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Welcome to the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success

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.

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You are reading: Thriving through COVID-19: Reflections from Tertiary Students with Disability at a National Online Forum 

On 9 December 2020, the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) invited university and TAFE students with disability to participate in a student forum, supported by the NCSEHE, entitled Thriving through COVID-19.

ADCET’s earlier scoping survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the tertiary education sector found that while some students struggled with the COVID-19 disruptions, others coped well. This forum aimed to establish the critical success factors that enabled some students to thrive through the disruptions and online learning environments and look at how these might be taught or shared with other students.

This report reflects the data from the two-hour online forum, attended by 32 students with disability from across Australia, to explore the question: What are the critical success factors, for students with disability, for thriving through the COVID-19 period?

Students shared success stories, identified enabling factors, articulated hopes for the future, and designed prototypes to deliver ways to do more of what works well.

Read the final report, Thriving through COVID-19: Reflections from Tertiary Students with Disability at a National Online Forum 

Disability Research Reports Publications
Thriving through COVID-19: Reflections from Tertiary Students with Disability at a National Online Forum 
ADCET, 2021
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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.
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A Large Grants Research Program final report. The project is the first national, cross-institutional benchmarking and impact study of in-school enabling programs in Australia, examining models and outcomes with a focus on impact for equity groups.
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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
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Increasing access and opportunity: Nesting enabling programs in senior schooling
A Jones, F Navin, S Dhondea-Tenakov, J Lisciandro, J Nieuwoudt, A Maclaurin, F Ramos, S Attree, and M Howie​ , 2026
A Large Grants Research Program final report. The project is the first national, cross-institutional benchmarking and impact study of in-school enabling programs in Australia, examining models and outcomes with a focus on impact for equity groups.
General / all students
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The Critical Interventions Framework Part 3: Programs and approaches that enable equity in higher education
Anna Bennett, Ryan Naylor, Jo Hanley, Jo Lewis, Cheryl Burgess​ , 2024
The Critical Interventions Framework Part 3 (CIF 3) focuses on evaluative studies which provide details of the impacts of specific interventions on equity groups in relation to access to and success in higher education.
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Increasing the number of Aboriginal teachers in the Northern Territory: Planning for the future
T Woodroffe​ , 2025
An ACSES First Nations Fellowship final report. This project explored how teaching is perceived as a career by Aboriginal senior secondary students and current Aboriginal teachers, and examined strategies to promote teaching as a viable and appealing profession.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
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