional and remote communities <Link to 2.2.6 Tertiary nav – Exploring Rural Knowledges Completed Project #4 page>
• The sociocultural experiences of rural students at university <Link to 2.3.1 Tertiary nav – Rural Students & Higher Ed Current Project #1 page>

• Reinventing the Gap Year <Link to 2.3.5 Tertiary nav – Rural Students & Higher Ed Completed Project #2 page>

Publications

• Gover O’Grady, A., McMahon, S & Smith, C (K). (2020). New help for regional students thinking of taking a gap year. EduResearch Matters. October 26 2020.  https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=7720
• Roberts, P.,  (2018). Enhancing Aspirations for STEM Careers in Rural, Regional and Remote Communities. Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme (HEPPP) 2016 National Priorities Pool Final Report. https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/project/enhancing-aspirations-stem-careers-rural-regional-remote-communities/?sort_by=title&sort_order=ACS&search=&project_year_args=&project_equity_group_args=&project_framework_classification_args=&price_range_min=0&price_range_max=2000000&project_lead_university_args=55&project_lead_university16=on.
• Austin, K., O'Shea, S., Groves, O., Lamanna, J., Roberts, P., Poretti, L., & Downes, N. (2020). Find your future focus: A place-based career-education program for high-school students. University of Wollongong Press. https://documents.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@dvce/@in2uni/documents/doc/uow268055.pdf
• Best-practice career education for students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Pilot Program 4 Resources. https://documents.uow.edu.au/content/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dDocName=UOW269288&RevisionSelectionMethod=latestReleased
• Groves, O., Austin, K., Cull, N., Poretti, L. & Roberts, P. (2021). Best practice career education for middle-school students from low socioeconomic backgrounds: Two case studies. Disrupted futures: International lessons on how schools can best equip students for their working lives OECD 27-29 October 2021 (online conference). https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/2021-oecd-conference-careers-information/
• Downes, N., McMahon, S., O’Neill, K., & Roberts, P. (2021). People call me “bogan”: how to mend the country-city divide in higher education. EduResearch Matters.March 29. 2021. https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=8846

Related Projects

• Higher Education Research Project
• Rural Professional Practice
• Access, achievement and the spatial distribution of curriculum in senior secondary schooling
• ARC DECRA: Engaging rural knowledges for sustainable futures: spatial justice and rural schooling