National Priorities Pool 2017

Curtin University of Technology

Australian Higher Education Equity Ranking

This project will investigate the feasibility of developing a ranking of universities drawing on a suite of equity performance indicators. Like the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching measures of teaching quality, publishing a ranking of equity performance will form an incentive to improve institutional focus and raise the profile of inclusive equity practice within universities.

$98,095

RMIT University

Economies of scale in supporting low SES and other disadvantaged students

This project will identify any additional costs of supporting higher education students from low SES or other disadvantaged backgrounds compared to other students, and whether there are economies or diseconomies of scale in delivering support.

$199,989

Western Sydney University

Individual-based socio-economic disadvantage measure

This project will determine the feasibility of employing an individual-based measure, in comparison to the current place-based measure, to identify socio-economic disadvantage to ensure that university support targets students from low SES backgrounds most effectively.

$187,294

University of Newcastle

Professional Development in equity interventions for school teachers

All school teachers must complete around 20 hours of professional learning each year that meets national requirements. This professional learning must be additional to their normal duties and can be formal or informal learning. This project will establish professional learning modules for school teachers that meet agreed national standards administered by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. The modules will support teachers in raising the aspirations and improving the academic skills of their students to facilitate their entry to higher education. Professional learning that meets these agreed national standards will facilitate uptake by schools and teachers to meet annual professional learning requirements.

$599,984

Curtin University of Technology

Publication of National Priorities Pool research

Multiple research projects, jointly worth $15 million, have been funded through the National Priorities Pool. This project will consolidate these project’s existing research reports and place them in the context of other known equity research for promulgation on the department’s website.

$75,000

University of Wollongong

Seed Funding for Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) Expansion

This project will support the continued expansion of the AIME mentoring program to improve education outcomes for Indigenous students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are under-represented at university. AIME's structured mentoring educational program will be delivered to at least 200 low-SES Indigenous students in South-West Sydney and the Southern Highlands.

$150,000

TOTAL

$1,310,362