In what is believed to be ‘the first national strategy of its kind’, Universities Australia has released an indigenous strategy which aims to increase the numbers of indigenous students, academics and graduates in higher education, and improve the inclusion of indigenous knowledges, culture and educational approaches in non-indigenous people.
While the report acknowledges that “Universities will differ in how they approach this, but it may involve the development of formal graduate attributes, discrete units of study, and campus or off-campus experiences or other activities” all universities are expected to develop and implement local strategies, in partnership with local communities, to achieve a set of ambitious targets:
- maintain institutional growth rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ enrolment that are at least 50 per cent above the growth rate of non-Indigenous student enrolment, and ideally 100 per cent above;
- aim for retention and success rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students equal to those of domestic non-Indigenous students in the same fields of study by 2025, and
- aim to achieve equal completion rates by field of study by 2028.
The strategy can be downloaded from: https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/media-releases/Universities-unveil-indigenous-participation-targets
Source: 1