This month marked the end of the OLT Fellowship with the submission of the final report and evaluation. What a journey! Over the last 18 months I have had the pleasure of meeting a diverse range of stakeholders from across Australia and also, visited cities and towns in nearly all states. I also became closely acquainted… Read More
Despite interventions, national departure rates from Australian universities remain consistently high at 18% but if we focus only on figures, we fail to adequately address the personal impacts that leaving university has on those who do depart. In fact, we know that these departing students are often the most vulnerable in our society and… Read More
The Conversations on Engaging and Retaining First-in-Family Learners in Higher Education on Friday 25th November at the University of Wollongong was the finale for this OLT Fellowship – and what a great day it was! We began planning the forum in earnest in March and drew on what we’d done the previous year for the… Read More
I was recently invited to participate in the National Roundtable on Students as Partners organised by Kelly Matthews – this was part of Kelly’s Fellowship work and was held at University of Queensland in September. The Students as Partners approach to curriculum development and university engagement is broadly defined by authentic collaboration between staff and students both within… Read More
‘My higher education journey was facilitated by the encouragement and guidance of the people around me. The support that I received provided me with a sense of purpose in my studies and a sense of belonging to the university community.’ (Lisa, FiF student 2016) Part of my OLT Fellowship is exploring ways to foreground… Read More
‘I have learnt [university] is not as daunting as I thought…’ (Grandmother of School Student, Survey Respondent 2016) The quote above is derived from research that I have been conducting with the parents / caregivers of future university students, concerning respondents’ perceptions and understandings about university. The data from this research, combined with interviews and surveys… Read More
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
“Students with parents that didn’t go to college don’t have that person they can call when they have a question. They have no map. That child is lost.” (New, 2014) Not having a ‘map’ or guide when you arrive at university certainly can have significant repercussions for the HE journey, not only in the initial… Read More
Details of the program and also presentations for our upcoming National Forum: Conversations about Retaining and Engaging First-in-Family Learners in HE have just been released; we are also now calling for Lightening Presentations on Best Practice. So, if you are doing something interesting with first-in-family learners and want to share it, follow the link to our… Read More
“My sphere of influence is small but my awareness has been raised and I can respond more appropriately to possible FiF learners” (Participant: OLT Fellowship Workshop) In February 2015 we held the inaugural First-in-Family Forum at University of Wollongong, the Forum attracted 113 participants from over nineteen universities across Australia. At the culmination of the… Read More