The following 28 projects were successful in receiving National Priorities Pool funding in 2016. For further information about these projects, please contact the relevant universities directly.
On this page:
| University | Project name | 2016 Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Specified National Projects | ||
| University of Newcastle | Aboriginal Business Deans Council project University of Newcastle has partnered with the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) to improve the participation, retention and success of Indigenous peoples in business-related higher education. This project will build the evidence base for strategies and initiatives to improve Indigenous participation and success in business-related higher education through a mixed methods approach. |
$200,000 |
| Deakin University | Deakin University - Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) Expansion Deakin University is partnering with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) to improve education outcomes for Indigenous students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are under-represented at university. The project will establish a new AIME site in regional Victoria to deliver AIME's structured mentoring educational program to at least 200 low-SES Indigenous students in the Warrnambool region. |
$150,000 |
| Western Sydney University | Western Sydney University - Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) Expansion Western Sydney University is partnering with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) to improve education outcomes for Indigenous students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are under-represented at university. The project will establish a new AIME site in Western Sydney to deliver AIME's structured mentoring educational program to at least 200 low-SES Indigenous students in the Campbelltown region. |
$150,000 |
| Central Queensland University | Improving the transition and retention of regional students from low socio-economic backgrounds: A '5 Ps' approach. This project will identify strategies to support regional students from low SES backgrounds during their transition into university to address persistently high levels of attrition, especially at regional universities. The project will trial a pre-commencement intervention strategy aimed at supporting the transition, participation, retention and success of commencing regional low SES students across six disciplines (nursing & midwifery, health sciences, social sciences, education, business and engineering) and five regional universities. |
$179,094 |
| Charles Sturt University | Understanding how regionality and socio-economic status intersect with disability. This project will explore access to and participation in higher education for people with disability from low SES regional and remote backgrounds. The study will be conducted across five regionally-based universities. The project will explore people's decisions associated with access to and participation in higher education, including the decision to delay university study until later in life. This project will improve understanding of barriers, levers and influences and how to improve the current low levels of higher education access and participation for regional people with disabilities. |
$164,273 |
| Curtin University of Technology | Widening Regional & Remote Participation: Interrogating outreach programs across Queensland. The project will explore the impact of HEPPP-funded widening participation activities in schools serving low SES background regional and remote students and build on understanding the factors – both program-related and external - that affect their participation in higher education. |
$319,950 |
| La Trobe University | Raising participation of new migrant groups in low SES and regional communities. The project will explore the higher education aspirations and experiences of new migrants in low SES, regional communities, and the extent of regional campus support, in order to inform efforts to raise access, participation, and social inclusion of students from low SES new migrant backgrounds. |
$144,460 |
| Macquarie University | LEAP-Links (Digital Literacy): Developing the ICT competencies of regional and remote low-SES students. The project will enhance support to regional/remote low SES students through identifying and addressing digital skills gaps for teachers and students. The LEAP – Links (Digital Literacy) program will assist regional/remote low SES students to build the digital competencies needed to succeed in school and the transition to higher education. |
$225,221 |
| Murdoch University | Mathematics Pathways to STEM Careers (Pathways to STEM). The Pathways to STEM program will provide mathematics support to Year 11 and 12 regional and remote students situated in the Great Southern, Wheatbelt and Peel region of WA, combining technology-enabled tutorial sessions after school twice a week, individual access to tutors to address specialised questions, and intensive on-campus ATAR preparation sessions. The project will facilitate students' learning, encourage development of thinking skills and provide a pathway from secondary to tertiary education. |
$166,433 |
| RMIT University | Building regional student awareness, aspiration and engagement using digital technologies. This project will build regional secondary students' awareness, aspiration and preparedness for higher education through innovative, digital methods of engagement that demystify transition issues and daily student life, and provide opportunities for direct engagement with current students. |
$194,646 |
| The University of Adelaide | University Regional Lecture Series. The project will provide an interactive and engaging series of curriculum-linked STEM lectures to low-SES students in years 6 to 9 in selected regional areas of South Australia including Port Augusta, Port Pirie, Whyalla, Murray Bridge and the Riverland. The project will develop online resources and toolkits to support classroom activities that expand upon lecture content, and this will be further supported by professional development sessions for teachers. |
$286,666 |
| The University of Western Australia |
Creating a framework for success in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for regional and remote low SES students. This project will increase higher education participation of low SES students in regional and remote Western Australia by inspiring students to study STEM subjects in upper secondary school and university. The project will develop and implement a cohesive framework that will build capacity in numeracy skills in Years 9-10, and maintain engagement in STEM in Years 11-12. The project will develop resources and activities relevant to low SES regional and remote students nationwide. |
$385,843 |
| University of Canberra | Enhancing aspirations for STEM careers in rural, regional and remote communities. This project will investigate the relationship between rural students' knowledge of STEM in rural careers, their aspirations towards STEM careers, subject choices and university admission. It will develop a strategy for highlighting the relevance of STEM to rural careers and innovation that can be used to encourage students to take relevant STEM subjects in their senior studies and subsequently at university. The project will also provide a basis for university STEM courses to integrate relevant career knowledge into their curriculum. |
$65,000 |
| University of Canberra | Raising aspiration and achievement in regional schools through innovative online modules. The project will break down barriers for high school students in Years 9-12 who are from low SES backgrounds from regional NSW and regional Queensland. This will be done by raising aspiration and achievement through a series of online modules specifically developed for this project |
$105,000 |
| University of New South Wales | Beyond Borders. This project will examine the efficacy of embedding recent university graduates as outreach project officers in regional and remote schools to enable tailored approaches to be developed and implemented to raise the visibility of higher education in regional and remote communities. The pilot will focus on one cluster of schools partnering with the UNSW ASPIRE program and include high schools, central schools (Years K-12) and primary schools classified as regional and remote. |
$275,750 |
| University of New South Wales | Power of Perception. The project will identify key elements that shape regional and remote low SES students' aspirations and perceptions regarding access to university, and quantify the impact of these factors on student progression. The outcomes of the research will provide valuable information for practitioners in developing new widening participation strategies. |
$156,465 |
| University of New South Wales | Mind the Gap. This project will investigate whether Australian university widening participation initiatives are addressing the attainment gap that exists for low SES students in regional and remote schools. |
$141,465 |
| University of New South Wales | Uni in a Ute. The project will increase the number of students reaching university by providing Year 11 students with practical study skills and information focused on barriers encountered by regional and remote students that will enable these students to successfully complete their final years of schooling and transition to university. |
$74,780 |
| University of Newcastle | Locating aspirations: Evidence to support participation in higher education of low SES students from regional and remote Australia. This project will bring insight into under-representation of regional and remote students in higher education by analysing existing data from more than 6000 school students from regional NSW and collecting additional survey, interview and focus group data from outer regional, remote and very remote areas in NSW. The project will help shape equity policy and practice to build student aspiration in regional and remote areas. |
$277,079 |
| University of Newcastle | Early engagement - Tertiary success: Sustainability meets Statistics and STEM. The project will work directly with students and teachers in low SES and regional/remote areas, delivering project-based learning activities in environmental sciences, statistics and STEM. It will use the interactions to develop and ultimately disseminate a set of digital media resources to low SES, culturally diverse and regional/remote students and schools. |
$134,278 |
| University of Newcastle | Mentoring women from regional Australia to realise their educational and career aspirations in business and law This project will improve the participation, retention and success of women from regional areas and low SES backgrounds studying business and law by implementing an innovative mentoring program across four regional areas. It will provide female high school students with insight into university, and university students an opportunity to develop mentoring and leadership skills. The mentoring scheme will offer both high school and university students insight to the professional opportunities available to graduates. A Community of Practice will be created in each regional area and online mentoring program materials will be made available to all Australian university business and law schools. |
$166,194 |
| University of Newcastle | Improving the 'beaten track': investigating alternative pathways to increase higher education participation for mature-aged low socio-economic status students in regional and remote Australia. This consortium project by three universities will examine ways to increase access to higher education for mature-aged regional and remote students from low SES backgrounds. The project will explore the place of pathways such as low stakes, open access tertiary preparation and enabling programs in addressing the persistent gap in participation rates of mature-aged students. |
$199,982 |
| University of Newcastle | Creative Industries Careers: Re-imagining Regional and Remote Students' opportunities. The project will support regional and remote high school students facing the prospect of decline in the traditional areas of farming, mining and manufacture to re-imagine their futures and aspire to work in Creative Industries. The project will provide students, their families, teachers and careers advisors with information about the skills needed to be successful, what Creative Industry jobs look like, and provide hands-on learning experiences to students through a series of creative workshops which use digital technologies like virtual reality, films and animation. |
$119,192 |
| University of South Australia | Promoting academic success and well-being: Enhancing regional students engagement, success and well-being through the use of innovative early intervention strategies. The project will develop and implement a suite of interconnected early intervention resources to improve the engagement, success and well-being of low SES students studying at regional universities or at universities committed to regional activity. |
$293,614 |
| University of Southern Queensland | Australian universities and public libraries working together to facilitate success for low socio-economic students living in regional and remote communities. The project will develop a 'Framework for Australian Universities and Public Libraries Supporting Regional and Remote Students', providing recommendations, strategies and resources to guide the development of accessible, relevant and sustainable study and learning support to meet the needs of low SES higher education students living in regional/remote communities. |
$139,824 |
| University of Wollongong | Rural In2Uni Program. The project will pilot an innovative regional and remote outreach model with three high schools identified as having significant numbers of low SES students that are not currently supported strongly by any university outreach program in coastal New South Wales and Victoria. It will develop a regional and remote outreach model for low SES students attending regional and remote schools and a resource package that can be used by any school or university seeking to run outreach programs in regional and remote schools. |
$51,000 |
| University of New South Wales | Click-on Mentors The project will deliver a pilot e-mentoring scheme with two regional/remote partner schools in the UNSW ASPIRE program designed to develop the higher education aspirations of low SES Year 8 and 9 students. |
$174,405 |
| University of Newcastle | An Immersive Virtual Environment for Improving the Academic Literacy and Study Skills of Regional and Remote Low SES Students The project will deliver an immersive virtual environment to support the academic literacy and study skills of low SES university students from regional and remote areas (RRLSES), both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. The University of Newcastle will deliver the project in partnership with the University of Southern Queensland and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. |
$198,799 |
| Charles Darwin University | Indigenous-led review and development of remote education policies: Framework for implementation The project will facilitate an Indigenous led review of past and current Federal and local government education policies to improve access and participation in higher education for remote, low SES Indigenous students in the NT. This review will form a foundation for future policies to be grounded in the perspectives, expertise and understandings of remote Indigenous community members. |
$156,004 |
| The University of New South Wales | Enhancing Self-Disclosure of Equity Group Membership This project will deliver a report which will inform university arrangements around student enrolment, and develop a set of better practice guidelines which will enhance the ways in which students who are members of equity groups are identified and how universities collect this information. |
$147,747 |
| The University of Queensland | Review of Identified Equity Groups This project will review the six groups currently addressed by equity policy and programmes to determine whether they are still relevant. The outcomes of this project will support the Government in achieving best value for money through equity policy and programs and will assist universities to direct funds for the HEPPP most effectively. |
$148,299 |
| TOTAL | $5,591,463 | |