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Group of Eight (Go8) universities currently provide a wide range of services and programs to facilitate access and support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, Go8 Vice-Chancellors have also agreed to develop jointly a coordinated equity strategy to increase the participation and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This backgrounder reports the results of some initial research being undertaken to inform the design of the proposed joint Go8 equity initiative.

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This briefing note provides an update on domestic undergraduate student enrolment and equity outcomes from 2007 to 2013, following Koshy (2014). It focuses on undergraduate outcomes for Table A providers, given policy changes in recent years to Australian undergraduate education that affect them, including the full deregulation of undergraduate places in 2012 under the Demand Driven System (DDS). It reports on the number of domestic undergraduates between 2007 and 2013 in the 38 'Table A providers' in Australian higher education and enrolments in seven equity groups: (1) low socio-economic status ('low SES') students; (2) students with disability; (3) Indigenous students; (4) women in non-traditional areas ('WINTA'); (5) regional students; (6) remote students; and (7) non-English speaking background (NESB) students (also referred to as 'culturally and linguistically diverse' or 'CALD' students).

The report shows that between 2007 and 2013, the 38 Table A providers in Australian higher education saw a 26.4 per cent increase in domestic undergraduates, an expansion in student numbers of around 139,821. Increases in equity group numbers have either tracked or exceeded this expansion in terms of growth, with the exception of remote student enrolment which has seen growth of less than half of that of the system as a whole.

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This briefing note provides an update on domestic undergraduate student enrolment and equity outcomes from 2007 to 2014, following Koshy and Seymour (2014). It focuses on undergraduate outcomes for Table A providers, given policy changes in recent years to Australian undergraduate education that affect them, including the full deregulation of undergraduate places in 2012 under the Demand Driven System (DDS). It reports on the number of domestic undergraduates between 2007 and 2014 in the 38 'Table A providers' in Australian higher education and enrolments in seven equity groups: (1) low socio-economic status ('low SES') students; (2) students with disability; (3) indigenous students; (4) women in non-traditional areas (WINTA); (5) regional students; (6) remote students; and (7) non-English speaking background (NESB) students (also referred to as 'culturally and linguistically diverse' or 'CALD' students).

The report shows that between 2007 and 2014, the 38 Table A providers in Australian higher education saw a 31.6 per cent increase in domestic undergraduate enrolments, with total enrolments reaching 695,869 in 2014. With the exception of the WINTA (19.8 per cent), regional (30.3 per cent) and remote (16.1 per cent) student groups, all equity groups saw growth in excess of the overall growth in student numbers (31.6 per cent), as measured by enrolment.

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This briefing note reports on recent trends in student enrolment in Australian higher education in key equity groups. Specifically, it reports on the number of domestic undergraduates between 2007 and 2012 in the 38 'Table A providers' in Australian higher education and enrolments in six equity groups: (1) low socio-economic status ('low SES') students; (2) Indigenous students; (3) students with disabilities; (4) regional students; (5) remote students; and (6) non-English speaking background (NESB) students (also referred to as 'culturally and linguistically diverse' or 'CALD' students). The report shows that Australian higher education has seen a major expansion in student numbers since 2007, with the 38 Table A providers seeing a 20 per cent increase in domestic undergraduates between 2007 and 2012, equal to 105,590 more students in 2012. This increase has been accompanied by a larger than 20 per cent increase across all student equity groups except that of regional and remote students.

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The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) project studies the progress of several groups of young Australians as they move from school into post-secondary education and/or work. The oldest group in the project was born in 1961 while the youngest were in Year 9 in 1998. Data is collected through the Australian Youth Survey, a major longitudinal survey of youth that interviews a group of young Australians annually about their school experiences, post-school education and training participation, and employment activities. The first part of this report examines the tertiary entrance performance of students in Year 12 in 1998 using data from the LSAY project to address a variety of demographic, socioeconomic, educational and psychological factors. These include literacy and numeracy achievement, gender, socioeconomic background, school sector, region, ethnicity and indigenous status. The second part of the report focuses on individual schools, examining the impact of schools on student performance. Show less

This briefing note provides an update on domestic undergraduate student enrolment and equity outcomes from 2008 to 2015. In keeping with the earlier editions of this series, the briefing note focuses on undergraduate outcomes for 'Table A providers' in Australian higher education and enrolments in seven equity groups: (1) low socio-economic status ('low SES') students; (2) Indigenous students; (3) students with disabilities; (4) regional students; (5) remote students; (6) women in non-traditional areas (WINTA); and (7) non-English speaking background (NESB) students (also referred to as 'culturally and linguistically diverse' or 'CALD' students). It provides a guide to trends across equity groups during this period, which included substantial changes to Australian higher education, including the introduction of the demand driven system for enrolments and the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme (HEPPP) to support low SES undergraduate enrolments.

Results reveal that the rate of expansion in overall undergraduate enrolments in Australia appears to be tapering after several years of growth. However, this growth comes on the back of an historic expansion in enrolments in Australian higher education, one that has seen the system add an additional 184,668 places since 2008, an increase of 34.7 per cent. This has benefited equity student groups in particular, with most groups seeing increases in enrolment above the overall increase in system places, or in the case of regional students, just below average (33.1 per cent). The two exceptions are the WINTA (21.5 per cent) and remote (21.5 per cent) groups who saw substantially lower levels of expansion over this time. This differential growth across equity groups has resulted in a mix of outcomes in participation, with low SES and students with disability groups seeing marked increases in representation, with smaller increases seen in Indigenous and NESB groups. WINTA, regional and remote student groups have seen reductions in their share of total enrolments, albeit in the context of substantial expansions in enrolments among these student groups.

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Schools in the United States have experienced changes in their demographic profile during the last half century. During this changing time, schools have experienced court-involved desegregation and have experienced fluctuations in their populations with regard to both race and socioeconomic status. Existing studies on segregation have focused primarily on Black and White students, neglecting the increasing Hispanic population of US schools. This study provides more data to the expanding research on the impact of diversity on student performance. The study examines whether diversity and teacher quality of a school can predict academic performance on state-mandated tests, while controlling for school level poverty. In this quantitative study, the researcher also analyzes whether a difference exists between the predictability of pass rates and advanced pass rates for African American, Hispanic, and White students in Virginia’s elementary schools. The data reveal that the impact of poverty is difficult to disentangle from the issues of diversity and teacher quality but that differences exist among student racial groups in their academic performance response based on school-level poverty, diversity, and teacher quality.

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the scholarship of diversity, equity and inclusivity in higher education. The focus is to advance an understanding of the issues concerning student admissions and access in higher education. The paper will contribute to the debate on student admissions and access in higher education. Among others, the author argues that in the context of higher education, access has different meanings. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is conceptual in approach and draws from extant literature and the review was used in compiling the paper. Interpretivist approach was used in understanding the topic. Relying on capabilities approach (CA) as a lens in understanding student admissions and access the author argues that higher Education Institutions should consider opportunities (capabilities) for all students to live the lives that they have reason to value (valued functionings). CA works from the premise that human beings share universal capabilities and students' life can be fulfilling if given the opportunity to exercise their capabilities by universities.

Findings: Universities can rely on students' racial and ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic status and students' disabilities in admitting them. Diversity characteristics can be used as a tool to ensure the heterogeneity of the student population or as an unfair advantage given to students who might otherwise be deemed inadmissible on the basis of their academic or test performance. Factors such as changing demographics, public policy, institutional practices and marketing techniques seem to have a subtle influence on the process of admission. Students may experience challenges because of the 'invisibility' of their disabilities due to a breakdown in communication within higher education systems.

Research limitations/implications: The paper relied on literature review only and this is its limitation. Literature review may have been influenced by selection bias of the author and is likely to include only those sources that are most consistent with the author's personal opinion. Selection bias can arise when the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the review are not clearly stated and that might bias the findings. Practical implications: Admission officials in higher education institutions are expected to conduct a diversity needs assessment before admissions with the aim of using the data to identify student population. The needs assessment can look at aspects such as the students' racial and ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic status and students' disabilities to ensure access and success of all students. Social implications: Inequities around access and admission for diverse groups of students in higher education are a reality worldwide. There is a worldwide trend within countries to see universities as contributors to economic growth, and many institutions are now increasingly attuned to the money economy. A student's decision to apply on where to study may be influenced by the reputation of the institution. Originality/value: This concept is relative and has different meanings depending on the nature of the work in question. The paper was compiled through literature review, all the sources used have been acknowledged, and the paper conveys the thoughts, interpretations and ideas of the author.

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Widening participation in higher education for under-represented groups is a priority internationally. In Australia, the most common entry pathway for domestic undergraduate students is by obtaining an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in the final year of secondary school. The ATAR system, however, has been criticised as disadvantaging certain equity groups. Consequently, widening participation policy has encouraged alternative entry pathways into university, including enabling/bridging courses, vocational education qualifications, or portfolio entry based on demonstrated skills and experience. There is, however, relatively scarce evidence of student use of these pathways, including those from equity groups. Drawing on national enrolment data and institution-specific pathway data for 16 Australian universities, this study's examination of admission data found increasing use of alternative pathways among most student equity groups, with variations by discipline. The findings inform stakeholder understanding of the relative success of alternative entry pathways in widening participation, informing strategies for improvement and future policy.

Published abstract.

Forthcoming article first published online 15 May 2023 by Taylor and Francis. Show less

Purpose: Amidst continued calls for the democratization of access to higher education for historically underrepresented populations alongside the first global health crisis in a century lies the opportunity to address persistent societal needs: increasing access for underrepresented minority students to educational pathways that lead to careers in lucrative fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Design/methodology/approach: Student participants enrolled in the biotechnology pathway Associates, Bachelors and Masters programs share programmatic experience in an accelerated biotechnology program through a bi-annual survey grounded in the central tenets of social-cognitive career theory aimed at understanding requisite academic, social and financial support for student success. Findings: The pathway program described in this paper emerged to address the need to support underrepresented students in degree attainment and taking on roles in the growing field of biotechnology through a novel, multi-degree, multi-institutional pathway to STEM degree attainment and career success.

Social implications: This work has advanced understanding about how to effectively align higher education institutions with each other and with evolving STEM labor market demands while documenting the impact of essential academic, career and social supports recognized in the literature as high impact practices in broadening participation and increasing retention of underrepresented minority students in lucrative STEM careers. Originality/value: Pathway programs which best support student success include robust mentoring, experiential learning and robust student scholarship support, part of the design of this unique pathway program. The authors share how this program utilizes high impact practices to provide low-income, underrepresented minority students with supportive, accelerated biotechnology degrees in preparation for success in the job market. What's more, of all our [bachelor of science] BS-level graduates thus far, 100 per cent are employed and 93 per cent within the biotechnology field. For many, the opportunity to raise their family out of poverty via a stable, high paying job is directly tied to their successes within this program.

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