Public Lecture — Equity at the end of the student life cycle: strategies for success, completions and graduate outcomes

On Monday, 5^th November, Edith Cowan University are hosting Associate Professor Andrew Harvey, Director of the Centre for Higher Education Equity and Diversity Research (CHEEDR) at La Trobe University, for a public lecture to open the University’s annual staff teaching and learning conference. Andrew will speak on Equity at the end of the student life cycle: strategies for success, completions and graduate outcomes.

Associate Professor Harvey is Director of the Centre for Higher Education Equity and Diversity Research (CHEEDR) at La Trobe University.

Universities are increasingly accountable for student outcomes. Quality Indicators of Teaching and Learning include graduate outcome data designed to drive enrolment decisions of prospective students. Performance-based funding has been introduced within the Indigenous Student Support Program, requiring universities to focus on success rates and student completions. The Australian Government is proposing to expand this model to mainstream funding, rewarding universities that record high completion rates and strong graduate outcomes.

There is a rising focus on the far end of the student lifecycle – completion, graduate employment, and postgraduate transitions. For universities, new trends and policies raise new institutional questions. How can attrition be prevented, and how can students labelled as ‘drop-outs’ be re-engaged and re-recruited? How might employability strategies support all students, including those who lack time, connections, or money to undertake work-integrated learning or extra-curricular activities? Which groups are at risk of poor outcomes, and what tailored strategies are required to support their employability and postgraduate prospects?

The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion addressing these questions with reference to recently conducted research around retention, performance-based funding, employability, and postgraduate equity.

More information and registration here.