Last week, the ACSES team was at the beautiful University of Auckland for the Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Australasia’s highly-anticipated EPHEA 2024 Conference.
With a theme “Equity is our compass: holding course for higher education”, the conference brought together staff and student facing equity practitioners from across the sector to tackle shared challenges and collaborate on best practice. EPHEA’s goal is to ensure higher education institutions throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region are safe, more inclusive, and celebrate diversity.
On Tuesday, ACSES 2024 First Nations and Equity Fellows presented key insights and early findings of their research during their “Getting All Hands on Deck for Equity” panel.
First Nations Fellow Professor Peter Anderson from Griffith University shared his work on creating a senior leadership capability model to promote Indigenous success. Recognising that many current strategies for First Nations engagement and advancement in universities have stagnated, Peter’s research focuses on driving sustainable and transformative change. His goal is to establish clear leadership pathways for First Nations staff, with a focus on representation and long-term influence in senior roles.
Curtin University’s Dr Darren Garvey shared details of his “First Nations Psychology Student Wellbeing Research Project (FNPS-WR)”, which explores the wellbeing needs of First Nations psychology students to improve their university experiences, retention, and graduation rates. Drawing on insights from students and support providers, the research identifies culturally appropriate strategies and emphasises the need to recalibrate assumptions and approaches to equity. By building on existing support measures, this work aims to address systemic barriers and enhance outcomes for First Nations students in psychology programs.
Dr Tracy Woodroffe (Charles Darwin University) presented her research on increasing the number of Aboriginal teachers in the Northern Territory, where the low number of Aboriginal educators is a critical issue despite the NT having the highest percentage of Aboriginal students in Australia. Her project explored teaching as a career choice for Aboriginal people by examining the aspirations of Aboriginal senior secondary students and drawing on the recommendations of current Aboriginal teachers to promote the profession. This work highlights the need for targeted strategies to inspire and support Aboriginal Territorians to pursue teaching, ensuring a more representative and culturally responsive education workforce.
Equity Fellow Associate Professor Amani Bell from The University of Sydney explored the issue of inequities in compulsory work-based placements. Amani’s research examines “placement poverty”, a phenomenon where students from disadvantaged backgrounds struggle to access equitable placement opportunities. By adopting a collaborative approach, Amani aims to create solutions that ensure fair and inclusive experiences for all students undertaking these critical components of their education.
Meanwhile, University of Technology Sydney’s Danielle Keenan delved into the success of Regional University Study Hubs (RUSH) in widening higher education participation for rural, regional, and remote (RRR) students. Since their inception in 2018, these hubs have supported more than 12,000 students, significantly improving access and retention. Danielle’s work involves analysing best practices through close collaboration with communities, universities, and government stakeholders to further enhance their impact.
Our third Equity Fellow Dr Bret Stephenson from La Trobe explored the challenges and opportunities posed by Australia’s digital transformation, particularly in the use of “big data” and artificial intelligence. He highlighted the risks these advancements may pose to equity in higher education and the need for robust governance to safeguard equity students and practitioners. The discussion emphasised practical strategies for ensuring data and digital governance structures not only mitigate risks but also actively support equitable outcomes.
In addition, several ACSES affiliates led individual sessions throughout the conference to provide more detail on their work and its context within the wider higher education landscape.
Also presenting her work at EPHEA 2024 was ACSES Visiting Scholar based at the University of Innsbruck Dr Franziska Lessky, who explored “Student Civic Engagement Practices from an Equity Perspective” through case studies from Austrian universities. Her research highlights how civic engagement enhances student retention, success, and belonging while addressing societal needs. Case studies included intercultural mentoring programs, student-led projects, and mandatory professional modules, revealing both opportunities and barriers for equity students. Enabling factors included personal connection, curriculum integration, and professional development, while challenges stemmed from voluntary participation and exclusive designs. Franziska emphasised the importance of inclusive practices, recognising intersectionality, and advancing equitable, dialogical engagement between universities and students.
Also part of ACSES’s Research and Policy Program, Small Grants recipient Sophie Partridge from Western Sydney University (WSU), presented research on the impact of pre-access equity programs on student success, with a focus on WSU. The research, funded by the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success, examines data from over 12,000 WSU access program participants (2013-2023) and qualitative insights from students’ experiences. It explores challenges in evaluating outcomes for equity students and seeks to identify how institutions can better support their transition to higher education. Partridge’s session included an interactive workshop aimed at shaping practitioner guidance and sharing sector-wide knowledge, contributing to the design of more effective pre-access interventions for diverse student cohorts.
On the final day of the conference Small Grants recipient Kylie Austin from the University of Wollongong presented on the institution’s efforts to address the financial challenges faced by students through the development and implementation of a Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP). With rising living costs disproportionately impacting groups such as women, low-income households, international students, and those from regional and remote areas, UOW has taken a proactive approach to enhance student financial wellbeing. Building on existing supports such as scholarships, food programs, and crisis assistance, UOW partnered with Good Shepherd to create the FIAP, which involved engaging executive staff and collaborating with students to identify high-impact initiatives. Early outcomes highlight the significance of this work in addressing critical issues such as food insecurity and the financial burden of placements, contributing to a broader culture of accessibility and inclusion.
Stay tuned for more updates on the impactful work of our ACSES Fellows and grants recipients, including upcoming webinars, podcasts, and the release of final reports.
Together with presentations from representatives from other universities across Australia, New Zealand, and beyond, these presentations highlighted the critical need for innovative, collaborative, and evidence-based approaches to improving equity across the Australian higher education landscape.
Congratulations to the six recipients honoured at the Conference Dinner with the EPHEA-ACSES Early Career Practitioner Award which celebrates emerging leaders making a remarkable impact on equity and inclusion in higher education—Zain Warsi, Kathryn Costello, Joshua Dale, Riëtt Kriel, Jason Chan, Amy Nicholson.
Another huge congratulations to the incredible individuals honoured with the EPHEA Lifetime Member Award, celebrating their significant and long-term contributions to advancing equity in higher education—Nadine Zacharias, Smoxi Chen, Judith Little, Alison Green, and Katherine M.
As a proud sponsor of this year’s conference, we extend our heartfelt thanks to EPHEA and the entire EPHEA community for hosting this vital gathering, which provides an invaluable platform for discussing how best to close the equity gap across Australasia. Opportunities like these bring together diverse voices and expertise, driving real progress in the sector.
