The Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) provides a practical lens for assessing and responding to the significant dynamics, constraints and opportunities facing higher education. It stimulates evidence-based conversations about students’ involvement in the activities and conditions which empirical research has linked with high-quality learning and outcomes.
The demographics of the current sample indicate a cohort of students in previously marginalised groups and as such the current research constitutes a unique contribution to the investigation of first year experiences.
This report analyses the findings from the first ever survey of disabled students in geography, earth and environmental sciences and related disciplines. It focuses on the experiences of teaching, learning and assessment of 80 disabled students from six different universities. By giving this group a voice the report aims to contribute to their empowerment.
The University of Sydney, in partnership with The Smith Family, hosted an Experience day for Indigenous high school students from across the state, many of whom have never considered tertiary education as an option.
This paper discusses how QUT, leveraging a strong base of existing work by the appointment of a senior academic as FYE Director, has sought to enact an institutional priority around undergraduate first year and to promote an organisation-wide ethos of the FYE as “everybody’s business”. The author presents five project areas and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the initiative.
This paper addresses the challenges of widening access in a research-intensive university and provides a case study of a successful transition program that for 21 years has supported students under-represented in its student population.
This presentation looked at some of the challenges for low SES and Indigenous students. The author discussed the current Australian context and what might help facilitate ‘success’ for these students in first year.
This article argues that the contemporary Australian university constitutes a new an unfamiliar culture for the increasing numbers and diversity of students accessing it.
While much emphasis is usually placed on transition to university, relatively limited attention is given to the issue of transition through the first year. When the hype of orientation subsides and the initial sources of good advice disappear, what can be done to enhance the quality of the student experience through the first year?
The first year of tertiary study is a largely positive experience according to a group of just over 4000 young Australians who took part in an ACER study into their transition from secondary to tertiary education.
