HEPPP 2011 Partnerships Competitive Grants Round

In 2011, $67.1 million of HEPPP Partnerships funding was allocated though a competitive grants round to projects that improve access to and participation in higher education for students from low SES backgrounds.

On this page:

A table of projects can be found below. For further information about these projects, please contact the relevant universities directly.

Successful 2011 Competitive Grants Round Projects

University Project name 2011 – 2014 Funding
Charles Darwin University

A Multi-Faceted Outreach Program for Students in the Northern Territory
This project targets school students (years 8-12) from low-SES backgrounds in the Northern Territory, particularly Indigenous students. Through mentoring, extension activities, road show/ taster activities and activities that demonstrate Indigenous culture is valued, the project aims to improve students’ pre-tertiary achievements, understanding of and aspiration for higher education and retention rates.

$4,878,783
Queensland Consortium (lead by Queensland University of Technology)

Project 1 – Schools Outreach
Queensland’s eight Widening Tertiary Participation partner universities will work together in this project to extend and deepen their school partnerships, in order to improve students’ understanding of, preparation and aspiration for higher education. The project includes a variety of regional-specific initiatives targeted at Year 6 -12 students in state and non-state schools.

Queensland University of Technology’s partners in the project include: Australian Catholic University, Central Queensland University, Griffith University, James Cook University, University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland and University of the Sunshine Coast.

$15,800,000
Queensland Consortium (lead by Queensland University of Technology)

Project 2 – Indigenous Engagement
Through this project, Queensland’s eight Widening Tertiary Participation partner universities will undertake Indigenous-specific community engagement and capacity building work to improve access, participation and success for Indigenous people in tertiary education. This will include a number of regional-specific initiatives which respond to Indigenous community needs and nest with schools outreach work undertaken in ‘Project 1 – Schools Outreach’ and with work undertaken in other projects.

Queensland University of Technology’s partners in the project include: Australian Catholic University, Central Queensland University, Griffith University, James Cook University, University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland and University of the Sunshine Coast.

$5,350,000
Charles Sturt University

CSU Pathway Program
This project will develop flexible, preparatory alternative pathway courses into higher education, targeted at school leavers from low-SES backgrounds in the Riverina and Western regions of NSW.  The Pathway Program is aimed at better preparing students who do not meet the entry criteria for university study,  or require further preparation.

Charles Sturt University’s partners in the project include TAFE NSW.

$173,000
Deakin University

Access Express
Access Express targets school students (years 6-12) from low-SES backgrounds in the Geelong, Werribee and greater Dandenong regions of Victoria. It aims to introduce an evidence-based approach to developing, implementing and evaluating access and participation and partnership programs.

The project will:

  • Deliver an intensive intervention program of activities and sustained contact across Year 6 to 12 in partnership with seven Deakin University partner schools, reaching approximately 6,300 students per year;
  • Establish a longitudinal evaluation of the program’s impact on student aspirations and applications to higher education institutions;
  • Provide a unique cohort tracking methodology and a comprehensive data set on the aspirations of secondary school students in low SES/low income areas; and
  • Deliver key program components in partnership with at least three community organisations.
$2,092,971
University of New South Wales

ASPIRE
ASPIRE seeks to build the capacity of students, schools and communities to access and participate in higher education by:

  • Raising awareness and aspirations of students to participate in higher education;
  • Assisting in raising the academic achievements of students;
  • Assisting students to make informed decisions that are right for them on progression to higher education; and
  • Addressing barriers that prevent students from accessing higher education.

Students will receive multiple experiences of higher education across every year group. Activities are delivered through whole-of-cohort, age appropriate, in-school and on-campus activities, and are supported by additional elements such as mentoring and tutoring.

$4,581,400
Victorian Universities Consortium (lead by  Monash University)

LEAP – Learn, Experience, Access Professions
LEAP is a collaborative Victorian initiative that seeks to encourage secondary students from low-SES backgrounds across Victoria to consider higher education as a future option through a focus on the professions.

The project will:

  • engage students from low SES backgrounds with universities and professional communities to demystify the links between school, higher education and professional careers;
  • stimulate students’ interests in particular fields, enabling them to experience and engage with a range of career possibilities;
  • enhance students’ and families’ understanding of how to prepare for entry to specific fields, supporting informed decision-making; challenge and extend students, increasing their confidence and enthusiasm for personal possibilities; and
  • establish a systematic, sustainable base for consortium activities focused on fairer access to higher education and professional careers with the goal of improving social mobility.

The consortium includes Australian Catholic University, Deakin University, La Trobe University, Monash University, University of Melbourne, University of Ballarat, RMIT, Swinburne University of Technology and Victoria University.

$3,400,000
The University of Western Australia

Aspire UWA
The project targets school students (years 8-12) from low SES background, and Indigenous students, in the Perth, Pilbara, Mid West, Gascoyne and Kimberley regions of WA. It seeks to motivate these students to complete secondary schooling, work with teachers at disadvantaged schools to improve academic achievement, support Indigenous students in culturally appropriate ways to improve their educational outcomes, provide information and resources on pathways to higher education for parents, families and community members, and facilitate inspiring community events that showcase study and research options at university.

$5,974,427
University of Ballarat

Higher Education Regional Aspiration Program (HERAP)
This project targets students from low SES backgrounds in central and western Victoria. In 2012-14 HERAP will deliver integrated schools- and community-based programs to build higher education awareness and aspiration in 39 low SES partner schools, eight severely disadvantaged partner schools, and two acutely disadvantaged sub-regional communities (Ballarat South and Horsham North). The program leverages outreach practice, trans-disciplinary research and strong partnerships to build aspiration for higher education in disadvantaged regional communities.

$2,225,579
Sydney Basin Universities Consortium (lead by the University of Western Sydney)

Bridges to Higher Education
This project targets those disengaged from education and school students (years 7-12) from low SES backgrounds in the Sydney Basin region of NSW. The project will expand proven techniques as well as piloting innovative programs. Students will benefit from mentoring, tutoring, homework clubs, work experience, career coaching and scholarships incentives.

Capacity building in culturally and linguistically diverse communities will be reinforced through community liaison officers, Aboriginal education officers, careers advisors and parents and non-government organisations working with schools and students.

University of Western Sydney’s partners in the project include the University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, Macquarie University and Australian Catholic University.

$21,200,000
Victoria University

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Australia
Victoria University will partner with primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities across Victoria, NSW and Northern Territory in regions of low SES urban, rural and remote Australia to implement an innovative university-readiness system that prepares low SES students for tertiary study. The combination of high academic expectations and personalised support assists students to access university pathways, build persistence and academic skills.

AVID is designed for underachieving students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It demystifies entry to tertiary education and explicitly teaches students ‘institutional literacy’ and the academic, organisational and affective skills to persist and succeed at university and beyond. A comprehensive data collection and analysis process is built in to help teachers monitor student progress and intervene early to keep students on track.

Victoria University’s partners in the project include Macquarie University, Charles Sturt University and La Trobe University.

$1,419,881
TOTAL $67,096,041