Objectives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education

The major objective of the RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) University Aboriginal Education Strategy is to provide an institutional learning environment in both vocational education and training and higher education that caters to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in general, and the Victorian Aboriginal Community in particular. This objective is implemented through consultation with both the students and the community through the Koori Education Unit, which also provides a bridge for outreach into the community.

Whilst DEETYA may regard the vocational education and training component of the University’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy as not relevant to higher education, it is nevertheless an important component of the University’s approach to client-centred teaching and learning and articulation between vocational education and training and higher education. Based on extensive knowledge of the University’s student catchment area and ongoing consultation with the local Aboriginal communities, RMIT University has found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are demanding education and training relevant to their needs. These needs fall into two categories:

• relevance in terms of content, which can range across traditional vocational education and training/higher education boundaries, and across traditional boundaries within either sector; and

• relevance in terms of providing pathways which may begin at a vocational education and training level and open into higher education opportunities.

Consequently, both RMIT University and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with which it liaises regard the University’s vocational education and training courses as a significant pathway into higher education and therefore relevant in the context of improving access, participation, success, and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in higher education at RMIT University.

University Strategies

RMIT University’s goal is to create and sustain a distinctive world-class university at the forefront of technical and professional education and real-world research, through continuous improvement and with all staff committed to quality management processes. Institutional strategies which are relevant to the University’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy include:

• to be more responsive to changing education and training client requirements for more tailored, more convenient, and more cost-effective education;

• to encourage successful participation by a diverse range of students from all social, cultural. and economic groups; and

• to improve responsiveness to client needs and time frames.

Divisional Strategies

Education and Training within RMIT University is responsible for the University’s teaching and learning activities and is therefore also responsible for implementing the institutional objectives and strategies which relate to:

• providing a total system of education in support of lifelong learning;

• continuing to be a mass provider of education in a range of places and modes;

• adopting a student-centred approach to education and training; and

• further developing programs to recruit and support disadvantaged groups of students.

Strategies and Performance

Management and Implementation of the RMIT University Aboriginal Education Strategy

The RMIT University Koori Education Unit is responsible for implementing the objectives set out in the Aboriginal Education Strategy. The Unit plays a key role in the planning, review and evaluation of the Strategy. The Unit is supported by the Koori Education Advisory Committee, which meets on a regular basis to review reports on the Unit’s activities. The Advisory Committee members include:

• representatives from the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc;

• representatives from the academic, teaching, and administrative Departments across the University;

• the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Services and Equity);

• the Equity Research Officer;

• Koori Students from the vocational education and training and higher education sectors; and

• the staff of the Unit.

The reports considered by this Committee provide documentation on the extent to which the goals and objectives of the University’s Strategy are translated into action by the Koori Education Unit and the impact of the implementation of the Strategy across the entire University.

Successful Outcomes Already Achieved

A range of strategies has been developed and implemented by the Koori Education Unit over the last two years which have been effective in improving success and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at RMIT University. The following list of positive outcomes from the Unit’s activities highlights the effectiveness of the strategies used.

• Significantly improved success and retention rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Ten students graduated in 1997 (compared with four students in 1996). This is a direct result of the particular needs of the students being identified and met by the Koori Education Unit.

• During 1997 the Koori Education Unit received a $10,000 RMIT University Quality Award for Community Services for the Unit’s involvement with the National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Commemoration Week.

• The Koori Education Unit provides a space on campus which provides cultural, personal and academic support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and the community. The Unit is also used as an open place for the Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

• An RMIT University TAFE graduate received the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year Award. He graduated from his course in 1997 and went on to set up the first ever Aboriginal Disability Unit in Dareton.

• Developing a resource library within the Unit containing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander non-fiction and fiction books, periodicals, journals, academic papers, and audio-visual material. This section is being catalogued as an enclave of the University Library.

• Since July 1996, the RMIT University Koori Liaison Officer in partnership with the Department of Visual Art and Design, has been working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists’ Community. The purpose of this project has been to develop a Koori Art and Design course that is relevant to the needs of the Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists’ Community and which promotes new technologies in the visual arts.

• The Aboriginal Tutorial Assistance Scheme for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is now in place.

• A Koori Context Curriculum Unit of study is now available to all students. This program is becoming increasingly popular and is a way of contributing to reconciliation.

Strategies for the 1999–2001 Triennium

The following strategies aimed at improving access, participation, success, and retention for Indigenous students are planned to be implemented over the triennium.

RMIT University Performance 1995 to 1998

Contact Officers

Ms Donna Leslie
Manager, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Support and Liaison Unit
Telephone: 03 9925 4886
Facsimile: 03 9925 4887
Email: donna.leslie@rmit.edu.au

Mr John Pittman
Senior Research Consultant
Telephone: 03 9925 7654
Facsimile: 03 9467 7524
Email: pittman@rmit.edu.au

Ms Shirley Barker
Head, Support & Advisory Services
Telephone: 03 9925 7238
Facsimile: 03 9467 8993
Email: shirleybarker@rmit.edu.au

Associate Professor RW Gray
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Services and Equity)
Telephone: 03 9925 7228
Facsimile: 03 9467 7524

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