University of Newcastle A: EQUITY OBJECTIVES Goal Enhance access, participation and progression for members of equity target groups, in accordance with equal opportunity and affirmative action principles. [From the Institutional Strategic Plan] Objectives •Ensure policies and practices reflect and respect the social and cultural diversity contained within the University and the community it serves; •Provide equity in study and employment by identifying barriers to access, participation and progression and by taking steps to overcome the barriers to equal opportunity; •Encourage a work and study environment which is supportive of diversity and free from discrimination; •Devolve responsibility for equity initiatives to Faculties and Cost Centres; •Improve educational and occupational outcomes for members of equity target groups. (From the University Equity, Access and Participation Strategic Plan – 1997.) B: STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE The following strategies are either new strategies or those that have been reviewed in 1997-1998. A full description of the University’s equity strategies can be found in Attachment 1 or on the University’s website at http://www.newcastle.edu.au 1. PEOPLE FROM A LOW SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND Unilink Following the recommendations of a review of the Unilink program in 1997, the program was expanded in 1998 to include an early intervention program in one Unilink school, where students in Years seven to nine will be introduced to the University through workshops and student role model visits to the school. At the end of 1998, a full evaluation of the pilot program will be undertaken. If the outcome of the evaluation is positive, the program will be extended to the other Unilink schools. Performance indicators: Retention to Year 12 in the Hunter and Central Coast region was 54.5% in 1997, compared with a state level of 63.3%. The University aims to achieve the state retention average in Unilink schools over the triennium and to increase access for this group to 36%. Regional and Rural Preference Scheme The Regional and Rural Preference Scheme assigns a notional four additional Universities Admission Index (UAI) points to direct school leavers who completed their HSC at a school in the Hunter or Central Coast Region, or to the northern and western borders of NSW. The Scheme is offered in recognition of the socio-economic disadvantage of students from the University’s primary and secondary catchment area, and the effect that rurality and isolation have on students’ preparation for the HSC. Performance Indicators: A new reporting mechanism to be introduced to the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) system in 1999 will enable the University to track the progress of students gaining admission through the Scheme. Retention and success of rural students and students of low socio-economic status are in excess of 1.0 which should be maintained. Achievement of similar levels of retention and success for isolated students over the triennium is planned. Academic Writing Skills Course This course was originally designed for students from a non-English speaking background but has been expanded to include any student wanting to improve their academic writing skills. The five week course works through the stages of academic writing and provides practice in a range of academic writing skills. Performance indicators: maintenance of retention and success levels of students of low socio-economic status at 1.0. Retention of students from a non-English speaking background was 1.054 in 1998 and success was 0.88 in 1997. These levels exceed those of other than equity group students. No increases are expected. HECS–Liable Equity Places for Full Fee Paying Postgraduate Coursework Programs In 1998 the University offered 30 places in postgraduate coursework degrees at the HECS fee instead of the full scheduled fee. The places were allocated on equity criteria. Emphasis was on low socio-economic status, with weighting for membership of any additional equity target groups. Socio-economic disadvantage was demonstrated by eligibility to receive a Department of Social Security Health Care Card. Appropriate documentation was required to support the other equity criteria. The Scholarships Committee is currently reviewing the criteria for the postgraduate HECS places in an effort to ensure the selection criteria are most relevant to the needs of postgraduate students. Recommendations of the review will be implemented for the 1999 admissions period. Performance indicators: three per cent of all fee paying postgraduate coursework places to be HECS liable to increase access for students of low socio-economic status. Retrenched BHP Employee Initiatives The University has undertaken a number of initiatives designed to provide retraining opportunities to retrenched BHP employees. In 1998, 59 BHP employees with an appropriate educational background have taken the opportunity to undertake a Bachelor of Education (Design and Technology) or a Diploma in Education for completion in approximately two years. This initiative has been undertaken in collaboration with the NSW Department of Education and Training and BHP management. Graduates will be guaranteed employment with the NSW Department of Education and Training. A recent evaluation of this initiative shows that none of the commencing students have withdrawn and that their academic performance is exceeding expectations. Performance Indicators: Achievement of success and retention rates at 1.0 for this group. Childcare In Semester 1, 1998, the University piloted a vacation care program for students and staff. Positive feedback was received and there are plans to continue offering this service. In addition, the University’s Equity and Development Committee and the student associations are in the process of negotiating to have some subsidised places for students at the community child care centres on campus. Performance indicators: with the project still under negotiation, performance indicators are yet to be determined. However, students of a low socio-economic status, sole parents and women in non-traditional study would be given priority to help redress under representation of these groups. 2. PEOPLE FROM RURAL AND ISOLATED AREAS Reach Out Owing to the large number of rural students in the University’s secondary catchment area, the University conducts outreach activities in rural areas. The Reach Out program aims to increase awareness of the higher education options available to rural students outside the traditional area of agricultural studies. Information packages specific to students from rural and isolated areas are distributed at schools and careers markets in rural areas. Performance indicators: an increase in access for students from rural and isolated areas to 18% for rural students and 1.0% for isolated students by 2001. Bachelor of Medicine Course - Rural/Remote Entry Scheme Applicants for the Bachelor of Medicine course who are completing their Year 12 studies in a designated rural or remote location are considered for entry to the B Medicine course if their UAI places them in the top 15% of applicants eligible for a UAI. Normally, applicants must attain a UAI that places them in the top 10%. The scheme is designed to improve access to the course for students from rural and isolated areas, and to encourage those students to return to rural and isolated locations after graduation to help redress the shortage of medical practitioners in those areas. Performance Indicators: Success for isolated students in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences to increase from 0.76 to 0.85 by 2001and retention to increase from 0.965 to 1.0. Maintenance of the existing levels of retention and success for rural students is expected. 3. WOMEN IN NON-TRADITIONAL STUDIES Women in Engineering Academic Project Officer Since 1996, the Women in Engineering Academic Project Officer has made a significant contribution towards gender equity and cultural change within the Faculty of Engineering. The project has taken steps to accelerate the integration of women within the Faculty of Engineering through raising awareness of gender issues by contributing prominently in the Faculty’s decision-making bodies as well as creating a more positive environment for women to study and succeed in. Prior to commencement of the project, the total percentage of women enrolled across all courses in the Faculty was 9%. By 1998 it had increased to 9.74% The increase was evenly spread across all courses in the Faculty, not just those already attracting women. Performance Indicators: In 1997 the national average of women in engineering was 14.48%. By the end of the triennium a participation rate of 10.5% is expected. Retention and success of women in engineering are both in excess of 1.0 and are expected to be maintained. SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) Program In conjunction with the Women in Engineering Academic Project Officer, the Unilink Coordinator is involved in a mentoring scheme for women in non-traditional fields. A female engineering student role model is used in Unilink visits to schools to introduce the idea of non-traditional fields of study to both boys and girls in schools. At the undergraduate level, final year undergraduate students mentor first year undergraduates, and postgraduate students and/or staff mentor final year undergraduates in non-traditional fields. Performance Indicators: A one per cent increase in access for women in engineering and women in science over the triennium. Slow growth is expected in this area due to cultural change. 4. PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY Voice Recognition Software In 1997-98, the University received Commonwealth Government funding to host a Regional Disability Liaison Officer (RDLO) position for the Hunter – Central Coast area. Amongst the initiatives undertaken by the RDLO was the purchase of Voice Recognition Software for use by students with disabilities. The RDLO and the Manager of the Adaptive Technology Centre have been successful in gaining funding from the NSW Universities Disabilities Co-operative Project to develop and test procedures for using voice recognition software, to examine hardware and software needs for the use of voice recognition programs, to evaluate the effectiveness of software for a range of disabilities and to promote the results across the education sector in NSW and Australia. Performance indicators: the University to be an adviser on voice recognition software to other universities, including reporting changes in the technology. Learning Skills Group A Tutoring Program for Students with Dyslexia will be undertaken in Semester 2, 1998. The group also runs courses in literacy skills, mathematics and statistics, study techniques for exams, and essay writing, note-taking and referencing. Performance Indicators: retention of students with a disability to increase from 0.949 to 0.980 by the end of the triennium. Success to increase from 0.92 to 0.95. 5. PEOPLE FROM NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING BACKGROUNDS (NESB) The University does not plan to implement any new strategies for students from a non-English speaking background. The policies and strategies already in place will continue. There are very few people in the University’s primary catchment area from a NESB. Only 3.5% of the primary catchment population speak a language other than English at home. In the region’s schools, 4.6% of students speak a language other than English at home compared with NESB enrolments across the state which represent 21.4% of all enrolments. Of the 165 applications for the Merit Based Equity Scholarships in 1998, only three were from people from a non-English speaking background. Given the difficulty in judging levels of under representation by language group and gender differences in patterns of participation, the University would prefer to wait until such data are available before it implements any new strategies for this group. 6. ALL EQUITY TARGET GROUPS Guidelines on Inclusive Language Use To assist in bringing about cultural change the University has published guidelines on the use of inclusive language to support its policy statement in this area. The guidelines include information and examples of language inclusive of gender and sexuality, of disability, of all ages, of indigenous people and all cultures. The University is actively investigating ways of effective implementation. Guidelines on Unlearning Racism To support its policy on racism the University has published guidelines directed primarily at students on overcoming racist assumptions and behaviours. The guidelines aim to correct misinformation and provide positive strategies for overcoming racism. Equity Information Initiative As part of the University’s goal to devolve responsibility for equity initiatives to Faculties and other Divisions, the 1999–2001 Equity Plan will be distributed to Deans and Heads of Divisions and published on the Web. The University Equity Access and Participation Strategic Plan has already been distributed. Review and Evaluation of Strategies The University has always been mindful of its responsibilities towards its surrounding communities and, given the diverse nature of these communities, has made equity principles an integral part of its student recruitment and its teaching and learning philosophies. Over the next ten years, the University will: •acknowledge the need for a diversity of pathways to higher education through enhanced credit transfer and articulation arrangements; •continue to have a major impact on the growth and development of the Hunter and Central Coast regions with major campuses at Callaghan and Ourimbah, and with other specialist sites reflecting the need for its professional programs; and •Increase emphasis on flexible modes of course delivery contributing to a broader, more diverse student profile. Management and Review Structure In 1997, the University’s Institutional Strategic Plan was revised to include equity as a specific goal of the University, resulting in the development of an Equity, Access and Participation Strategic Plan which provides a framework for the planning and implementation of equity initiatives across the University. Under this revised Strategic Plan, the President, Academic Senate has prime accountability for student equity. Equity needs and initiatives are governed and reviewed by the Equity and Development Committee, which is an advisory committee to the Vice–Chancellor and the Student Equity, Access and Progression Committee which reports to the Academic Senate. A Disability Committee reports to the Equity and Development Committee, along with a committee to assess submissions for new equity initiatives. As part of the devolution of responsibility for equity programs to Faculties and Divisions, specific committees have been established, such as the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Equity Committee, or designated positions, such as the Assistant Dean (Equity) in the Faculty of Education. Faculties have also appointed designated contacts for students in equity target groups, including International Student, Disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student Liaison Officers. Both policy statements were distributed at the end of 1997 with the booklet Guidelines for Practice which gives specific strategies for the implementation of the policies. C. REPORT ON MERIT BASED EQUITY SCHOLARSHIPS The University of Newcastle received seventy merit–based equity scholarships in 1998. For the purposes of scholarship selection the equity target groups were defined as follows. People from Socio–Economically Disadvantaged Backgrounds The University applied the criterion that the applicant must hold, or be eligible to receive, a Department of Social Security Health Care Card. This benchmark includes students on a government pension, benefit, or allowance such as Austudy or Abstudy, as well as students on low incomes as assessed by the Department of Social Security. People from Rural and Isolated Areas The 1992 classification of postcodes devised by the Department of Primary Industry and Energy which groups postcodes into urban, rural and isolated was used. Women in Non–Traditional Areas Using the DEETYA definition of ‘non–traditional area of study’ as a field of study or type of course for which the percentage of female enrolments is less than 40%, the courses included in this category in 1998 were the Bachelor of Science (Architecture), the Bachelor of Construction Management (Building), the Bachelor of Information Science, the Bachelor of Economics, the Bachelor of Science (Aviation) and all degrees offered by the Faculty of Engineering. People with Disabilities The definition was that used in the University’s Disability Action Plan, which is in line with the definition in the Federal Disability Discrimination Act No. 135, 1992, Section 4. (1), and includes physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, neurological and learning disabilities, as well as physical disfigurement. The applicants needed to supply full documentation to support their claims. People from a Non–English Speaking Background This group is defined by DEETYA as those who were born overseas and arrived in Australia less than ten years ago and who speak a language other than English at home. Full documentation was required for proof of date and place of birth, arrival in Australia and language spoken at home. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Candidates were those assessed by the Wollotuka Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Centre for admission under the Special Entry Provisions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students. Ten scholarships were reserved for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For non–reserved scholarships, Indigenous Australians who identified themselves on their enrolment forms as being either Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people and who were verified as such by the Wollotuka Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Centre were considered. Eligibility Criteria The University applied the following criteria: •students must be Australian citizens or permanent residents or New Zealand citizens; •students must be commencing their first undergraduate degree or diploma course for the first time; •students may be studying on a full– or part–time basis; •students must be members of the equity target group ‘people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds’; and •students may also be members of the following equity target groups: Indigenous Australians, women in non–traditional areas; people with a disability, people from a non–English speaking background and people from rural and isolated areas. Selection With the exception of the category ‘women in non–traditional areas’, the scholarships were available to students from any course (see definition of target groups above). Ten scholarships were reserved for Indigenous Australians from a socio-economically disadvantaged background who were admitted under the Special Entry Provisions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students. It was possible, however, for additional scholarships to be offered to Indigenous Australians. Selection of the remaining sixty scholarships was based on academic merit, that is the basis for the students’ admission to the University and the eligibility criteria specified above. Applicants could apply under more than one equity group. Applicants were ranked according to the combination of the basis of admission and the number of equity groups to which each applicant belonged. Severity of disadvantage, and belonging to multiple equity groups, was taken into account by weighting the Tertiary Entrance Rank or other entry score by which the student gained admission. Conditions The scholarships will be tenable for the minimum duration of the course. The scholarships will be subject to annual review; students must maintain satisfactory academic progress, normally ‘pass’ average or better. Publicity The scholarships were advertised on 2 January 1998 in the Central Coast Express; on 3 January in the Newcastle Herald, Maitland Mercury, Dubbo Daily Liberal, Grafton Daily Examiner, Coffs Harbour Advocate, Northern Daily Leader; and in the Port Macquarie Express on 7 January 1998. The scholarships were publicised in a widely distributed University of Newcastle Scholarships brochure and on the University’s homepage (http://www.newcastle.edu.au/cwis/Admin/gradschol/under.htm) Equity Group Membership of Recipients All recipients were members of the equity target group ‘people from low socio-economic backgrounds’. Of those recipients who were members of additional target groups, ten were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, thirty eight were from a rural or isolated area, two were from a non–English speaking background, six were women in non–traditional studies and eleven were people with a disability. Three recipients did not belong to any additional target groups. D. CONTACT OFFICERS Ms Gem Cheong Ms Gail White |