There is a need for culturally relevant and appropriate retention programs within a climate of ever-increasing neo-liberalism that is seeking to change the very nature and underlying rationale of higher education. This article is posited alongside the reflections of past and current university students, who highlight various socio-economic and…

Good practice notes offer practical advice and examples of good practice to guide operations in regard to specific, higher education issues. The good practice notes are intended to support and promote the quality assurance approaches of providers. This Good Practice Note identifies examples of good practice in Australian higher education providers…

There is an identified shortage of mathematics and science teachers across Australia and many of these teachers leave the profession within 3 to 5 years of graduating. This paper provides important insights on what motivates people to become science and mathematics teachers in Australia. Data drawn from two surveys, one investigating why students…

In 2012, Australia removed student number controls or, in the local terminology, introduced a 'demand driven system' based on student choice. In 2015, England followed suit. In both places, entry to higher education was opened up but non-completion rates rose. In Australia, the demand driven system ended in 2017, despite a coming demographic…

The current change agenda to improve the persistently lower rates of access, participation and outcomes of Indigenous Australians in higher education is a broad one that attempts to address the complex range of contributing factors. A proposition in this paper is that the broad and longer-term focus runs the risk of distracting from the detailed…

Inclusive education in Australia has resulted in a concerted push for the differentiation of pedagogical teaching approaches by educators across Kindergarten to Year 12 (K-12) learning environments. Such approaches have been shown to meet a diverse range of learner needs found in today's classrooms. While progress is evident at the primary and…

Higher degree research candidates experience higher rates of anxiety and depression than the general population. This study explored the wellbeing and experiences of two independent groups of HDR candidates. One participating prior to the pandemic, and the second group during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed methods study comprising of a survey and…

Key findings, analysis and recommendations that have emerged from a research project, 'Using Human Language Technology to enhance academic integrity, inclusivity, knowledge exchange, student diversity and retention' at the University of South Australia conducted in 2019 are discussed in this article. The primary purpose of the project was to…

Widening participation has been a vehicle to facilitate access and support towards the successful completion of university studies for underrepresented groups who are less likely to pursue higher education. Yet, despite its widely accepted importance and adoption across countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom, studies to date remain…

A persistent issue in Australia, and globally, is how to improve participation rates in higher education for students from regional and rural areas. In this paper, we tackle this challenge by exploring the idea of a Community Embedded University (CEU). We draw on empirical data from three participatory co-design workshops with university students…

Academic libraries have always strived to be purposively involved in the university's mission attainment efforts. Today, the increase of retention levels is paramount, and, in many cases, it is at the center of higher education institution's strategic plans. For Andrews University, for example, the goal is to reach 80% in the next five years. In…

Young autistic Australians are less likely to attend higher education and have lower employment rates than non-autistic Australians (in: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Survey of disability, ageing and carers Australia: Summary of Findings 2018. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, 2019a). Few studies have examined post-school outcomes…

In the global phenomenon of widening participation policy in higher education, lower retention rates for students from less advantaged socio-economic circumstances have potential to undermine the social inclusion agenda of HE. This might be an issue in Europe but is not necessarily the case elsewhere. In this paper we consider statistical data on…

Supporting higher education participation across equity groups has long been a directed effort in global higher education practice and policy. However, to date, there has been little improvement in the rates of Australian higher education participation by equity groups such as regional/remote, low socioeconomic, and Indigenous Australian students.…

Important recent objectives of indigenous education policy in Australia have been aimed at redressing indigenous economic and social disadvantage through increasing student retention, progression and completion rates in both compulsory and post-compulsory education. The two sectors of the tertiary education system, vocational education and…