Interrogating relationships between student support initiatives and Indigenous student progression

Rebecca Bennett (she/her); Bep Uink; Chanelle Van den Berg; Braden Hill; Justine Rolfe

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (henceforth Indigenous1) students are enrolling in university degrees at historically high rates; however, the majority of these students are not completing their qualifications. The latest available national statistics show that the national average six-year Bachelor completion rate for Indigenous university students is 41 percent. This is compared to 63 percent for non-Indigenous students and 56 percent for Low SES cohorts, not separated by Indigenous indicators (DET, 2019). This statistical discrepancy thus signals a substantial gap between intention and achievement of a university degree for Indigenous students. This enrolment-completion gap leaves open the questions as to what supports are available to Indigenous undergraduate students, and how likely are they to access them? While previous research has examined individual characteristics of Indigenous students in relation to degree completion rates (e.g., Shalley et al., 2019), this project shifts focus from individual students to universities to explore the efficacy of the support services that universities offer in terms of Indigenous student success. In efforts to address the significant enrolment-completion gap amongst Indigenous cohorts and to work towards education equity, universities across Australia offer Indigenous students a variety of extra-curricular support programs. These include general university services such as learning and teaching support centres, Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), Peer Assisted Coaching (PAC), student advisor networks, student guilds, medical and counselling services, and equity and diversity offices. Some universities offer targeted pre-university bridging courses specifically for Indigenous students – while others transition Indigenous students into university through whole-of-university bridging programs (Behrendt et al., 2012). Whole of university support programs are often supplemented by Indigenous-specific support administered through Indigenous Higher Education Units (IHEUs) and funded by the federal government’s Indigenous Student Success Program (ISSP). However, institutional strategies for Indigenous student support can vary widely across institutions. This project focused on two universities that administer the majority of Indigenous-specific support initiatives through centralised IHEUs – also known as Aboriginal Centres. IHEUs offer practical, social, emotional, cultural, and infrastructural support, including kitchen and recreation facilities; computer terminals, stationery and printing services; academic and wellbeing support, and social events to promote cultural safety and a sense of belonging on campus (Behrendt, 2012). IHEUs can also administer needs-based financial scholarships and one-to-one tutoring (Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme; ITAS) funded through the ISSP (Uink et al., 2021). In terms of efficacy, prior research suggests that accessing IHEUs, supports Indigenous student retention and success (Barney, 2013; Uink et al., 2021); however, not all Indigenous students are aware of, or choose to, access Indigenous-specific assistance or IHEUs. In this case, research recommends that it is important that whole-of-university academic support programs (such as ITAS or PASS) be “supplemented with equity strategies that recognise the importance of community and family engagement, a sense of belonging and identity, and the development of self-efficacy” (Frawley et al., 2017) if they are to effectively cater to Indigenous student needs. However, there is little comparative evidence to understand how Indigenous students interact with – and perceive of – the full suite of support available to them during their degree studies. This project begins to address this gap. Finally, in 2020, Indigenous-specific and whole-of-university institutional support initiatives moved to online formats as universities transitioned online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Pulver, 2020). This rapid shift to online learning and support threatened Indigenous students with cultural and digital isolation (Bennett et al., 2020). As such, this study also considered Indigenous students’ perceptions of transitioning institutional supports online.

Interrogating relationships between student support initiatives and Indigenous student progression

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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