opening page ornament

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.

Enter website
Back to Publications
You are reading: Project Summary: Towards a Performance Measurement Framework for Equity in Higher Education

Dr. Caroline Gopalkrishnan
A summary of a project commissioned by the former Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education and conducted by the University of Canberra and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, discussed at the Equity in Higher Education Policy Forum held 30 April and 1 May 2013 in Sydney.

CONTEXT

To fulfil its ambition of improving access and equity in the higher education sector, the Australian Government has invested in equity programs that support universities’ efforts to widen participation. These equity programs target specific groups that are underrepresented in higher education, including Indigenous Australians, those from low socioeconomic status (low SES) areas, people who live in regional and remote areas, and those with disabilities. The Government has set a target that by 2020, 20% of domestic higher education enrolments at the undergraduate level will be students from low SES areas. To understand whether equity outcomes are improving it is necessary to have a method of measuring those outcomes. A comprehensive performance measurement framework for equity outcomes in higher education is needed. Regular measurement of progress, or lack thereof, combined with evidence about the most effective equity interventions, is critical to bringing about change in equity outcomes. In this context the Department commissioned the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) to develop a conceptually-based performance measurement framework for equity (MFE) in higher education.

Read more: Towards a Performance Measurement Framework for Equity in Higher Education

Download the full report:
ACSES Quote icon
SummaryTowardsaPerformanceMeasurementFrameworkforEquityinHigherEducation.pdf
243 KB
Download the full report
Project Summary: Towards a Performance Measurement Framework for Equity in Higher Education
C Gopalkrishnan, 2013
Featured publications
Pathway programs and Indigenous student completion: Building the evidence
B Fredericks, K Barney, T Bunda, A Moor, K Hausia, S Parlett, N Richy, and D Taylor-Griffiths​ , 2026
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study 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.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Student’s reported satisfaction at University: the role of personal characteristics and secondary school background
Ian W. Li, Denise Jackson, Paul Koshy ​ , 2024
This study addressed this topic in the Australian context using data from the annual Student Experience Survey (2016–2020 waves) with linkage to administrative records for 24,292 students from seven higher education institutions.
Equity Practitioners
Featured
First Nations students’ progress into and through university
J Beaufils, R Taylor, and D Edwards​ , 2026
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study provides insight into the pathways and approaches to university by First Nations students and the role that a university centre designed specifically to support First Nations students can have on building success for students.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Understanding school students’ aspirations in uncertain times
L Fray, S Patfield, K Sincock, J Gore, and C Rubie​ , 2026
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study returned to a diverse cross-section of schools in the Aspirations Longitudinal Study (2012-2015) to understand how students’ views about their futures had changed over the past decade.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
More publications
Pathway programs and Indigenous student completion: Building the evidence
Tomasz Zając​ , The University of Queensland (UQ)​
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study 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.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Research Reports
Student’s reported satisfaction at University: the role of personal characteristics and secondary school background
This study addressed this topic in the Australian context using data from the annual Student Experience Survey (2016–2020 waves) with linkage to administrative records for 24,292 students from seven higher education institutions.
Equity Practitioners
Featured
Journal articles
First Nations students’ progress into and through university
Tomasz Zając​ , The University of Queensland (UQ)​
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study provides insight into the pathways and approaches to university by First Nations students and the role that a university centre designed specifically to support First Nations students can have on building success for students.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Research Reports
Understanding school students’ aspirations in uncertain times
Tomasz Zając​ , The University of Queensland (UQ)​
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study returned to a diverse cross-section of schools in the Aspirations Longitudinal Study (2012-2015) to understand how students’ views about their futures had changed over the past decade.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Low SES
Low socioeconomic status
Regional, rural and remote
Regional and remote
Research Reports