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The following 22 projects were successful in receiving National Priorities Pool funding in 2015. For further information about these projects, please contact the relevant universities directly.
| University | Project name | 2015 Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Specified National Projects | ||
| University of South Australia | Accelerating Indigenous Higher Education. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium (NATSIHEC), through the University of South Australia, will engage experts and leaders in university and industry to determine approaches to improve Indigenous outcomes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, increase the Indigenous academic workforce and support whole−of−university approaches to improving Indigenous higher education outcomes. | $335,000 |
| Central Queensland University | A comparative evaluation of the efficacy of the equity strategies employed by Australian universities This project will evaluate the efficacy of the strategies employed by Australian universities to improve higher education opportunities and success for people from low socio-economic status backgrounds and develop a best-practice guide for other higher education institutions. | $156,686 |
| University of Newcastle | Unlocking Capacity and Empowering Choices": Indigenous Students' Aspirations for Higher Education This project will explore the educational intentions and occupational interests of Indigenous school students from Years 3-12. It will also explore the factors Indigenous students, their parents and their teachers see as enablers and barriers to achieving their aspirations, and Indigenous students' understanding of the path from school to higher education. | $134,012 |
| University of Newcastle | Building statistical literacy for success in higher education This project will create a set of digital media resources supporting a national statistical literacy initiative that enables access to and facilitates success within a range of university degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and the health sciences for students schooled in rural, regional and remote locations and from low socio-economic status and culturally diverse backgrounds. | $161,151 |
| University of Newcastle | Guiding futures: The role of teachers in the formation of students' aspirations for higher education This project will provide evidence of how teachers guide the aspirations of school students (Years 3-12) for higher education. The aim is to investigate the impact of teachers, and other educators working in schools, on students' aspirations for higher education. | $90,295 |
| University of Newcastle | Equity and Medical Education (EME)This project will provide a greater understanding of the pathway into undergraduate medical programs for students from low SES backgrounds. It will identify best practice career counselling and advice in secondary education, with a particular focus on comparing and contrasting effective strategies used in urban, regional and remote settings. | $98,015 |
| University of Newcastle | Enhancing university retention and success for first-in-family, low SES students through a flipped classroom learning model This project will examine whetherdifferences in expectations about learning at university or access to technology affect the learning experience, retention levels, and academic success of low socio-economic status students who are first in their family to attend university compared to other Students. | $89,800 |
| University of Newcastle | Live Learn Grow This project seeks to overcome barriers that are known to prevent care leavers engaging with higher education through a combination of practical assistance and early intervention support strategies. | $$136,037 |
| The University of Western Australia | Adding to the pipeline: Improving numeracy skills and career outcomes for low socio-economic status (SES) studentsThe project is intended to inspire low socio-economic status students to study mathematics and STEM subjects by designing and trialling innovative activities for early secondary school students that will link numeracy skills development to university study and exciting career options. | $184,073 |
| University of Tasmania | Equipping parents to support their children's aspiration: What works? This project will identify features of parent engagement and information resources that are cost-efficient and effective in supporting low socio-economic status parents' aspirations for their children's participation in higher education. It will also produce a web resource for institutions to use when designing resources to engage and inform parents. | $56,620 |
| Federation University Australia | Facilitating success for students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds at regional universities This project will identify successful approaches to increasing the success of low socio-economic status domestic students studying at regional universities, provide guidance about how to begin addressing gaps in current approaches to supporting these students, and provide policy advice on potential new approaches to fostering success for students in this target group. | $149,500 |
| University of Newcastle | A comparative evaluation of the efficacy of the Indigenous enabling: 'What works'? This project will increase understanding of the role of enabling education by auditing the existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enabling programs offered across the country. It will also address gaps in knowledge, identify good practice and create and embed systemic awareness about enabling education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students across the Australian higher education sector. | $49,977 |
| La Trobe University | Re-engaging low SES students who have withdrawn from university This project will identify and analyse factors that encourage low socio-economic status students to return to higher education and inform reintegration strategies. | $34,000 |
| Flinders University | Assessment Selection Methodology – Low SES recruitment This project will develop a flexible admissions pathway and selection process that considers a student's aptitude for university study as demonstrated via a variety of means, and provide access to a university degree for low socio-economic status students through an accessible admissions pathway. | $219,877 |
| Southern Cross University | Bite Size Maths: Building Mathematics Capability of Low SES Students in Regional/Remote Australia This project will build on the mathematics capability of low socio-economic status students in regional and remote universities by improving access to mathematics resources based on students' own rate and level of learning. | $140,000 |
| University of the Sunshine Coast | Removing Barriers to Engagement by Tertiary Students living in a rural community This project will investigate the under-representation within higher education of non-indigenous young males around Gympie, identify and implement strategies to remove barriers to their engagement with university, and research ways to widen the aspirations of non-indigenous young females around Gympie to study degrees in fields outside the commonly chosen ones of nursing and teaching. | $59,195 |
| La Trobe University | Improving the employability of students from low socio-economic status backgrounds This project will investigate how institutions can ensure their employability strategies are accessible and relevant to diverse student cohorts, particularly students from low socio-economic status backgrounds, and identify examples of curriculum practice that can promote employability in inclusive ways. | $76,000 |
| University of New South Wales | Building computer literacy in rural schools This project will build computer literacy in teachers and upper primary school students through the introduction of activities based around the Raspberry Pi technology. | $173,460 |
| Victoria University | Language and Literacy Skills for Post First Year Students: Pilot Program This project will aid the retention and progress of low socio-economic status, post first-year students through the development and implementation of a concurrently taught language and literacy programme. | $40,846 |
| La Trobe University | Attracting and supporting care leavers from low socio-economic status backgrounds This project will produce a model for attracting and supporting care leavers into higher education by gaining greater insight into their experiences and outcomes. In addition, it will produce develop a university handbook for care leavers and guidelines for university staff delivering outreach and support to this target group. | $127,000 |
| University of Newcastle | Yarning the Way: The role of Indigenous education paraprofessionals in guiding the post-school educational pathways of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth This project will gather new knowledge about the role of Indigenous Education Paraprofessionals(IEPs) in facilitating post-school education options and access for Indigenous young people, both within their school and community, and seek IEPs' insight on barriers to and enablers of post-school education, particularly higher education, for Indigenous young people. | $140,981 |
| Macquarie University | LEAP - University Preparedness (LEAP - UP): Developing a tertiary enabling program for low-SES students from refugee backgrounds This project will assist low socio-economic status (SES) students from refugee backgrounds to access and succeed in higher education by reviewing international best practice and initiatives at Australian universities, assessing the needs of past and present students of the LEAP-Macquarie Mentoring Program, and developing an enabling program specific to the needs of this target group. The project will also establish a National Community of Practice comprising researchers, equity practitioners and partner organisations active in supporting low-SES students from refugee backgrounds. | $127,000 |
| TOTAL | $2,779,525 | |