From disparity to equity: Rethinking higher education access in regional and remote Australia
Sonal Singh, Chris Ronan, Bethany Ross and Erin Callaghan
The release of the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report provides the opportunity to engage in a national dialogue to (re)define student equity policy and practice.
Since 2010, the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) has been the dominant paradigm in widening participation. The partnerships component of HEPPP was introduced to increase the total number of undergraduate students from low-socioeconomic (LSES) backgrounds who access and participate in higher education (HE), through partnerships with key stakeholders, including schools, TAFE, and other universities.
There is little doubt that HEPPP has transformed the equity landscape in Australian HE. Decades long, strong relationships between universities and partner schools are a testament to the sustained investment in and commitment to widening participation. However, research reveals that siloed approaches have led to an overconcentration of outreach in metropolitan schools, with ‘cold spots’ of activities in geographically isolated communities, further entrenching barriers to HE for students from regional, rural, and remote Australia, and other priority groups.
The numbers are stark. According to the ABS, in May 2021, 48.6% of people aged 25 to 34 years in major cities had a bachelor’s degree or above, compared with 26.9% in inner regional areas, 21.1% in outer regional areas, and approximately 16.6% in remote and very remote areas.
The stagnation of bachelor attainment rates and HE participation in regional Australia is also emphasised in the Accord Interim Report. It is projected that over the next five years more than 90% of new jobs will require post-school qualifications; with over 55% requiring a bachelor degree or higher by 2050. To meet these future workforce demands and deliver on the commitment to skills growth through greater equity, current Departmental predictions suggest the Australian HE system must grow from the current number of 900,000 students, to 1.2 million by 2035, and 1.8 million by 2050. To reach this target, increased access and participation from currently underrepresented groups is critical. The Accord Panel referred to current modelling estimates showing that, along with increases of 60% LSES and 11% First Nations students, 53% of additional enrolments must come from regional and remote areas.
The Interim Report highlights Regional University Centres (RUCs, to be renamed as Regional University Study Hubs) as exemplars of place-based, community led initiatives that will be critical to meeting the 53% target and improving student participation, retention, and completion rates in regional and remote areas. Indeed, the expansion of RUCs centred on the specific needs of local communities, with tailored, wraparound student support, is highlighted as Priority Action 1 in the Interim Report. Government has agreed to funding additional RUCs and the model is to be extended to suburban/outer metropolitan locations by establishing Suburban University Study Hubs. A Consultation Paper has now been released seeking input on the design and implementation of the new Suburban Hubs program.
The Accord’s prioritisation of these Study Hubs, coupled with the Federal Department of Education’s Regional Partnerships Project Pool Program (RPPPP), signal a significant shift in the student equity landscape – a shift away from single institution outreach to regional and remote areas, towards coordinated, sustainable, long-term, and collaborative partnerships between universities and RUCs; a model that places community at the centre of widening participation.
The Eastern Australian Regional University Centre Partnership (EARUCP), funded by a $5.1 million grant under the RPPPP and co-led by UTS and the Country Universities Centre, exemplifies this new HE equity landscape. This partnership between 20 Universities and 16 RUCs encourages universities to step outside their institutional bounds and work collaboratively in a university-agnostic space, in meaningful co-designed outreach with other universities and RUCs.
Institutional neutrality is paramount in the EARUCP. Local initiatives are designed by the community, for the community, in partnership with university practitioners, building on local strengths and knowledges to foster a culture of learning in these communities. Evaluation of the EARUCP will seek to understand the key enablers for sustainable partnerships between universities, RUCS, and communities. Beyond a shared vision, mutual benefit, trust, and reciprocity, what characterises effective partnership practice?
To educate the skilled Australians we need for future work, we must significantly increase the participation of young people and their families from regional, rural, remote, and outer suburban locations, as well as other HE equity groups. Bridging the current educational divide in regional Australia is possible, but it requires bold policies that incentivise and reward true partnership and sustained collaboration, rather than competition, between universities.
A collaboration of universities and RUCs is not only more effective, efficient, and economic, it also leverages coordination and cohesion in a system defined by silos and institutional bounds. Particularly, it addresses the current overconcentration of outreach in metropolitan areas – which risks further entrenching existing structural barriers for equity groups.
The ultimate benefits accrue, of course, to young people and their communities. But long-term impact will also strategically contribute to national capacity building in response to rapid technological, industrial and social change, will lift business and economic capability, and promote fairness, social cohesion and international standing. Collaborative, coordinated, community-led widening participation ensures better value for money and enhances social justice.
To truly shift the dial and achieve skills growth through greater equity, it is imperative that, collectively, we seize the opportunity afforded by the Accord process to re-imagine the Australian HE landscape and re-negotiate the relationships between universities and the communities we serve.
The Eastern Australian Regional University Centres Partnership (EARUCP) is funded through the Regional Partnerships Project Pool Program (RPPPP), an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Education. EARUCP is co-led by UTS and CUC Central, in partnership with Universities and Regional University Centres across Queensland, Victoria, ACT and New South Wales. EARUCP values meaningful, sustainable partnerships and reciprocal knowledge exchange between Regional University Centres, Universities and regional and remote communities.
Sonal Singh: Executive Manager, Student Access & Equity, Centre for Social Justice, and Inclusion, UTS
Bethany Ross: Manager, Partnerships (Student Equity), Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion, UTS
Chris Ronan: CEO, Country University Centre
Erin Callaghan: Director Widening Participation, Country University Centre