2016 Indigenous Education Statement

AEP Goal 4: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student participation rate

4. Achieve the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in higher education, at rates commensurate with those of all other Australians.

Your response to this goal needs to address but is not limited to the following points:

The total number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student enrolments for 2016, compared to 2015 (please provide an all student comparison).
Details of your Universities’ strategies to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student participation.
Indigenous Education/Support Unit’s role.

The total number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student enrolments is as follows:

	2015	2016
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students:	696	706
Non Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (Domestic students only):	21,633	21,066

Strategies to address participation (School of Rural Medicine)

Strategies	Outline of strategies	Constraints	Outcome
Submission of School strategic driven change proposal	Funds were requested to assist with supporting existing students to attend the Aboriginal Indigenous Doctors’ association (AIDA) annual event, noting AIDA’s goal to reach population parity of Aboriginal Doctors Attending this conference provides these Indigenous medical students to establish networks – an important consideration given the absence of an established Aboriginal Medical Service in Armidale. The University of Newcastle supports 8 AIDA registrations /year – four from the School and four from Wollotuka – the equivalent of Oorala Centre.	Non-recurrent funding	(2- 3 students per year, totalling $10k).

Strategies

Outline of strategies

Constraints

Outcome

Submission of School strategic driven change proposal

Funds were requested to assist with supporting existing students to attend the Aboriginal Indigenous Doctors’ association (AIDA) annual event, noting AIDA’s goal to reach population parity of Aboriginal Doctors

Attending this conference provides these Indigenous medical students to establish networks – an important consideration given the absence of an established Aboriginal Medical Service in Armidale.

The University of Newcastle supports 8 AIDA registrations /year – four from the School and four from Wollotuka – the equivalent of Oorala Centre.

Non-recurrent funding

(2- 3 students per year, totalling $10k).

Strategies to address participation (Schools of Business and Law)

Strategies	Outline of strategies	Constraints	Outcome
UNE Business School continued to offer courses with Indigenous content	UNE Business School continued to offer courses with Indigenous content	Dependent upon allocation of targeted promotion to prospective students.	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enrolments in Business continue to increase.
Law students Indigenous Community Moodle site	This site was created to build an online community for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law students at UNE, it provides information on news and events, academic supports, career and professional development opportunities.	The site currently managed by School of Law academic staff, within existing workloads and budgets.	Student engagement with the site is being monitored.
Build the number of indigenous HDR students	Scholarships to support student participation.	Funding allocation	Increase number of HDR students.

Strategies to address participation (School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences)

Strategies	Outline of strategies	Constraints	Outcome
Information session	As part of Oorala Aboriginal Centre’s University Experience Days, the Criminology unit at BCSS will be holding an information sessions for ATSI year 10 and 11 students from local high schools in June 2017.	None anticipated	Participation and promotion
Respecting Indigeneity Strategic Plan	The School created the Respecting lndigeneity Strategic Plan to guide the School’s overall operations and partly to increase applications for the School's Muriel Snow Scholarship for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, details available at: http://www.une.edu.au/about-une/academic-schools/bcss/current-students/scholarships-and-awards/bcss-prizes	No additional funding required	Underpins the School’s strategic planning and service provision

Strategies

Outline of strategies

Constraints

Outcome

Information session

As part of Oorala Aboriginal Centre’s University Experience Days, the Criminology unit at BCSS will be holding an information sessions for ATSI year 10 and 11 students from local high schools in June 2017.

None anticipated

Participation and promotion

Respecting Indigeneity Strategic Plan

The School created the Respecting lndigeneity Strategic Plan to guide the School’s overall operations and partly to increase applications for the School's Muriel Snow Scholarship for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, details available at:

http://www.une.edu.au/about-une/academic-schools/bcss/current-students/scholarships-and-awards/bcss-prizes

No additional funding required

Underpins the School’s strategic planning and service provision

Strategies to address participation (School of Health)

Strategies	Outline of strategies	Constraints	Outcome
Oorala relationship	Academic staff met with each Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student individually to outline course expectations	No	Great relationships with all Indigenous students and staff and positive outcomes for ATIS students in the School
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student support academic	An academic has responsibility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander liaison and support as an on-going aspect of their role.	Limited number, only 1	Provides excellent link s between Oorala, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and the Bachelor of Nursing program
All academic staff participle[ate in Oorala activities (e.g. NADOCH, Close the Gap Day)	All SOH staff are encouraged and supported to attend and participate in ATIS cultural events at the University or in the local community.	Time and workload commitments	Keeps staff current with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues And allows for staff engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural practices.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural Awareness day	Offered to all university staff on a monthly basis through Professional Development.	Only offered once a month and staff workloads and time commitments.	Positive insights into ATIS culture with stronger relationships and networks with Oorala

Strategies to address participation (School of Arts)

Strategies	Outline of strategies	Constraints	Outcome
Indigenous Mentoring Program	An Indigenous mentoring program was formulated the School of Arts in consultation with Paul Callaghan in 2016 for 2017 implementation to be delivered by the 2015 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Creative Practice Scholars.	No additional resources to run this program	Good feedback from students who participated.

Strategies to address participation (Oorala)

Strategies	Outline of strategies	Constraints	Outcome
Employment of an Online Engagement Officer	In 2016 we used HEPPP project funds to develop a Moodle site specifically for Indigenous students, providing a chat room, and a vehicle for communication between the students and between Oorala staff and students. Regular posts to the Oorala Facebook page has greatly increased the level of interest and the number of “likes”.	Students are bombarded by emails, social media posts and other communications from UNE, friends and other sources at a time when they are busy with their studies. It is hard to make an impact in that environment.	The position has made a significant impact on Oorala’s reach with its Facebook page and we have built a Moodle site for Indigenous students.
Student support	Oorala offers are wide range of services to promote the participation of Indigenous students at UNE. These include: General assistance for student by phone and face-to-face with their issues; Personalised case management of students “at risk” of dropping out; Tutoring program; An on-campus student lab with computers and wifi access; An Elder-in-Residence; Public events to mark NAIDOC Week, Sorry Day etc.	The physical constraints of the resources we have available. About 2/3 of our students are online and it is more difficult to cater to their needs, hence the creation of the above position.	A significant number of students use Oorala’s services, especially tutoring and the student lab. We have testimonials from many graduating students praising the work of Oorala staff and the services we provide.
Tutoring	Oorala provides tutoring support specifically tailored to the needs of Indigenous students. During 2016 Oorala’s Student Support Team coordinated the provision of 3260 hours of tutoring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at UNE.	Requests for tutoring continued to rise through the year. We were forced to seek an additional funding of $60,000 from UNE to meet the needs of students.	A greatly increased number of tutoring hours provided, compared to 2015.
Case management of at risk students	Students deemed “at risk” by the UNE Automated Wellness Engine are assigned to a Student Support Officer at Oorala to provide a range of support.	Large number of students per student support worker	Significant improvement in retention rate in 2016.

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