Objectives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education

The University of Ballarat, Wimmera Institute of TAFE, and the School of Mines and Industries, Ballarat, merged on 1 January 1998 to form a new tertiary institute in western Victoria encompassing a Vocational Education and Training Division and a Higher Education Division. The merger will have a significant and positive impact on future program development and recruitment.

Indigenous education is overtly embedded in the University of Ballarat’s statements and strategic plans for the 1999–2001 triennium. The University's Mission Statement enables students to develop the lifelong capacity for intellectual enquiry and creatively fulfilling vocational aspirations through the achievements of the goal of providing a stimulating and supportive educational environment. As a result, graduates are self-directed learners, multi-disciplinary team members, problem solvers and effective communicators who are competent in their disciplines.

The following University of Ballarat objectives are significant to the Aboriginal Education Strategy Plan 1999–2001:

• provide a supportive and developmental learning environment that is stimulating, inclusive, and diverse, which attracts a representative range of Australian and international students;

• involve itself in partnerships with industrial, government, educational, and community groups; and

• provide leadership in economic, cultural, and community development within the region.

Strategies and Performance

Provide a supportive and developmental learning environment that is stimulating, inclusive, and diverse, which attracts a representative range of Australian and international students.

The Aboriginal Education Centre continues to be a focal point in contributing to a supportive and developmental learning environment through the provision of advice to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff and students. Strategies employed by the Centre include:

• continued development of additional culturally appropriate resource materials within the AEC and in the wider University—with the AEC resources being available to Indigenous students/staff and non-Indigenous students/staff across the University and the wider community;

• ongoing review of University curricula to ensure that Indigenous perspectives and viewpoints are incorporated; and

• assisting all staff of the University to develop greater cross-cultural sensitivity.

Involve itself in partnerships with industrial, government, educational, and community groups.

Through the Aboriginal Education Centre, the University of Ballarat has been able to establish partnerships with a diverse range of groups. These include:

• continuing improvement of the links between the various Schools and Branches of the University and the AEC;

• ongoing involvement of the Indigenous community in the decision-making process and activities of the University; and

• establishment of partnerships with government departments and industry groups through purchase of services and provision of scholarship assistance.

Provide leadership in economic, cultural, and community development within the region.

The University of Ballarat, through the Aboriginal Education Centre, supports the economic, cultural, and community development of its Indigenous students and communities through:

• provision of appropriate space that provides cultural, personal, and academic support for Indigenous students at the AEC;

• improving the pathways for Indigenous students into higher education, and developing a pathways document to further enhance this process—in line with the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc (VAEAI) Pathways Initiative;

• development and implementation of the Aboriginal Tertiary Orientation Program (a one day introduction to tertiary studies for local year 10 Indigenous students); and

• development and implementation of the Aboriginal Junior University Program (a four-day orientation to higher education for year 11 and 12 Indigenous students from across Victoria).

Future Strategies

The Aboriginal Education Centre will continue to act as a point of contact, information, and referral both internally and externally, for Indigenous and non-Indigenous interests. Additional specific strategies to meet the University’s overall objectives include:

• participation on the Equity Scholarship Committee;

• liaison with Indigenous communities;

• liaison with Schools in the region and beyond to raise the general awareness about Indigenous education issues, and to raise awareness among Indigenous students about higher education opportunities;

• development and implementation of continuing education programs for Indigenous people;

• reviewing and monitoring entry policies and procedures;

• advertising and coordinating Aboriginal Admissions Policy;

• increasing Indigenous input into decision-making throughout the University;

• providing professional development activities to sensitise academic and general staff to the needs and values of Indigenous students;

• coordinating the delivery of the Aboriginal Junior University Program which brings year 10 to 12 Indigenous secondary students into the university for six days of orientation to tertiary life;

• input into the University’s and VAEAI’s separate pathways projects with an aim of improving Indigenous access to university level studies;

• implementation of the Indigenous Mentor Program;

• ongoing implementation of an Aboriginal Scholarship Program; and

• implementation of the University of Ballarat and VAEAI Aboriginal Tertiary Education Agreement.

Review and Evaluation Mechanisms

The Joint Management Committee for Koorie Education (JMCKE), which meets every six weeks, monitors, reviews, and evaluates all strategies through involvement in all planning, management, and decision-making processes concerning Indigenous programs and initiatives in the University. The JMCKE continues to be the major consultative mechanism for the Indigenous community at the University of Ballarat and has the power to make representations/submissions to the University’s Academic Board. Membership is as follows:

• Ballarat & District Aboriginal Cooperative (Chair)

• Coordinator, AEC

• Aboriginal Student Support Officer, AEC

• Aboriginal student representative

• Koorie Liaison Officer, School of Mines & Industries (TAFE)

• two Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group members

• VAEAI Higher Education Representative

• Aboriginal Education Worker (secondary schools)

• DEETYA Aboriginal Programs (Aboriginal Officer)

• Vice Chancellor, University of Ballarat (or delegate)

• Director, Academic Services Branch

• Head of School of Behavioural & Social Sciences & Humanities

• Lecturer, Behavioural & Social Sciences & Humanities

• Lecturer, School of Education

The management structure will change with the signing of the Aboriginal Tertiary Education Agreement between the University of Ballarat and VAEAI. The Agreement will see the introduction of a new management structure for Indigenous education and training through the establishment of the Aboriginal Education Management Committee. This committee will provide greater participation in the decision-making structures of the institution, as well as reflect the regional nature of the newly merged University.

Aboriginal Education Management Committee membership:

Indigenous Members

• two Ballarat Aboriginal Education Consultative Group representatives

• two Horsham Aboriginal Education Consultative Group representatives

• two VAEAI representatives

• an Aboriginal Chair independent of the institution

• Aboriginal student representative

Non-Indigenous Members

• Deputy Vice-Chancellor

• Chair of Academic Board

• Chair of Board of Studies (TAFE)

The committee is able to coopt two additional members if it requires and has the power to make representations/submissions to the University’s Academic Board, Board of Studies, and the Vice-Chancellor’s Advisory Committee.

Performance Indicators

The University of Ballarat's retention and success indicators for 1997 are as follows:

Only brief comment is provided because the small sample size (fourteen Indigenous students in 1998) makes outcomes extremely volatile and thus unreliable. Any conclusions reached must be treated with care.

The University plans that once a student is enrolled at the University they will have a success rate and retention rate that is the same as the students who are not in the equity group.

The University of Ballarat targets potential Indigenous students from across Victoria, both school-leavers and those re-entering the education field. With the new University of Ballarat incorporating the previous School of Mines, Ballarat, and the Wimmera Institute of TAFE, new opportunities exist to enhance educational opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In particular the opportunity to provide pathways for the seventy-five Indigenous students enrolled in the two TAFE campuses of the University of Ballarat extends the potential student base for the University.

It should be noted that Indigenous students, on average, access higher education five years later than their non-Indigenous counterparts. This five year difference, together with the impact of the DEETYA changes to ABSTUDY, have the potential to reduce the prospects of both attracting and improving the pathway opportunities for non-school-leaving Indigenous people. The abatement rate introduced to calculate living allowance and dependent spouse allowance will have the effect of gradually reducing assistance to Indigenous students at an earlier point than was previously the case. ABSTUDY changes will also impact on the number of qualifications any one person can gain while receiving ABSTUDY assistance.

Contact Officers

Wayne Muir
Coordinator
Aboriginal Education Centre
Telephone: 03 5327 9795

Jodie Lowe
Aboriginal Student Support Officer
Aboriginal Education Centre
Telephone: 03 5327 9798

Mary Hickey
Director
Academic Services Branch
Telephone: 03 5327 9550