ACSES

This NAIDOC week marks a milestone of five decades of celebrating and recognising the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The 2026 theme "Fifty Years of Deadly" signifies the tremendous effort and devotion of those who built this movement and continue to fight for justice.

"Fifty Years of Deadly" is an opportunity for us all to look back and reflect on the journey taken for us to get to this point, but most of all it is a chance to recognise the strength and courage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

As we celebrate these achievements, we must continue to remember our shared responsibility to create a better future. At the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success, we are committed to support our First Nations colleagues and centre Indigenous voices to advance equity in education and beyond.

#NAIDOC2026 #NAIDOCWeek #50YearsOfDeadly

Last week, ACSES hosted an Equity Fellowship Webinar featuring 2025 ACSES Equity Fellow Associate Professor Kelly Linden.

Kelly presented her findings from her Fellowship "Is the problem us? Helping part-time students to succeed in a full-time world" which highlighted the extent to which part-time students, who make up 35% of all domestic Australian university students, are juggling competing responsibilities, such as caring and work commitments.

The webinar provoked many insightful and productive discussions amongst audience members, and the Question and Answers portion welcomed further conversation on the part-time student experience such as Regional University Study Hubs, Equivalent Full-Time Student Load, and encouraging constructive behaviour post-failure.

🎥 You can now view a recording of the webinar here: youtu.be/rQQ-sx8hXhw

🔗 For more information on Kelly and her Equity Fellowship, visit here: acses.edu.au/event/acses-eq…

🔦 Report highlights emerging opportunities in student equity data governance. New ACSES research report highlights emerging opportunities for universities, as demands for sensitive student equity data intensify across the sector.

The study by ACSES Equity Fellow Dr Bret Stephenson examined how Australian universities are managing challenges around the governance of equity data, which tracks how students from underrepresented backgrounds enrol, study, and succeed in higher education.

This question was explored in the context of the rapid digital transformation of the sector, alongside major reforms to privacy laws driven by the Australian Universities Accord’s call for expanded equity data collection.

Dr Stephenson conducted the research while at La Trobe University, drawing on interviews with equity practitioners and senior leaders at institutions across Australia.

Funded via ACSES’s Equity Fellowship program, the report also provides practical recommendations for governments, universities, and practitioners to improve the collection and reporting of student equity data.

You can now read Dr Stephenson’s Equity Fellowship report in full on the ACSES website: acses.edu.au/publication/ce…

⭐ ACSES Equity Hub: 2026 Community of Practice #3

ACSES will be hosting its third CoP event for 2026, bringing student equity colleagues together to provide an opportunity for practitioners to share their lessons learned and best practices in student equity and program evaluation.

This event, to be held online, will include presentations from Griffith University and Waipapa Taumata Rau/University of Auckland, with Griffith discussing their recent work to understand the cumulative impact of multiple initiatives/programs, and Auckland their growing University Entrance (UE) Success secondary schools partnership focusing on Māori and Pacific University Entrance attainment and how they are measuring the impact.

For further information on each presentation, visit here: acses.edu.au/event/acses-eq…

📅 Tuesday, 28 July 2026
⏰ 11:00am–12:30pm AWST | 1:00pm–2:30pm AEST
📍 Online via Zoom
🧷 Visit here to register: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regist…

🌟 Enabling programs pave way to university success 🌟 New ACSES research report reveals compelling evidence that in-school enabling programs (ISEPs) are delivering strong and effective direct pathways to university.
The report presents the findings of the first national study to compare ISEPs across institutions, examining how they work and the outcomes they achieve—particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Led by Dr Angela Jones of Edith Cowan University, and funded through ACSES’s Large Grants Research Program, the study also involved researchers from Murdoch University, Southern Cross University, and the University of Southern Queensland.
You can now read the report in full on the ACSES website: acses.edu.au/publication/ne…