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The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success acknowledges Indigenous peoples across Australia as the Traditional Owners of the lands on which the nation’s campuses are situated. With a history spanning more than 60,000 years as the original educators, Indigenous peoples hold a unique place in our nation. We recognise the importance of their knowledge and culture, and reflect the principles of participation, equity, and cultural respect in our work. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future, and consider it an honour to learn from our Indigenous colleagues, partners, and friends.

You are reading: 2024: A year of progress and equity at ACSES

A message from our Executive Director

A photo of Shamit Saggar sitting on a bench.

Dear colleagues

As 2024 draws to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on what has been an important year for the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) in which we established a fully-fledged What Works Centre. Together, we have made significant strides toward our mission of equipping Australian universities in closing equity gaps in higher education, and I am deeply grateful for your support and collaboration.

This year has been a landmark one for ACSES. From the launch of our new name in February, reflecting our shift to a new model, to the release of critical reports in response to the Universities Accord report, and the success of our inaugural Access, Achievement, Accord symposium in May, we have seen the value of collective action in driving equitable outcomes for all students. Partnerships with universities and stakeholders nationwide have further reinforced our shared commitment to this important work.

I am particularly pleased of the way the sector has begun responding to changes in the higher education landscape. Universities have recognised the need to have a stronger evidence base underpinning their work to expand opportunity to all. Together, we are shaping evidence-based policies and collaborating on transformative initiatives to better meet the needs of our students and address the challenges they face in accessing and succeeding in higher education.

The coming year will undoubtedly bring new challenges, but it will also offer fresh opportunities to innovate, collaborate, and deepen our impact. Universities are under financial and other pressures which will affect their outlook and capacity to bring about big changes in student equity. But as some have discovered, enhanced opportunities for the traditionally underserved is going to be a key way of regaining their relevance and societal support.

On behalf of everyone at ACSES, I wish you a joyful holiday season and a prosperous New Year. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to sharing our developments in 2025.

Sincerely

Professor Shamit Saggar 

Executive Director

Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success 

 


Reflections from our Program Directors

 

Professor Ian Li standing at Curtin University.

ACSES Research and Policy Program

The Research and Policy program had a fantastic year, and I sincerely thank all staff and affiliates for their contributions to the program. We launched ten projects funded under our Small Research Grants initiative, three projects under our Large Research Grants initiative, and have worked closely with our six ACSES Fellows (three Equity Fellows and three First Nations Fellows) on their Fellowships.

We have hosted and facilitated numerous events aimed at research translation and policy engagement, including our inaugural ACSES Policy Symposium held in May 2024 at Western Sydney University. The next ACSES Policy Symposium will be held in the second half of 2025, and I hope everyone is looking forward to conversations and actions on advancing student equity and success.

We also had the pleasure of hosting six Visiting Scholars to ACSES in 2024. Our Visiting Scholars have collaborated with ACSES on diverse and valuable projects, ranging from the evaluation of university first-year programs on academic outcomes, to the comparison of Scottish and Australian policy on Widening Access, to mapping of data resources in education. We will be hosting other Visiting Scholars in 2025, and I would encourage researchers and practitioners to reach out to us on collaborative opportunities in higher education equity.

Building capacity is a priority of the program, and we have funded five PhD scholars around the country with top-up stipends. We have also funded and co-supervised an honours project in the economics program at Curtin University. These scholars will be the future of higher education equity research in Australia, and we look forward to seeing their research outcomes and growth in due course.

As 2025 beckons, we are looking forward to another year of exciting work and engagement with the sector. Many of our funded projects and Fellows will have their work coming to fruition, and we will be hosting events throughout the year to disseminate and celebrate their work. We look forward to engaging with everyone through these events. We have also recently announced the 2025 ACSES Fellows (two Equity Fellows and two First Nations Fellows) and three Large Research Grants. This research will examine a wide and important variety of topics, including institutional support and professional development for disability practitioners, the use of learning analytic dashboards and their impact on equity students, and the integration of First Nations knowledge into Australia curricula. We look forward to supporting these exciting projects throughout 2025.

Further funding opportunities will be available in 2025, and we warmly welcome applications at the forefront of improving student equity and outcomes.

Once again, I am delighted at the support for the Research and Policy Program from staff and stakeholders, and wish everyone a restful and enjoyable end-of-year break.

Sincerely

Professor Ian Li

ACSES Research and Policy Program Director

 

Gemma Cadby standing at Curtin University

ACSES Data Program

2024 has been highly productive for the Data Program. We expanded our Interactive Data Tool by adding 2023 student data and new student categories, including “non-equity students”, “equity students”, and “first in family”. We have seen approximately 300 unique users monthly. In order to improve accessibility and usability, we began an overhaul of the tool in November 2024 which will be launched in early 2025.

We strengthened our Data Resources Hub by releasing five Student Equity Data Guides and released the first of our Data Insights Series report on disability (the original report and a November 2024 update), showing a breakdown of disability categories for the whole sector and at an institutional level. Feedback gathered from our recent survey will shape our Data Insights Research Plan and future data strategy.

Our team presented at key events, including at the WA Regional Higher Education Exchange and CUC Study Hub Tour, and provided expert guidance to equity practitioners and senior leaders nationwide.

Looking ahead to 2025, we aim to continue to engage with the higher education sector, release new reports and guides, and enhance transparency in equity data to improve student success.

Sincerely

Associate Professor Gemma Cadby

ACSES Data Program Director

Tim Pitman standing at Curtin University

ACSES Trials and Evaluation Program

For the Trials and Evaluation Program, 2024 was a year of consolidating foundations and deepening collaboration. One of the highlights was the team being able to travel to each state and meet with scores of equity practitioners, representing each state and territory. Our evaluation community of practice is strengthening and expanding and, from our perspective, it is really heartening to see so many equity practitioners seeking to take leadership roles in its development.

Another highlight was to see the successful rollout of our equity trials funding scheme. To date, we facilitated at least 50 meetings discussing as many trial opportunities with a range of staff across the different universities. We delivered four half-day Trials for Equity workshops to groups of universities, helping equity practitioners identify an initiative to trial after having demystified some key fundamentals and common misconceptions about trials. After redesigning the Equity Frontiers Program to further enable uptake across the equity sector, we have successfully funded eight trials and are currently assessing another seven for suitability. Initiatives being trialled include online training tools for preparing pre-service teachers and enabling culturally and linguistically marginalised students; bridging programs; financial support for placement students; different practitioner approaches to supporting at-risk students; and engaging online learners. All of these trials involve equity practitioners.

In 2025, we’re looking forward to increasing our activities with the Community of Practice, including a range of online and in-person events, many of which will be led by equity practitioners.

Sincerely

Associate Professor Tim Pitman

ACSES Trials and Evaluation Program Director

The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success is dedicated to advancing equity in higher education. In this short video, our directors share insights into how our work with universities across Australia will build a fairer future for students of all backgrounds.