Supporting higher education students with disability: with a focus on regional, remote and rural students.
Associate Professor Tim Pitman
2020 NCSEHE Equity Fellow
Curtin University
tim.pitman@curtin.edu.au
Overview of the project
My Equity Fellowship examines how universities can best support students with disability, especially those who come from regional, rural and remote Australia. These students not only study in regional universities, they also relocate to cities, or study online. Currently, there are approximately 75,000 higher education students who identify as having disability. Of these, around 17,000 are from regional, remote and rural Australia. In this project, I am excited to be working with students with disability, and the higher education staff who support them, to deepen our knowledge and understanding about what works, and what doesn’t.
Research activities to date
Notwithstanding the impact of COVID-19, the research project is progressing well. In late May, national, online surveys of staff and students were launched. The student survey targeted students with disability, whilst the staff survey targeted all higher education staff, regardless of whether or not they directly support students with disability. Both surveys asked respondents to identify and rate various types of institutional support students with disability receive. The student survey closed at the end of July and the response from students was extraordinary. More than 1,700 students, from 35 universities across Australia, participated in the survey. In my final report I will provide a detailed analysis of the findings. However, in this progress report I am delighted to share some of the preliminary, quantitative findings.
Continue reading Tim’s August progress bulletin:
