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.
The Equity Frontiers Program funds trials to test the effectiveness of initiatives and programs designed to improve higher education access and success for students who are historically under-represented in Australian higher education.
Within the Equity Frontiers Program: Quasi-Experimental Design Projects, we are specifically calling for projects using quasi-experimental designs (QED) approaches. Where randomisation isn’t possible, QEDs are a highly practical and ethical alternative to generate valuable, evidence-based insights. Quasi-experimental designs do not require randomisation but attempt to mimic an experimental approach by comparing observed outcomes with another broadly comparable group, or by analytically creating a “counterfactual” that is as close to the intervention group as possible.
With the program, we seek to:
- strengthen research and evaluation capacity within the student equity sector
- encourage collaboration in adopting QEDs to undertake Quantitative Impact Evaluations of higher education equity initiatives
- promote transparency and knowledge sharing within the sector by building stronger evidence base and sharing these impact studies via the ACSES Trials Registry.
Some areas of potential areas of analysis are:
- Outreach/widening participation programs
- Enabling programs
- Adjustments made for people with disabilities
- First year support programs
- Wellbeing initiatives
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL) initiatives
- Student mentoring or transition programs
- Financial support (for example, scholarships)
- Alternative pathways to higher education
Apply for funding
SUBMISSIONS NOW CLOSED.
Maximum funding available per project is $150,000.
The project must be led by a Table A institution, as listed in the Higher Education Support Act 2003.
Submissions of Proposals were being received until 31 July 2025.
The Equity Frontiers Program: Quasi-Experimental Design Projects Guidelines are available for download below in either PDF or Word format, the Proposal Template is available in Word format only.
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