equity in higher education

Graduate employment: Right now, the ‘fair-go’ isn’t fair enough

By Sarah O'Shea

A cornerstone of Australian values is the idea of a ‘fair go’: equality of opportunity regardless of personal circumstances. However, when it comes to higher education, decades of equity data reveal how university systems have failed to ensure this ‘fair go’. Nowhere is this more noted than in relation to gaining employment post-graduation. Getting a

Want fairness at uni now? There’s one crucial thing the minister forgot

By Jess Harris

Quality of higher education, equity of participation and access are front and centre in the new Universities Accord

Refugee Week: Why universities could – and how they should – offer refuge

By Tebeje Molla, Sally Baker and Verity Firth

Every year, a fraction of the world’s forcibly-displaced people get the opportunity to resettle in one of the main refugee-resettling countries, including Australia.  Refugees escape war and violence and search for a place to rebuild their lives. Access to and success in higher education supports refugee integration. However, while access to higher education is around

What happens now to students who are first-in-family to go to university?

By Garth Stahl and Sarah McDonald

Students who are the first in their family to attend university remain severely under-represented, despite policy efforts to

Education: the five concerns we should debate right now

Meghan Stacey on the trouble with teaching Deb Hayes on making school systems more equitable. Phillip Dawson on how we should treat ChatGPT. Sarah O’Shea on widening participation at university. Scott Eacott on the Productivity Commission’s review of the National School Reform Agreement. The trouble with teaching by Meghan Stacey Last year was a big

We asked academics to be real about work. Here are our new findings

By Roxanna Pebdani

My children were two and three years old in March of 2020 when Sydney went into its first COVID-19  lockdown.  At the time, I was in an education-focussed leadership role but also still teaching and conducting research. I was supporting my colleagues as they pivoted to online learning at the same time as helping implement

O’Shea: All I want for higher education now and tomorrow

By Sarah O'Shea

Fresh from delivering a widely-applauded keynote at this year’s HERDSA conference, “Fragility or tenacity? Equity and participation in

Is this now the Federal government’s most bone-headed idea ever?

By Inger Mewburn

Apparently international PhD students in Australia now have to seek ministerial approval to change their thesis topic or

We struggled to make university more equal. Has that battle for equality worked now?

By Ian Li

Australian education policy has really focussed on getting  ‘equity groups’ into university and then onto completion with initiatives designed to improve access and participation. That worked.  Recent data indicate that there has been growth in the university enrolment of these equity groups in the past ten years. Published studies have also found evidence for comparable

There are direct actions we can take now to make university access fair

By Sally Patfield

While in recent decades there has been a focus on improving equitable access to higher education, inequalities cannot be overcome by simply exhorting more young people to go to university. Policies must also address the disparities between students that affect their capacity to ‘choose’ higher education.  Australia has seen substantial growth in university enrolments since