Maria Raciti

The next phase of the University Accord Consultation process will commence from Wednesday 19th July, with the Minister of Education releasing the initial recommendations from the University Accord Panel. STARS and EPHEA have collaborated to provide a FREE webinar to provide an opportunity for all staff across the higher education sector to hear from experts to gain a deep understanding of what is proposed in the initial Accord recommendations and what this might mean for the sector.

On the 20th of July speakers and panel members explored the initial Accord recommendations through an equity lens, and generated discussion and insights about creating an accessible and inclusive higher education system.

There are numerous outreach initiatives being run by universities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school students that attempt to elevate aspirations of Indigenous students to go to university. The theoretical case for these initiatives is strong as much data exists about the barriers Indigenous students face in entering university. However, more nuanced and comprehensive program evaluation is needed to evaluate the evidence of the effectiveness of the initiatives.
But what steps should be taken to evaluate outreach programs for Indigenous students? What should be evaluated? How can evaluation strengthen outreach programs for Indigenous students? What role do Indigenous Research Methodologies have in evaluating programs?
Our panel of Indigenous researchers discussed tips for outreach practitioners on planning for evaluation, examples of evaluation practice, and how to design effective evaluation.
This webinar provides practical tips and advice to outreach practitioners on how to evaluate their programs. This in turn aims to contribute to building a stronger approach to the evaluation of Indigenous student outreach programs to improve Indigenous student university participation.