This week we welcome ‘guest blogger’, Dr Cathy Stone who is currently a NCSEHE Equity Fellow exploring institutional factors affecting the academic success and retention of external, fully online undergraduate students, many of whom are first in their families to enrol in university. With Australian university student numbers set to increase as a result of the demand driven system… Read More
We’ve been working really hard to refine and bring together these overarching principles. They are the result of some great contributions from practitioners given through feedback and workshop activities across the country. The 7 Overarching Principles are: PRINCIPLE 1: Changing conversations: Engage with family and community. PRINCIPLE 2: Take the mystery out of university PRINCIPLE 3: Make… Read More
“Rather than focus on what people lack, better understanding is gained from focusing on strengths in order to develop ways of understanding first-in-family students that seek to challenge notions of access and participation.” (O’Shea,2015) In November 2015, I was invited to the QUT Caboolture Campus to run a workshop on first-in-family learners. During the day,… Read More
“More than 50 per cent of Australian tertiary education students are the first in their family to go to university and that number is increasing.” (O’Shea, 2015) In February 2015, we ran a very successful forum entitled Breaking the Barriers Forum on First in Family Students in Higher Education. The forum was very well… Read More