Pathway programs and Indigenous student completion: Building the evidence

At a glance

What we did

Pathway/enabling programs are central to preparing and transitioning Indigenous students into university. This project identified and analysed the strategies used in three Group of Eight university pathway programs to support Indigenous students to successfully transition into and through university. Qualitative data was collected from Indigenous graduates and university students who had previously participated in a pathway program, and current students in pathway programs. The project additionally involved interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff who teach or support Indigenous students in pathway programs. A total of 50 interviews were undertaken. Quantitative data was obtained from the Department of Education, with specific emphasis on application, enrolment, and student outcome data.

What we found

• Peer-to-peer connections are key for Indigenous students within pathway programs.
• Indigenous centres are crucial for building a sense of connection and community.
• Student–staff connections are important within pathway programs to ensure Indigenous students successfully complete the programs, and these connections are often continued through students’ university degrees.
• Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme assists students to complete their degrees.
• More Indigenous perspectives are needed within the curriculum of pathway programs.
• More professional staff development is needed, both in relation to building cultural competency and in relation to Indigenising curriculum.
• Stronger data gathering is needed to track Indigenous student pathways.
• The “basis of admission” proportions varied between institutions, providing evidence of the diverse and complex pathways into studies taken by Indigenous students.

What we recommend

1. Pathway program leaders need to ensure cultural competency training opportunities for teachers and support staff in pathway programs.
2. Pathway program teaching staff should work with Indigenous academics and community members to embed Indigenous perspectives in course curricula.
3. Leadership and Indigenous centre staff should work together to ensure strong supports are in place for Indigenous students.
4. Teachers and support staff and Indigenous centre/unit staff should continue to build a sense of belonging and connection for Indigenous pathway program students.
5. Leadership should ensure there are mentoring opportunities for Indigenous students in pathway programs.
6. Leadership should work with university IT services and the Indigenous centre to develop better data gathering so that student pathways can be tracked and timely support is provided to Indigenous students.
7. The Australian Government Department of Education could pilot amendments to data collection practices to facilitate more granular analysis of the student lifecycle.
8. The Department could pilot including a separate analysis of the national Indigenous student population in the annual cohort analysis of higher education students.

The full report is available for download in PDF [2 MB] or Word [4 MB] format.

The accompanying resource Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pathway program students: Strategies for staff is available for download in PDF [4 MB] format.