Boosting overall participation and success in higher education for students from regional, rural and remote Australia, including First Australians, was a strong theme in the Report. These students contribute to regional growth, increase the capabilities of the local workforce, and improve local and national productivity.
At UNE, none of this is news to us.
We have been doing this for 70 years and we already know how to create success for the very people the Minister wants to support through reform. For instance, UNE ranks third nationally in successfully graduating Indigenous students, and we have proven programmes and supports in place to do more.
However, boosting participation and equity costs money, and the Report recommends moving to a needs-based funding model where universities are paid more based on the actual costs of providing education to the students they support. UNE’s students and communities are well positioned to benefit from this reform as we graduate greater numbers of rural, regional, indigenous and low SES students.
The Report went as far as to outline participation targets to ensure that all Australians, regardless of background, have the opportunity to go to university and contribute to sustaining our nation’s skills needs by the year 2050.
Based on these targets, the aspirational university the Minister seeks to create already exists at UNE - one that gives more members of our society a crack at attaining a university education.
These are the targets outlined by the report with the aim of reaching participation parity by 2050, and UNE’s current position:
- 3.3% First Nations students by 2035 – UNE is already at 4.44%
- 20.2% students from lowest quartile SES backgrounds by 2035 – UNE is already there at 20.48%
- 24.0% regional, rural, and remote students by 2035 – UNE’s student body is 38.92% regional, rural, and remote
- maintaining participation rates for students with disability – UNE is now at 17.69%
We are ready, indeed enthusiastic, about increasing our impact by supporting more students but funding reforms must follow to enable this.
This raises another important recommendation of the Report - the criticality of fully supporting tertiary preparation courses with Commonwealth funds. They are finally being recognised for the vital role they play in throwing open the door to higher education for many unconventional students.
Again, this is not new to us. UNE has had an Enabling Pathways program in place since our inception and I strongly agree with the recommendation that these programs are expanded and fully funded.
The Accord Final Report states “delivering education in regional and remote Australia is central to ensuring access and participation for all Australians and the success of regional communities. Regional universities shoulder more than their fair share of the task of educating groups under-represented in higher education”.
I agree, and UNE is already doing the heavy lifting. But we also stand ready to mobilise to deliver even greater value to our widespread communities. We are increasing our presence in Tamworth, we are investing in courses that address skills shortages and research that addresses regional and global challenges, and we are creating opportunities for students to study and stay in the regions.
The individuals, communities and economies of regional Australia absolutely need the government to act on the recommendations made in the Report to better fund the work we are already doing. Just imagine what we could achieve with the opportunities presented by adequate needs-based funding proposed.
I am thankful for the work by Professor Mary O’Kane and the Panel and their focus on our regions, and am cautiously optimistic about implementation.
