Student Equity Plan 20042006

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Equity

• Equity is the recognition of structural
  disadvantage and inequality.
• The implementation of structured responses and
  mechanisms to intervene in the effects of
  disadvantage and inequality.
• Equity is a key principle of the State and
  Federal Education systems.

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Background Higher Education

• Equity reporting and targets in Higher Education
  for 10 years.
• Growth of equity cohorts has been matched by
  growth in the education system, and remains
  static as a proportion of Higher Education
  student populations.
• Nelson reforms have a renewed focus on equity.
• RMIT equity performance statistics are available
  athttp//www.rmit.edu.au/equity/statistics

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Higher Education Equity Program

• To focus national equity policy and the Higher
  Education Equity Program (HEEP) on students
  experiencing significant educational disadvantage
• performance-driven funding methodology
• new eligibility criteria for access to HEEP funds
  
• more effective monitoring and reporting

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HEEP - Criteria

• Institutions must have
• outreach programs to attract equity group
  students to higher education
• specialised support for equity group members
• Commonwealth Learning Scholarships (CLS)
• institutional scholarships to complement the CLS
  program

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CURRENT EQUITY GROUPS

• Low Socio-Economic status
• Non-English speaking background
• Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander
• Rural and isolated
• Disability
• Women in non-traditional areas

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TAFE CONTEXT

• National Strategy for VET 2004-2010 - Shaping Our
  Future (April, 2004)
• Focus on
• Highly skilled workforce
• Employers and individuals
• communities and regions
• Indigenous Australians

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TAFE Disadvantaged Groups

• indigenous Australians
• people with disabilities
• people who face barriers to education and
  training for a variety of reasons
• emerging skills needs of mature age workforce and
  our ageing population

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TAFE State Priorities

• Disengaged youth (15-19 year olds)
• Koorie students
• Students with disabilities
• Older people (re-skilling, up-skilling)

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PATHWAYS

• Commonwealth and State focus on pathways
• partnership across sectors
• partnerships with the community
• pathways for young people
• pathways for marginalized learners in the
  community.

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RMIT Student Equity Diversity Strategy

• Education has a unique, transformative role in
• enabling individuals to reach their full
  potential
• creating an equal and democratic society and
• increasing economic and social capital through
  innovation.
• RMIT Student Equity Diversity Strategy
  2004-2006 is available at http//www.rmit.edu.au/
  browseIDx6of1fqm23721

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Policy

• RMITs Admissions policy states that
• The University
• Shall provide access to education to the broadest
  range of people possible and to actively expand
  the opportunities of applicants from groups who
  are under-represented in the student population
• Shall develop specific schemes, procedures and
  guidelines to facilitate the access of applicants
  from those groups and may establish targets for
  the entry of particular categories of applicants.

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TAFE Articulants

• Target of 10 per cent per program of commencing
  undergraduate students for students articulating
  from TAFE programs both within and external to
  RMIT.
• RMIT Admissions Policy is available
  athttp//www.rmit.edu.au/course-admin/operating-p
  rocedures

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Equity Admissions

• Equity Admissions Schemes are the mechanisms by
  which we achieve our equity access targets,
  through alternative forms of selection and
  admission.
• Equity admissions schemes are tailored to target
  applicants in our equity cohorts as defined by
  DEST and OTTE.

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EQUITY targets - admission

• The University has established an equity target
  of 20 of commencing students which includes a
  10 TAFE articulation target (from both RMIT and
  non-RMIT TAFE programs).
• The distribution between the three categories is
• SNAP - from 10 to 20
• SEAS/ACESS - up to 10
• TAFE Articulants - up to 10
• Equity targets by program are available at
  http//www.rmit.edu.au/equity/schemes

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Equity Admissions Schemes

• Applicable for Undergraduate and TAFE selection.
• Special Entry Access Schemes (SEAS) Alternative
  Category Equity Selection Scheme (ACESS)
• SEAS VTAC applicants all Victorian
  Institutions, SEAS application additional to VTAC
  application.
• ACESS Direct applicantsRMIT only, ACESS
  application additional to Direct application.

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ACESS/SEAS

• ACESS and SEAS allow the consideration of
  disadvantage and an alternative paradigm for the
  evaluation of capacity to succeed through the
  consideration of additional information provided
  by the applicant.
• Eligibility is for SEAS and ACESS categories is
  determined first by whether the applicant is a
  current year 12 student or not.

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SEAS/ACESS eligibility

• Current Year 12 students
• Recognition as an indigenous Australian
• Disability or long term medical condition
• RMIT Schools Network Access Program (SNAP)
• Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) holder or asylum
  seeker on a bridging visa (ACESS only)

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Non-Year 12 Students
SEAS/ACESS eligibility

• Non Year 12 students
• Mature age entry (Diploma of Further Education
  students only)
• Non-English speaking background
• Recognition as an indigenous Australian
• Difficult family circumstances
• Disadvantaged socio-economic background
• Rural or isolated students
• Disability or long term medical condition
• Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) holder or asylum
  seeker on a bridging visa (ACESS only)

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SNAP

• Schools Network Access Program
• Our main equity access program for year 12
  leavers
• 43 disadvantaged schools in the Northern
  Metropolitan, Gippsland and Geelong regions.
• Applicants who are unlikely to achieve the ENTER
  for program selection but highly likely to
  succeed in their chosen programs are endorsed by
  their SNAP schools and compete an additional RMIT
  SNAP application.

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SNAP

• SNAP applicants are chosen and endorsed by their
  schools.
• SNAP applicants are assessed by RMIT and given
  provisional offers prior to the release of VCE
  results.
• SNAP applicants must still meet pre-requisites
  and/or additional requirements before being made
  the Round 1 offer.

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SNAP applications
SNAP Applicants

• Must demonstrate
• Applicant understanding and commitment to
  program(s)
• Pre-requisites and additional requirements
• VCE teacher ranking of potential for success
  (specific and general)
• School assessment of capabilities

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SNAP applications
SNAP school assessment

• Ranking on potential for academic success at RMIT
  not year 12 success.
• writing skills,
• comprehension and analytical skills,
• communication skills,
• mathematics subjects,
• physics and/or chemistry subjects
• biology and/or multi-strand science subjects
• art, visual arts, design subjects

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SNAP applications
School assessment

• Ranking on potential for success personal
  attributes
• Commitment to RMIT programs chosen
• Capacity for independent work
• Ability to complete tasks within a given time
  frame
• Determination and persistence
• Overall potential for success

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Indigenous Open Admissions

• New for 2005
• Applicants will be admitted as long as program
  requirements are met.
• Where program requirements are not met the a
  pathways plan will be developed and the applicant
  admitted into a pathways plan. Selection Officers
  are to recommend a pathways option.

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Refugee and Asylum Seeker Project

• ACESS only
• Temporary Protection Visa holders and asylum
  seekers on bridging visas
• Applicants submit an ACESS and Direct application
  form and capabilities statement which
  demonstrates understanding, commitment and
  capacity for success.

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Equity Selection Case Management

• Driven by an evaluation of capacity to succeed,
  and evaluation of disadvantage. Case management
  assessment and recommendations will inform
  Selection Officer decisions.
• Disability Liaison Unit
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit
• Access and Equity

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Equity Selection Management

• VTAC applicants (SNAP and SEAS)
• Applications viewable as PDFs, bookmarked by VTAC
  number, and available on CDs and/or emailed by
  selection officer/program from OPS to Portfolio
  Admissions Managers.
• Case management reports and selection officer
  decisions entered onto spreadsheet.

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Equity Selection Management

• Direct applicants (ACESS SNAP)
• Applications viewable in hard copy, distributed
  by OPS to Portfolio Admissions Managers.
• Case management reports and selection officer
  decisions entered onto spreadsheet.

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Timelines - SNAP

• VTAC data to institutions 1st November
• Available for case management 4th November
• SNAP to Portfolio Admissions Managers 15th
  November
• SNAP selection deadline 25th November (return of
  spreadsheets to you Admissions Managers).
• Equity Selection Panel meets 29th November
• Offer letters 3rd December

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Timeline SEAS/ACESS

• VTAC data to institutions 1st November
• Available for case management 4th November
• SEAS/ACESS to Portfolio Admissions Managers 26th
  November
• SO deadline 9th December (return of spreadsheets
  to Portfolio Admissions Managers)
• Equity Selection Panel 13th December

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Offers

• The equity spreadsheets are a management tool to
  support the assessment, recording and reporting
  of equity selection.
• Equity applicants are then re-ranked for round 1
  offers as applicable, or selected on the AMS as
  applicable.

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Equity Selection Panel

• Academic Policies Operation Committee
• The Equity Selection Panel will convene during
  the admission and selection period, to consider
  equity applications for admission. The Panel will
  also meet to consider refused or denied equity
  applications.

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ESP Membership

• Case Managers (Aboriginal and Torres Strait
  Islander Unit, Disability Liaison Unit, Access
  and Equity)
• Dean, Academic Development or nominee
• Portfolio Equity representatives as applicable.

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Student Performance

• Longitudinal research at RMIT shows that
  students with a range of ENTERs who are committed
  and motivated, and understand the program they
  are going into, do very well academically.
• Tertiary entrance ranks and subsequent academic
  performance of students at RMIT University 1995-
  1998 available at http//mams.rmit.edu.au/gn8bjf
  jmtn3g.pdf

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National Research
National research

• As part of a national review of equity
  performance in 2004 the Centre for the Study of
  Higher Education has found that there is an
  absence of significant difference in the academic
  success of equity intakes from standard ENTER
  based intakes.
• ENTER is not an adequate measure of individual
  potential, even though it is treated that way.
  ENTER partly measures school/family/community
  advantage or disadvantage. James, CSHE, 2004

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RMIT SNAP ENTERS 2003
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UG SNAP results 2003
UG Results 2003
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CASE Studies

• Krishma SNAP
• Joel Disability Long Term Medical Condition
  SEAS
• Mardi Indigenous Open Admission SEAS
• Fardi Refugee and Asylum Seeker Project ACESS
• Trung Diploma of Further Education SEAS
• Anna SNAP

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Krishma - SNAP

• Krishma has applied for Journalism at RMIT
  through the SNAP Scheme. She comes from an
  isolated disadvantaged school in the SNAP
  Program. In her SNAP applicant statement she
  refers to work experience she completed at the
  regional news service, and a portfolio of
  journalism articles she has developed by
  volunteering at the Orbost Chronicle over the
  last three years. Her application demonstrated
  understanding of the Journalism program and a
  real passion for the discipline. Krishma goes to
  a friends house every Tuesday night to
  participate in the ABCs Foreign Correspondent
  on-line forum as she does not have Internet at
  home. She is ranked by her school as having a
  high capacity for future academic success,
  independent learning and Journalism specific
  capabilities (communication, comprehension and
  analytical skills, writing skills). Krishma is
  likely to get an ENTER well below the cut off for
  Journalism, however she is offered a SNAP place
  on the basis of her application and potential for
  future success.

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Joel - SEAS

• Joel has applied for the Advanced Diploma of
  Civil Engineering. Joel has been in and out of
  work for the last 5 years due to chronic health
  issues resulting from his mental illness. Joel
  has made an application under SEAS disability and
  long-term medical condition. The Disability
  Liaison Unit has assessed Joels application and
  advised that the duration of disadvantage is of
  long term, but of a high level, and that this has
  impacted on his participation in employment and
  education. Joel developed mental health issues in
  high school that werent diagnosed and he dropped
  out of school at the end of year 11. Joel has now
  been properly diagnosed and has a treatment plan
  for his regular medication. He highly committed
  and motivated to a new educational and future
  employment outcome. Joel didnt complete all of
  year 11 due to his illness, but has completed
  units 3 and 4 of maths methods successfully
  through night classes this year. He demonstrates
  understanding of, and commitment to, Civil
  Engineering. Joel is admitted under SEAS.

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Mardi - Indigenous

• Mardi is an Indigenous Australian of Torres
  Strait Islander descent. Mardi attended a
  regional High School, but was unable to complete
  year 11 due to responsibilities at home. Whilst
  at High School she wanted to be a fashion
  designer, and studied relevant subjects. Since
  then she has continued to draw and design. Mardi
  applies under SEAS - recognition as an
  Indigenous Australian, for the Degree in Fashion,
  but turns up at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
  Islander Unit concerned about the cost of
  education, transitioning back to study and moving
  to Melbourne. She is really worried about the
  additional two hour design exercise and
  subsequent folio presentation. Her design
  exercise shows her potential in the discipline,
  and the selection officers consider her disrupted
  education, and recommend a pathways plan of the
  Diploma of Arts Studio Textiles and Design to
  support the development of her skills. Through
  the Indigenous Open Admission Scheme Mardi, in
  liaison with the TAFE and Higher Education areas,
  the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit,
  LSU is admitted into a pathway plan, comprising
  the Diploma of Arts Studio Arts, and later the
  Degree in Fashion.

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Fardi - Refugee

• Fardi is a refugee applicant on a temporary
  protection visa. He is 22 and has been in
  Australia for 2 years, 18 months of that at
  Baxter Detention Centre. Prior to fleeing Iraq
  Fardi had completed High School and was enrolled
  in Civil Engineering. He had to flee Iraq after a
  year of University, and has no transcripts of his
  study. As an RASP ACESS applicant Fardi completes
  a capabilities statement, in which he
  demonstrates a high level of understanding of
  Civil Engineering, capacity to succeed in the
  maths, English language proficiency and an
  awareness of his own capabilities. Fardi is
  admitted into the Civil Engineering program, and
  additionally is supported in having a successful
  transition to education through specific
  orientation and transition activities.

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Trung Diploma of Further Education

• Trung has been enrolled in the Diploma of Further
  Education. Trung is a recent migrant through
  family reunion with disrupted education in his
  country of origin. Trung has applied for
  International Business, and has spent the year of
  DFE study completing units 3 and 4 of maths
  methods, developing excellent study skills and a
  portfolio of his English communication and
  analytical skills. Trung also speaks several
  South East Asian languages. Trung applies through
  SEAS mature age and as a Diploma of Further
  Education student has an interview with the
  selection officer to present his portfolio. He is
  highly recommended for academic success by the
  DFE co-ordinator, who has been intensively
  working with Trung over 12 months to prepare him
  for tertiary study. Trung is admitted into the
  degree in International Business.

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Anna - SNAP

• Anna is a SNAP applicant for the B. Arts
  (Photography). She has a passion and clear
  commitment to the program and has been working on
  her folio. She is highly recommended by her
  school. Anna is in an unsupportive family
  environment, and her studio arts teacher is
  shared with three other schools in the region.
  Anna does not complete the required pre-selection
  kit, and so cannot be short listed to attend the
  folio presentation. The selection officer notes
  this in his deny on the equity database. Anna is
  not made an offer into the B Arts Photography.
  The waste of the SNAP application is communicated
  back to the school to support tracking and
  support for SNAP students in meeting additional
  requirements. .

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Equity Selection Contacts

• Milly Fels, Manager, Access Equity,
• tel [phone], milly.fels_at_rmit.edu.au
• Stuart McFarlane, Manager, Aboriginal and Torres
  Strait Islander Unit, tel [phone],
  stuart.mcfarlane_at_rmit.edu.au
• Sergio Fabris, Manager, Disability Liaison Unit,
• tel [phone], sergio.fabris_at_rmit.edu.au