higher education

What do you think: Will Labor fix higher education?

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The recent federal election victory of the Albanese Labor government, which secured a larger majority in parliament, presents a unique opportunity to implement meaningful reforms in Australian higher education.

With this victory comes the responsibility to address longstanding issues in the tertiary education sector. It has long been treated as “a political punching bag”, says Associate Professor Milad Haghani of the University of Melbourne. Universities were particularly vulnerable during political debates about housing shortages, congestion, and migration associated with international students.

What was missing from these debates? The broader social, cultural, and long-term diplomatic contributions that international students make to Australian campuses and communities economically.

The current higher education landscape in Australia faces significant challenges regarding student completion rates. Social determinants play a vital role in determining who successfully completes university degrees. Recent research examining 2,528 Australian graduates who finished their degrees between 2018 and 2022 reveals various interconnected factors influence university completion, extending beyond assumptions that financial barriers are the primary obstacles to student success.

Higher Education Success Factor Framework: Evidence-Based Reform for Australian Universities

Our new research, published in Frontiers in Education, introduces the Higher Education Success Factor (HESF) framework. This is a validated tool that identifies and addresses the social determinants impacting Australian university students’ completion rates. We claim this study could provide timely and useful evidence to guide the implementation of the Federal Government’s Universities Accord reforms.

The HESF framework addresses a fundamental research question. “What are the main multidimensional factors influencing Australian students’ completion of a university degree?”

Confirming the data responses from over 2,200 Australian graduates, the research has validated both the 5-factor and 4-factor models measuring the social determinants of higher education success. These models examine five key areas: social environment (institutional support and inclusive policies), physical environment (facilities, housing, and safety), economic conditions (financial stability), health and wellbeing (mental and physical health), and individual characteristics (motivation and resilience).

The research reveals that health and well-being emerge as the most significant factors influencing completion rates, followed by individual characteristics and economic conditions. For Indigenous students specifically, economic challenges were identified as a critical barrier, but the research demonstrates that targeted support must address both financial and non-financial factors to be effective.

An opportunity now exists to fix the longstanding challenges in Australia’s Higher Education sector using evidence from the Higher Education Success Factor (HESF) framework as the Government implements the Universities Accord reforms, which aim to increase tertiary attainment to 80% of the workforce by 2050.

Key Findings from the HESF framework

  1. The research validated a streamlined 4-factor model that reduces redundancy while maintaining strong predictive power. The critical factors include:
    • Social environment (institutional support, inclusive policies)
    • Physical environment (facilities, housing, safety)
    • Health and economic wellbeing (financial stability, mental/physical health)
    • Individual characteristics (motivation, resilience)
  1. Based on surveys of 2,528 Australian graduates (2018-2022), the research identified health and wellbeing as the most significant factor influencing completion rates, followed by individual characteristics and economic conditions. 
  2. Among university graduates, Indigenous students’ economic challenges were identified as a critical barrier, underscoring the need for targeted support that addresses both financial and non-financial factors.

Alignment with the Universities Accord Implementation

The HESF framework directly supports the implementation of key elements in the Australian Universities Accord, which Minister Clare describes as “the biggest and broadest review of the higher education sector in 15 years.” These key elements are addressed below.

Supporting Needs-based Funding

The HESF research provides solid evidence for the Accord’s Needs-based Funding system, which will be implemented from January 2026. This funding model ensures “students from underrepresented backgrounds get the academic and wrap-around supports they need to succeed at university.” The Government has committed to demand-driven Needs-based Funding, meaning “funding for wrap-around supports will grow with each additional student, instead of having to stretch existing supports and services across more students.”

In its first year, the program will support approximately 140,000 students from low SES backgrounds and First Nations students, with regional contributions benefiting an estimated 150,000 students at regional campuses.

Informing the Australian Tertiary Education Commission’s (ATEC) Work

We believe that the research could also guide the work of the new ATEC which was established with $54 million in funding to “advise on and implement tertiary education reform, drive growth through equity and ensure our national skills needs are met.”

The HESF framework can inform ATEC’s approach to:

  • Determining allocations for the Managed Growth Funding system
  • Implementing Needs-based Funding as part of the core funding model
  • Negotiating enhanced mission-based compacts with providers

Enhanced Support for Students with Disabilities

Our research highlights the importance of non-financial factors such as social environment, physical environment, health, and economic well-being. The Government will quadruple the Higher Education Disability Support Fund, increasing funding by approximately $40 million annually. This boost will “help universities deliver more programs and services that empower students with disabilities to access, participate in, and succeed in higher education.”

Our recommendations for Implementation 

The HESF research suggests universities should:

  • Use the HESF model to audit existing support systems, identifying gaps in health services, mentorship, and infrastructure;
  • Integrate health and wellbeing support into strategic planning as a top priority, particularly for marginalised groups;
  • Create supportive environments that address academic, social, and emotional needs; and,
  • Targeted support for Indigenous students with both financial and cultural/social assistance.

Policy makers: The evidence from our large scale research conducted with 2,528 Australian graduates who graduated between 2018-2022 should not be overlooked. Instead policymakers could:

  • Ensure the ATEC incorporates the HESF framework in its Managed Growth Funding system oversight.
  • Balance financial initiatives (like the 20% HECS debt reduction) with structural support addressing non-financial barriers.
  • Measure success by enrolment numbers and completion rates across demographic groups.
  • Direct additional resources to regional campuses to address their unique challenges

Economic and Social Impact

The benefits are substantial for individuals—a median annual income increase of $30,000 for those with a bachelor’s degree compared to Year 12 completion.

Beyond individual benefits, the Department of Social Services estimates that “increasing educational attainment from year 12 to a higher education qualification lowers projected lifetime social security costs by an average of $12,000 (2021-22 dollars)” per person.

A pivotal contribution

The HESF framework could be used as a pivotal contribution to evidence-based higher education policy in Australia at a critical reform moment. As the Government implements the Universities Accord, this research provides the answers to student success as measured by completion rates.

The timing of this research aligns perfectly with Prime Minister Albanese’s commitment to higher education reform and the 20% student debt reduction. Together, these initiatives create a comprehensive approach to improving completion rates and addressing barriers that underrepresented students face.

By incorporating the HESF framework into policy implementation, Australia has the opportunity to transform equity goals into measurable actions and ensure its ambitious 80% tertiary attainment target becomes a reality. This will prepare more Australians for the jobs of the future while strengthening the nation’s position in the global knowledge economy.

Bios, from left to right

Thu Pham is a researcher at the Indigenous Research Unit, Griffith University. Her work focuses on Indigenous higher education and supporting Indigenous HDR student projects. Her research explores how university leadership can enhance Indigenous student success by improving student experiences and outcomes. She is on LinkedIn.

Angela Baeza Pena is a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology. She is Diaguita First Nation from Chile. Her PhD focuses on understanding the experiences of teachers and Indigenous community members in providing Indigenous education in rural and remote areas. Her research area includes Indigenous education, teacher professional development and higher education with Indigenous peoples. She is on LinkedIn.

Peter Anderson hails from the Walpiri and Murinpatha peoples of the Northern Territory and is the incoming Pro Vice Chancellor (Indigenous) at the University of New England. His research encompasses Australian Indigenous education, educational systems, curriculum, and pedagogical interventions, alongside the intersecting relationships with Indigenous peoples both globally and domestically. He is on LinkedIn.

Levon Blue is an associate professor at The University of Queensland in the Office of the Deputy-Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Engagement. Her PhD focused on financial literacy education practices in a First Nation community in Canada. She is a member of Beausoleil First Nation in Canada. Her research area includes financial literacy education and higher education with Indigenous peoples. She is on LinkedIn.

Student encampment at Adelaide University - Kaurna Yerta 5 May 2024. Photo: Jack Desbiolles

These are deeply disturbing patterns of censorship across Australian universities

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To stifle growing pro-Palestinian activities on Australian campuses, university authorities are developing and applying disparate techniques of control. Consequently, the university as a place of free speech, political activism and the right to protest is under attack.

The Universities of Sydney, Melbourne and WA are particularly punitive. The intricate intrusiveness and hyper-vigilance of their techniques of control are well known and widely criticised. 

All these techniques have been identified by members of Educational Researchers for Palestine — a group I belong to. Such patterns are evident in the views and material we have gathered from universities and from our own experiences, observations and communications with other staff and students. While the following techniques are not equally evident in all universities, various combinations are evident in many.

1. Control through double-speak

Universities claim to uphold free speech and academic freedom. But on matters related to Israel/Palestine they shut both down. They also claim to balance free speech with their antiracism agendas. But these agendas are selective. Antisemitism is their focus. Anti-Palestinian racism, including their own, is not. Anti-Palestinian racism involves ‘actions that silence, exclude, erase, stereotype, defame, or dehumanise Palestinians and their narratives.’ 

They say they balance free speech with ensuring a safe environment. But their main concern is the political backlash associated with purported complaints about the safety of Jewish students and staff. In contrast, the university itself creates an unsafe environment for Palestinian staff, students and their allies including their Jewish allies. 

2. Control through distraction

By focusing on antisemitism, universities distract attention from anti-Palestinian racism on campus and from Israel’s dreadful treatment of the Palestinian people. This distraction involves endless debates about what constitutes antisemitism. And universities’ ambiguous definitions of antisemitism allow them flexibility in classifying hateful and threatening speech. 

In February 2025, Universities Australia (UA) released its highly ambiguous ‘working definition of antisemitism’. This was endorsed by all 39 members. How individual universities will embed their endorsement is not yet clear but further distraction is guaranteed.  

3. Spatial control

Restrictions are placed on the spaces where Palestinian supporters might gather to prepare banners and posters, distribute materials and hold events.  Students are not allowed to announce events in classrooms or lecture theatres, to leave fliers on desks or posters on walls. These who don’t ‘belong’ to the university are prohibited from involvement in protests on university grounds and threatened with trespass. 

4. Language and image control

The campus is to be cleansed of posters, fliers, flags, chalked messages. Almost any image, phrase or slogan may be deemed antisemitic. Hence, all images of Palestine or messages of Palestine advocacy or solidarity can be defined as contravening university rules. 

5. Political control

Student and staff activities relating to Palestine are strongly discouraged — clubs, film screenings, speakers’ forums, petitioning, distributing leaflets, chalking— even fundraising. University approval can be sought but such approval is largely a delaying and censorship ploy involving microscopic bureaucratic hurdles. 

Some academic staff are expected to become agents of the university’s political control in their classrooms. They must ensure that nothing is said or seen that is unrelated to their immediate teaching topic. 

When linked to Palestine/Israel, certain research, teaching and learning are considered dangerous — justice and ethics, human rights, international law, settler colonialism, apartheid, imperialism and the history and geopolitics of the ‘middle east’.  Those pursuing such ‘dangerous knowledge’ may feel the need to water-down their curriculum and research. 

6. Technological surveillance

In some cases, if they are to use a university account staff and students must agree to being monitored.  Whether they agree or not technology is used to monitor pro-Palestinian activities, to identify ‘ring leaders’ and participants. Pro-Palestinian activists may also have their technology use restricted thus making it difficult to share information. Certainly, over time, universities have increased their surveillance of all staff and students — usually with little or no follow up. However, their surveillance and follow up have intensified in response to pro-Palestinian activism.

7. Discipline and punishment

Students and staff are subjected to various forms. Their self-defence is time-consuming, costly and emotionally draining. 

Peaceful events are often redefined as potentially threatening and violent. Hence security staff and police are used to ‘keep the peace’ and to identify and report ‘leaders’ and ‘troublemakers’. They have been used to shut down encampments and protests. At encampments they have not protected students from violent attacks by extreme right-wing groups.  Their presence is implicitly threatening, and their behaviour is sometimes physically violent.  

Undergraduate and graduate students have been ‘spoken to’, warned, suspended, fined and expelled. Staff have also been ‘spoken to’ and warned, had their teaching and other activities monitored and reported by pro-Israeli/Zionist students and other staff. They have had their research questioned and some have had their grants suspended. 

8. Climate control

A climate of fear and distrust is created.  It has a chilling effect on everyday university activities and relationships. Fear causes self-censorship. Events are relocated or re-badged. 

Staff feel their opportunities for jobs, tenure, promotion and academic leave are at risk. Students feel at risk of suspension and expulsions. They often don’t know if their peers, lecturers or supervisors will support or report them.  Palestinian, Muslim and Arab staff feel extra visible and vulnerable. 

The result: universities of bad faith and ethical emptiness

They have allowed themselves to be intimidated by politicians and special interest groups. They have tried to bury discussion of an inexcusable tragedy involving genocide. They have sacrificed the notion that knowledge must be free and fearless — corrupting truth and undermining trust and collegiality. Timid and small minded, they implicitly encourage staff and students to be the same. 

Were they not so ethically empty universities could have practised an ethic of care, courage and compassion in response to the ongoing horrors visited by Israel on Gaza and the West Bank. They could have developed this into a sector wide ethos. They could have responded to the desperate calls for help from Universities in Gaza. They could have explored, with staff and students, ways to help Gaza recover from the educational obliteration of scholasticide. They could have mobilised their knowledge and expertise to contribute to understandings of the issues and to consider how university members might help alleviate the Palestinian people’s terrible suffering. 

Could have? Should have.

Jane Kenway is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, Australia, Emeritus Professor at Monash University and Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Her research expertise is in educational sociology.  

Main image: Student encampment at Adelaide University – Kaurna Yerta 5 May 2024. Photo: Jack Desbiolles. There is no evidence to say that any of these patterns of censorship occurred during this encampment.

equity and educational outcomes in universities

Has the social licence of universities been lost?

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This is the fourth day in a series of posts on AARE education priorities for the 2025 federal election. Today’s posts are about equity and educational outcomes – including in universities.

Higher education cannot be separated from global uncertainty and shifting geopolitics – Trump’s isolationism, China’s assertiveness, wars in Gaza and Ukraine, disruptions of Gen AI, climate change, and the spread of misinformation and the misogyny circulating through social media. Nation states are seeking to become more self-reliant in defence, supply chains, energy, AI and skills development. It could be expected higher education is central.  Academic freedom and universities being a critic and conscience are central to democracies.

Education added over $29 billion to the economy in 2022. International students in Australia contributed $25.5 billion and students studying online adding a further $3.5 billion. Education is, next to health and defence, the biggest investment by governments. But government investment in non-government schools is currently greater than in universities. Australia is characterised by increased socio-geographical educational inequality and segmented education funding favouring non government schools.  

Universities are forced to rely on international students

Australian universities are internationally viewed to be high quality and exceeding research outcomes. They are in the top four ranking of international student (others. being USA, UK, Canada). University sector’s sources of income are domestic students, industry (tied), research income (tied) with international students the only discretionary funds.  Universities have therefore been forced to rely on international students to fund domestic student growth and research. 

Bipartisan weaponisation of international students has occurred with policies incorrectly linking international students to migration and housing shortages. Restrictions, increased fees and slowing of visa approvals for international students and migration policies has impacted regional universities in particular with significant job losses eventuating while Gof 8 universities attract wealthy Chinese students .  

These factors have increased differentiation between research and teaching intensive universities. Furthermore, humanities and social science courses in regional universities which are cross subsidised by international students fees, are disappearing. Again this impacts on women who are concentrated in these fields.

The impact of Covid still felt

With Covid – we lost 20,000 academics and staff because the Coalition refused Jobseeker to universities. Recovery is being impacted by Labor’s EB awards seeking to reduce casualisation but with perverse effects. The  development of teaching-only positions has increased academic workloads. This will affect research output, with potential gendered effects in education.

Universities have multiple complex international research collaborations. Research is critical to innovation and educating a skilled workforce in all forms- technical, scientific and social benefits. 

R& D funding has reduced from 2.2% in 2014 to 1.69% in 2024. There is a critical need to join Horizons Europe which is major source of research funding in EU.

Whereas foreign Interference legislation focused on transparency particularly with China, Trump’s attack on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and China has led to loss of US funding in Australian- US research programs.  Australian universities need to maintain a strong DEI stance. 

The Accord final report (2024) commendably focused on increasing participation of  equity groups (rural. Regional and remote, Indigenous,) and improving support for regional universities. Unless international student policies change and public schools who teach over 80% of students in equity groups are fully funded immediately, increased equity participation and regional  aims will not be achieved. 

The Accord named governance issues: casualisation, high VC and management salaries, workload, lack of  academic in -put in governance decisionmaking, not implementing sexual harassment policies etc.  It is questionable whether Chancellors’ Council principles of good governance will make VCs more accountable! 

Disenchantment with university management

Academic workforce is extremely discontented with the system and disenchanted with university management—they feel undervalued as core workers. The university sector has been corporatised, managerialised, marketized, commercialised and now digitalised. Gen AI is impacting on teaching and research.  

Academics and students are concerned that the social license of the university and its core work of teaching, research and service for the public good have been lost. They seek a greater voice in decision making. 

Jill Blackmore AM PhD FASSA is Deakin Distinguished Professor in Education, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, former president of the Australian Association of University Professors and of AARE. She undertakes research from a feminist perspective of education policy and governance; school autonomy reform; gender equity reform; leadership and organisational change; international and intercultural education; gendered labour markets and employability, and teachers’ and academics’ work, health and wellbeing. Her focus is on sustainable, equitable, inclusive and safe educational organisations and workplaces.

finance and accounting class with woman academic

Good news for women academics – and for their students

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The boom in research outputs in accounting and finance disciplines in higher education institutions in Australia and New Zealand universities is accompanied by another welcome trend – a dramatic increase in female authorship. 

This rise in female authorship marks a turning point in academic culture, fostering a more dynamic, inclusive environment where diverse viewpoints enrich the field of accounting and finance. It’s also vital for students within those disciplines to see diverse scholarship.

Emerging scholars in these fields need to see what’s possible.

Beyond the numbers in accounting and finance

Beyond the numbers, this shift is reshaping how research is conducted and valued, promoting equity and innovation as essential components of academic success. For universities, particularly leading institutions, supporting women’s voices in research isn’t just a matter of fairness—it’s a strategic move that amplifies the depth, relevance, and societal impact of their scholarly contributions.

The proportion of female representation in published research rose by nearly two-thirds between 2011 and  2022. We analysed 48 top-tier ranked accounting and finance journals. leading institutions, including the University of New South Wales, Monash University, and the University of Queensland, are at the forefront of this rise in research productivity.

That’s  a positive step towards more gender-inclusive academic environments but the data also reveals ongoing challenges. Male authors still dominate the ranks of those with higher publication volumes particularly in the highest ranked journals. That signals the need for further support to close this gap.

Affirmative Action and Career Mobility

A key focus of our study was assessing how affirmative action policies foster a more diverse academic workforce. These policies, designed to address historical inequities, are proving effective in enhancing the presence of female researchers in accounting and finance. The policies are not just about increasing numbers. Affirmative action’s impact must also be assessed in terms of the quality of opportunities it provides through mentorship programs, supportive work environments, and other policies to facilitate more equitable career advancement.

Our findings show that women are occupying more space in academic publishing. 

Yet a gender gap remains, most notably among the most prolific authors. This suggests that while affirmative action is helping more women enter the academic pipeline, further efforts are needed to support them in progressing to the highest levels of research productivity. 

While the increase in female authorship is encouraging, it underscores a critical need for sustained support structures that go beyond entry-level opportunities. Mentorship, targeted professional development, and access to resources that bolster long-term productivity are vital to helping female academics navigate and excel in high-stakes publishing environments. 

Facing challenges

Without these, many women face challenges in reaching senior research roles and leading impactful studies.

The reasons for this are unclear but may be related to the gendered emphasis on supporting scholarships for women to enter the academic workforce but not following through to support the development of sustainable research productivity skills with career impact, such as research supervision or research team management capabilities.

We also explored job mobility among top contributors. High research productivity correlates with greater career mobility, with prolific researchers being attractive in the job market moving between institutions to seek better opportunities. Women have traditionally been less able to take advantage of this mobility due to family and non-work responsibilities. This mobility highlights the competitive nature of academic publishing and underscores the potential for affirmative action policies to create more career pathways for underrepresented groups within institutions, reducing the reliance on mobility as a pathway to promotion.

Bridging the Gender Gap

Despite the progress made, much more needs to be done to achieve true gender parity in academic publishing. Our study found that female authors are underrepresented among the top five per cent of most frequently published researchers. This underrepresentation at the highest levels indicates that systemic barriers, such as gaps in mentorship and resource limitations, continue to hinder female academics from reaching their full potential in terms of research output.

To bridge this gap, institutions need to strengthen mentorship programs for women, promote inclusive hiring practices, and provide more equitable access to resources. These efforts are crucial to ensuring that all researchers, regardless of gender, have the opportunity to thrive in the academic community.

Future Directions for Broader Application

This study focused only on the disciplines of accounting and finance. However, the methodology developed for this study is equally applicable across multiple disciplines.

A broader application of the methodology to other disciplines would provide a more holistic understanding of the impact of policies supporting the increased engagement of women in research at a sector-wide level. It would also enable cross-disciplinary comparisons to determine whether more granular and discipline-specific incentives and supports may be required to achieve more equitable career outcomes between men and women in academia.

The Way Forward

As the conversation around gender diversity in academia continues to evolve, it is clear that affirmative action policies play a crucial role in promoting inclusivity. THowever, these policies must be continually evaluated and expanded to ensure they go beyond increasing female participation. They must also address the deeper structural barriers that prevent women from advancing to the highest levels of academic research.

Fostering inclusive and diverse research environments not only improves gender equity but also enriches academic output and innovation. Diverse research teams bring various perspectives essential for driving new ideas and solutions in education and beyond.

What next

Our study sheds light on the evolving dynamics of research productivity and gender diversity within Australian and New Zealand HEIs. While we have made significant strides in increasing female representation in academic publishing, there is still work to be done to ensure these gains translate into long-term career success for women in academia.

As institutions continue to implement affirmative action policies and other diversity initiatives, we must stay focused on providing equal opportunities for all scholars. Doing so can create a more inclusive, innovative, and productive academic landscape for future generations.

Based on our analysis of 48 top-tier ranked accounting and finance journals, research outputs at Australian and New Zealand HEIs steadily increased between 2011 and 2022. Leading institutions, including the University of New South Wales, Monash University, and the University of Queensland, are at the forefront of this rise in research productivity.For further reading, you can access the full research paper here: https://doi.org/10.1080/09639284.2024.2413687.

Adam Arian is a lecturer in accounting, auditing and finance, the Peter Faber Business School, Australian Catholic University. Susan Dann is the national head of school, Business, in the Faculty of Law and Business, Australian Catholic University. John Sands is a professor of accounting in the School of Business, University of Southern Queensland.

enabling education

What’s in a name? Enabling education in Australia  

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The Australian Government announced significant changes last year to programs that enable students from non-high school pathways to transition into university. These programs began in Australia 50 years ago and are broadly referred to as  enabling education. There are 48 programs now operated by universities across Australia. Enabling education is  defined legislatively as a course “provided to a person for the purpose of enabling that person to undertake a course leading to a higher education award”.

Enabling education operates free-of-cost to domestic students who don’t meet current entry requirements to enter an undergraduate level program. These programs are key to widening educational participation, especially for students from recognised equity backgrounds.   

The government renamed those programs “FEE-FREE Uni Ready”, including $350 million in increased funding and increased student places. It also committed to work with providers to “professionalise and increase the quality and consistency of courses” and improve their “portability”. 

Same goal, different names

In the course of this short announcement, the terms ‘enabling’, ‘pathway’ and ‘preparatory’ were used alongside FEE-FREE Uni Ready, and other terms are also associated with this field of education including ‘foundation studies’, ‘bridging programs’ and ‘access courses’. Different programs also utilise program names that incorporate these terms or others such as ‘steps’, ‘track’, and ‘link’. Ostensibly, these courses share the same goal.

Recent benchmarking by the National Association of Enabling Educators highlights these programs usually include explicit teaching of study preparation. They also usually include communication skills, academic literacies and/or numeracies. But providers do not use the same language to refer to the programs they offer. Even when they use the same naming conventions they are not necessarily referring to the same program types. There is variation throughout the sector over length of study time, use of fees and program entry requirements, for example. The variation in terms, and whether the same program name even means the same thing between providers, is mind boggling!  

Current benchmarking exercises seek to make sense of the various naming conventions around enabling education. They rely upon a shared understanding of what enabling education is: a pre-Bachelor course of study enabling university entry. However, we know that this is not the only way that enabling education can be constructed. The government’s advice to university providers says this: “A provider’s purpose in enrolling a student in a course of instruction determines whether it is an enabling course. Therefore, a course of instruction may be an enabling course for only some students undertaking it.”

It continues that even courses that bear credit can constitute an enabling course, though credit bearing courses cannot constitute the majority of the program of study.

The eye of the beholder

It seems, then, that what constitutes enabling lies in the eye of the beholder. It is likely that enabling funding is used diversely. For example, it may be used for programs sitting within or alongside undergraduate level study. It may also be used within high school outreach programs that assist students to transition out of secondary education and into a further enabling program or directly into undergraduate study. As this is not commonly understood as ‘enabling’, it is not necessarily captured in national typologies of enabling education or in benchmarking.

Importantly, it is not captured in our conversations about whether enabling education is best understood as a field of education that assists students not only into higher education but also through an often-non-linear educational journey that continues beyond the entry point of undergraduate study. 

Our nomenclature shouldn’t limit our understanding of where enabling should ‘sit’ as a mechanism for supporting students and improving outcomes.  

The term ‘enabling education’ is not commonly used outside Australia. And other terms do not adequately translate into an international context. For example, “preparatory” is the term proposed by the Australian Universities Accord to replace enabling education. However, this can create a problematic and false equivalency to American preparatory schools, whose function is entirely different to ‘preparation’ in an Australian enabling context. 

Within Australia, the use of distinct naming conventions for different programs impacts the legitimacy of enabling education as a particular field of education, taught by those with distinct and recognisable expertise. If we accept that enabling programs represent a particular branch of knowledge with expertise required to teach it, it deserves a consistent name that represents it as a field of education. It is questionable whether ‘enabling education’ is adequate for this purpose. 

What we call these courses matters

The conflation of terms like FEE-FREE Uni Ready (a name reserved for particular programs) with a field of education or discipline being taught does not help with efforts to form a meaningful and invariable name. It also inhibits our ability to understand what it is about enabling education as a field that is distinct, and what exists in parallel with other transition pedagogies, or preparatory practices. If these courses are simply about ‘enabling’ students to enter undergraduate study, what exactly do they even need to cover to prepare students and who determines this?  

What we call these courses matters. In practical terms the diverse naming conventions of enabling programs presents a barrier to finding and accessing these programs. These programs are particularly aimed at students often marginalised from higher education – so this naming problem may exacerbate this  marginalisation. Naming conventions matter too. They tell students how they are viewed by the university. They also tell students how they should think about themselves. In a NSW context, for example, ‘pathway’ is often used to refer to enabling programs. However, it is often preceded by the word ‘alternative’ – an alternate pathway to the completion of the Higher School Certificate. It implies that enabling education is secondary. 

And is enabling the right word? It has the loaded and problematic inference that students are not already ‘able’. Our terminology matters in framing enabling education, particularly for students who have experienced educational disadvantage.   

We still don’t know what’s going to happen

The FEE-FREE Uni Ready proposal was slated for implementation from 2025. But at the time of writing (February 2025) no further substantive clarification has been provided by government. That leaves much of the government-led work in formalising sector-wide benchmarks and shared (read: portable) understandings, curricula, and expectations unfinished. 

This variability limits the portability of certificates for students. It also limits of awareness of these programs, even within a program’s own institution. That, in turn, impacts the critical and evaluative interest of educational researchers both within and, importantly, outside of enabling education.  

Enabling education represents a real space for changing individual fortunes and helping students to develop fulfilling careers. But it is also as an opportunity for powerful knowledge and recognition of why access to education matters. It should also provide a space for deeper and critical understandings of higher education and its distributive role in society.

A public good

Enabling education is a public good, a true legacy of Whitlam-era policies that assert that higher education is for everyone. How we refer to this field of study matters. It dictates what enabling education does, how and when across a student’s journey. 

Naming matters in how we continue to “professionalise” this form of education as a set of practices and pedagogies, and operationalise it for educators and researchers who work within it and the students who seek to benefit from it. It matters to the public, who fund it.  

Emma Hamilton is a senior lecturer of history and convenor of the Open Foundation (Online) Program at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her work relates to history on film, and to widening participation in higher education. Matthew Bunn is a seniorl lecturer in academic pathways at James Cook University. His research is grounded in the sociology of equity and widening participation in higher education. Kieran Balloo is joining Curtin University and is a visiting senior research fellow in the Surrey Institute of Education at the University of Surrey, UK. His research has a focus on student transitions, equity, and wellbeing, and it emphasises the importance of innovative and inclusive educational practices to support diverse student populations. Sally Baker is an associate professor of Migration and Education in POLIS at ANU. Her work centres on policy and practice related to equity in higher education, particularly with students with forced migration backgrounds.

Turning points playlist

Your hottest 100: I’m so excited. And so much more

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Mark Selkrig, Nicky Dulfer, Ron ‘Kim’ Keamy, Troy Heffernan and Kristiina Brunila announce the “Academic Turning Points” Playlist Collection: Academics’ Journeys Expressed Through Music 

Many readers of this blog would know that higher education continues to be an ever-shifting landscape where constant change prevails. Academics worldwide who work inside higher education are navigating a myriad of profound changes and complexities. At the same time, they are grappling with increasing accountability measures and compliance requirements. The professional and personal pressures academics face can be immense. The impact is evident, with academics being overworked, exhausted, and on the verge of burnout. Alarmingly, many of these behaviours have become normalized. 

To better understand how academics are adapting to these evolving environments, our research team launched an innovative global study: “Turning Points: Changes Academics Make to Shape Their Working Lives.” The key research question driving this project was: How do academics articulate and represent the turning points that caused them to change course professionally, as well as the enduring impacts of those shifts?  Using multi-modal, arts-based methods, we invited participants to not only share written experiences about a pivotal moment where they elected to ‘do something different in their work practices’, but also describe an image and select a piece of music representing their evolved professional approaches. 

Your turning point playlist

Based on responses from over 120 participants in this study, some of whom may be readers of this blog, our findings reveal powerful windows into the nuanced realities of academic life. Drawing from the academics’ insightful musical selections, we’ve curated the “Academic Turning Points” Playlist Collection – a series of thoughtfully crafted playlists that audibly capture professional journeys across the globe. 

We are launching the first instalment: “Academic Turning Points 1: Reframing Perspectives on Work-Life Balance.” This resonant playlist explores the profound need for balance, perspective and self-compassion amid academia’s relentless demands. Tracks like “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin and “Sunrise” by Norah Jones reflect participants’ experiences re-evaluating unsustainable work practices and realigning priorities, with lyrics urging listeners to slow down, be kinder to themselves, and gain clarity on what’s important.  As one participant shared, a particular track helped them “realise that the way I was working was not sustainable, and I needed to make some changes to find more balance”.

From identity shift to finding purpose

We invite you to immerse yourself in this playlist and reflect on your own experiences. You may even want to consider the song you would choose to represent your own journey towards better work-life balance and sustainable practices. This is just the beginning. In the coming months, we’ll unveil additional playlists, each offering a unique perspective through the powerful lens of music. From grappling with identity shifts to finding purpose, these collections will resonate with anyone impacted by academia’s demands. By centring multi-modal expression, our research aims to foster deeper understanding of academic life’s nuances. In this era of constant change, listening to academics’ voices is crucial. 

The “Academic Turning Points” playlist collection invites you to embark on an auditory exploration of professional journeys, struggles, triumphs and pivotal moments. To access the first playlist on in the collection on Spotify click on the QR code or follow the hyperlinked text to experience “Academic Turning Points 1: Reframing Perspectives on Work-Life Balance” .

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Remember to stay tuned for more releases in this powerful series. For academics worldwide, may these playlists remind you that you’re not alone, and that the path to balance and fulfillment is one we navigate together, one note at a time.

The evocative AI-generated playlist image (shown in the top image for this blog and also right) is based on descriptions of images that represented their academic turning point are also striking visual representations of the complex emotional terrain academics navigate daily. 

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If you would like to  know a little bit more about the project, or access a catalogue of whole collection of playlists as they are released, be sure to look at our Turning Points project website

Meet the Turning Points Team

Mark Selkrig is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. His research and scholarly work focus on the changing nature of educators’ work, their identities and lived experiences of these events. He has been the recipient of awards for publications in this field and acknowledged for his leadership, outstanding work and advocacy for arts development and education. Mark is on Linkedin.

Nicky Dulfer is a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne, Nicky’s research agenda is driven by a social justice imperative and seeks to make a significant change to the ways in which marginalised students experience education. Her research explores educational curriculums and institutions and the ways they both shape, and are shaped by, those who work and study in them.

Ron “Kim” Keamy is an associate professor and a teacher education researcher in the Assessment & Evaluation Research Centre, Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Kim’s research and scholarly work traverses educational and academic leadership, initial teacher education and teachers’ professional learning.

Troy Heffernan is a Fulbright Scholar and currently a visiting fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford. As a sociologist of higher education administration and equity, his work examines issues such as those related to precarious employment, the implication of academic networks, and the factors involved in hiring and promotional decisions. He also examines ways to enhance student equity and experience. 

Kristiina Brunila works as professor in the University of Helsinki where she directs the research centre of AGORA for the study of social justice and equality in education. With her AGORA research community she has studied educational transformations in global and glocal contexts including reforms in universities as well as questions related to inequalities and education.

Image in header is Dr Mitchell Rom and Dr Hayley Williams (both pictured in the middle), together with graduating students at The University of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sashing Ceremony. The author has been given permission to use this image.

Completion: Deadly tips for students who have just finished a PhD

higher education, Indigenous education, , , , ,

This is the third and final article in the series. In the first article, I discussed tips for students who are considering undertaking a PhD in Education. Following this, I outlined some potentially useful tips for students who are currently navigating the program. This final article offers some advice for students who have just finished a PhD. 

First, I offer my congratulations to you on submitting your thesis, completing your oral component (if required) and receiving conferral of the degree. You have achieved a significant milestone and you should be proud of this achievement. As an Indigenous PhD graduate, you are not only shifting historical, racialised discourse, but also challenging coloniality in education. While you are among a growing number of Indigenous PhD graduates in Australia, there is still more progress to be made given there were only 52 Indigenous PhD graduates in 2021 (Universities Australia, 2023). This equates to there being fewer than two Indigenous PhD graduates per university within Australia (Universities Australia, 2023).

This number has been fairly consistent since 2016. Prior to this, there were only 25 Indigenous PhD graduates in Australia in 2015 – or less than one graduate per university (Universities Australia, 2023). Within a postgraduate research context, to reach population parity of 3.2 per cent, the university sector would have needed to graduate an additional 115 Indigenous postgraduate research students in 2021 (Universities Australia, 2023).

Academia in Australia is a Westernised space where Indigenous knowledges, theories, methodologies and methods sit on the margins of the university. If you have contributed to either the Indigenous education or studies space, thank you for your contribution. You may now be wondering “what do I do with a PhD?” Below are some potentially useful tips that may help with your transition into the next phase of your career.

Celebrate this milestone with those who celebrate you

Before we explore potential employment opportunities, I encourage you to attend your graduation ceremonies. More specifically, I encourage you to attend your Indigenous graduation ceremony, your School’s event, as well as your broader university graduation ceremony. These graduation events not only provide you the opportunity to recognise and celebrate your achievement, but they also provide those who have supported you with the opportunity to celebrate this milestone with you. One of the highlights of my PhD program was attending the UQ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sashing Ceremony and being invited to deliver the graduation address. This was a special event as it was attended by my mum and aunty (two proud Quandamooka women), together with my then-fiancé and one of my supervisors. The message here is simple – capture and celebrate these special moments with your loved ones and your advisory team. You deserve this moment!

Publish your research findings (if you haven’t already done so)  

It is a good idea to think about publishing your main research findings or various chapters of your thesis if you have not already commenced this writing and publishing process. Although you may be fed up with writing at this point, publishing your work in peer-reviewed journals will strengthen your employment opportunities. I recommended that you discuss the journal selection process with your supervisors, ideally before you graduate. Your work in education deserves to be read and engaged with in quality journals (Q1/Q2). I also recommended using the useful online tool, ScImago Journal & Country Rank, to search for potential journals in Education and to view their details and ranking.

Explore your work opportunities: You have more agency than you may think

Your expertise has value across society and many fields so I encourage you to broaden your horizon and search for potential work in various areas of employment. You have more agency and choice than you may think and you can make a positive contribution to your space outside of academia. With a PhD in Education, you have the privilege and opportunity to consider employment in schools, academia, industry/organisations or government. Consultancy work might also be a viable option. There are many organisations outside of academia who value Indigenous education such as the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership or the Stronger Smarter Institute. You could search for potential employment opportunities with The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. You may also want to become involved with a national charity, such as the Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation, if you are interested or trained in these areas.

If you are interested in transitioning into academia and research (for example a Postdoctoral Research Fellow), I recommended you discuss potential opportunities with your advisory team and School. Furthermore, reconnect with those academics who have supported you during your candidature to discuss potential employment opportunities. I encourage you to search for work opportunities and workplaces that suit you and align with your career interests. Applications, especially in an academic context, are also usually lengthy so remember to prioritise your wellbeing throughout the employment process.

Extra tip for Schools and Universities:

Consider offering PhD graduates the opportunity to provide feedback (preferably formal) on the program

I find it interesting that there is not an option for recent PhD graduates to provide feedback on the program – despite all other university students being asked to provide course feedback upon course completion. In my view, allowing recent graduates with an opportunity to provide formal feedback with regards to different aspects of the PhD program (for example in relation to candidature, milestones, postgraduate conferences, events, supervision, submission, the Graduate School, examination, graduation), may be beneficial to Schools. It could seek to further strengthen the existing PhD program by embedding evidence-based changes that aim to support future, as well as current, Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, thereby working to improve overall completion numbers.

Dr Mitchell Rom is a Lecturer with the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at Australian Catholic University. Mitchell initially trained as a secondary teacher in the disciplines of English and History and holds a PhD in Indigenous education. His research interests include Education, Equity and Decoloniality. His research has attracted national awards including the Australian Association for Research in Education Betty Watts Indigenous Researcher Award. As a Nunukul/Ngugi researcher, Mitchell has also taught in initial teacher education and has worked across various levels of education. Contact him on LinkedIn.

Image in header are students at the Weemala Indigenous Student Success Unit at Australian Catholic University, Brisbane campus. The author has been given permission to use this image.

Progress and Persistence: Deadly tips for students who are navigating a PhD

higher education, Indigenous education, , , , ,

This is the second article in the series.  In the first article, I discussed tips for students who are considering undertaking a PhD in Education. This second article discusses some useful tips for Indigenous students who are currently navigating the program. The issue of Indigenous student retention in PhD programs is important because while Universities Australia (2023) report a steady growth in Indigenous postgraduate research enrolments from 2005 to 2021, Indigenous student award completions still remain relatively low (Universities Australia, 2023).

This article unpacks a number of tips for those students who are currently navigating the PhD program and working towards confirmation of candidature, mid-candidature review or final thesis review. Some of these tips may also be beneficial to supervisors and may seek to support student retention.

Be open to shifts in your initial research topic or research questions

As you continue to engage with contemporary literature and yarn with your supervisors and experts in your field, you may notice that your initial research topic, scope of your study or research questions begin to shift. From my experience, this is a fairly natural progression of research. These sorts of research developments are sometimes necessary and can ultimately improve your thesis. Try not to be discouraged if this is the case for you in the early stages of your candidature. Embrace these research shifts as these developments may actually strengthen your research study.

Participate in campus events/activities and engage with groups

Feeling both academically and culturally supported is key with regards to candidature, particularly during the early stages. To feel a sense of support, I recommend participating in various campus events and activities. Within the early stages of my research, I was invited by my supervisor to share my PhD idea to fellow Indigenous academics and PhD students during a 3-minute thesis competition that was based on campus. These events are a great opportunity to gain experience with regards to public speaking, which will also assist you in your preparation for confirmation of candidature. They are also an opportunity to network with fellow students and researchers. Reach out to your advisory team to find out if there are any upcoming campus events or activities that may be of interest to you.

Additionally, I encourage you to consider potentially joining a reading group at university. This group might be based either within or outside of your School. Joining a reading group is a deadly way to familiarise yourself with current literature in Education/Indigenous education or within Indigenous studies. During my candidature, I was involved in two reading and yarning groups with fellow Indigenous students and academics and I felt supported and valued in both of these groups. There may also be opportunities to collaborate and publish within these groups which will also benefit your future employment opportunities.

Navigate problematic research data with support from trusted people

If you are undertaking research in the political space of Indigenous education, there is a possibility that you may need to engage with problematic research data. Essentially, I am referring to racist or resistant educational data that you may have gathered during data collection. This type of data has the potential to be triggering. If this is the case, then you may want to consider having a yarn in relation to this matter with trusted people including your family members, trusted colleagues/critical friends or your advisory team. An additional option may be to explore counselling services at university (or outside of university) for your wellbeing.  

With my research, I had to engage with colonising data and racist language on a regular basis for a lengthy period of time. I had to navigate explicitly and implicitly resistant research data by a number of non-Indigenous students in relation to studying compulsory Indigenous education at university. While I acknowledge and understand that this data was mostly by non-Indigenous pre-service teachers who were inexperienced, as an Indigenous researcher, I was still subjected to this data. I attempted to balance out this experience with reading positive student data and remembering that one of the goals of my research was to disrupt coloniality. Upon reflection, this issue was perhaps one of my most difficult challenges in the program. I note that my wife was my main support during data collection and analysis and it is important for you to have similar support to navigate these types of challenges.

Be open to feedback on your research (but perhaps not too open)

I encourage you to enjoy this learning journey and to listen to those scholars who are experts in your field. In my experience,  academia is grounded in informal and formal feedback. Try to be open to feedback on your research from your advisory team and from trusted colleagues/critical friends and students. While this tip may sound simple, it is often more challenging in practice. However, I do believe that receiving rational and appropriate feedback and recommendations regarding your research will only further strengthen your work. 

For those students who are embedding Indigenised or decolonial theoretical frameworks, methodologies or methods in your research study, this issue is more nuanced. University is a particular type of interface where Indigenous knowledges can struggle to obtain legitimacy. Or as my former supervisor states, “the Australian university is grounded in imperial-capitalist-neo-liberal-colonial-patriarchy”. The implications of these structures have impacted the ways in which research has historically been and continues to be undertaken. Sharing particular aspects of your research to those who may not be as familiar with Indigenous research, may result in some awkward conversations (or potential tension) and may invite unhelpful feedback. However, it could also result in new learning experiences. Remember to trust your instinct!

See yourself as gradually becoming the expert

Towards the latter stages of the program, try to see yourself as becoming the expert in your chosen field. As your PhD research is specific and designed to contribute to new knowledge, there is probably no-one who knows more about your precise research topic than you. I have struggled with this piece of advice (mainly due to outdated Westernised discourse such as deficit discourse) but it is important to be confident in your growing skills as a researcher. The reality is that you are developing expertise and skills and are actually becoming an expert in your field. A deadly advisory team will help foster your development and growth as a researcher.

Take regular breaks and take leave if necessary

Our society values “doing more is better” and this can have implications. Your value or worth is not determined by how many hours you spend at your desk or words you write in a single day while on your third caffeinated beverage. So, remember to take breaks.

The PhD program can be a demanding program full of commitments, milestones and chapter deadlines. The workload can be intense at times, especially if you have family commitments and responsibilities. Sometimes, you need to take leave from the program. At the end of the day, the PhD program does not define you and your mental and emotional health is more important than a chapter deadline. If this is the case, I recommend that you discuss leave options with your advisory team. Your supervisors are there to support you. Deadly supervision includes supervisors realising the importance of these matters, checking in with you and supporting your wellbeing.

Extra tips:

Schedule regular meetings with your supervisors and eventually discuss potential thesis examiners with your advisory team

It is important to schedule regular meetings with your supervisors to discuss your research (fortnightly etc.). It is a deadly idea to discuss possible international and national examiners who work in your field of study with your advisory team before you reach your final thesis milestone. This process takes time. It is better to get a head start so your thesis can be marked as soon as possible after it is submitted.

Consider allocated research funds from your School

You may have some allocated research funds to assist with your candidature. I recommend using these research funds on particular experiences such as education conferences (Australian Association for Research in Education etc.) so that you can explore new educational research as well as network. Alternatively, you could use these research funds for professional editing services.

Be friendly to the Graduate School

If you have submitted your final thesis and have been waiting for updates, you may have considered contacting the Graduate School. Personally speaking, it took approximately six months for my thesis examination (during Covid) and I was not the only candidate in the School who experienced these lengthy delays. Waiting for your examination outcome can be quite a frustrating experience, especially if you have employment commitments, but remember to be kind to those in the Graduate School. You will eventually receive the outcome of your thesis. Remember that it is common for candidates to pass the final examination with amendments. A deadly advisory team will guide and support you during this time so that you can effectively make the revisions required by the examiners. 

Dr Mitchell Rom is a Lecturer with the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at Australian Catholic University. Mitchell initially trained as a secondary teacher in the disciplines of English and History and holds a PhD in Indigenous education. His research interests include Education, Equity and Decoloniality. His research has attracted national awards including the Australian Association for Research in Education Betty Watts Indigenous Researcher Award. As a Nunukul/Ngugi researcher, Mitchell has also taught in initial teacher education and has worked across various levels of education. Contact him on LinkedIn.

Image in header are students from the Weemala Indigenous Student Success Unit at Australian Catholic University, Brisbane campus. The author has been given permission to use this image.

Deadly tips for students who want to do a PhD

higher education, Indigenous education, , , , ,

There are many opportunities and challenges associated with doing a PhD. It is a rewarding program that allows you to deeply explore a research area of interest. However, it is also recognised as a difficult academic pursuit and students may encounter various challenges in completing the program.

My own PhD, undertaken at The University of Queensland (UQ), explored the key learning, teaching and national education policy challenges in relation to Indigenous education at university. Since my conferral in 2022, I have been asked to share my professional advice for Indigenous students who are wanting to enrol in a PhD program and conduct research.

So, I decided to write this series of articles, over three separate posts, related to undertaking a PhD in Education, based off my lived experience as a Nunukul/Ngugi researcher. My aim in sharing these articles is to particularly assist Indigenous students who are doing a PhD in the field of education.

My lived experience

According to Universities Australia (2023), the number of Indigenous student enrolments in PhD programs has increased significantly over the past 13 or so years. For example, in 2011, there were 291 student enrolments compared to 594 enrolments in 2021. While these increasing numbers are positive, there is still further work required; there would need to be an additional 555 Indigenous postgraduate research enrolments to reach population parity of 3.2 per cent for 2021 (Universities Australia, 2023).

While I am writing from my own experience, the tips offered in this series may be relevant for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students who are doing a PhD in Education. This series includes general advice as well as much more nuanced tips which may only relate to Indigenous students who are conducting research in the Indigenous space. Experiencing any program at university is subjective, and these tips are intended to serve as a guide only. Remember that the PhD journey is your own journey and you should navigate it in the way that works best for you. This article, which is the first in the series, shares five tips that may assist students who are transitioning into the program.

Select a topic of interest

The decision to undertake a PhD is an exciting time but can also be overwhelming given the diverse range of topics that you can choose to research. Selecting a research topic can sometimes be a complex process as it can be difficult to decide on the one topic you want to research for the next four (or more) years. Here are a few ideas that may spark your thinking. Consider areas of education that may be improved or where you see room for further development. What contribution would you like to make in education? Perhaps it could be related to curriculum, pedagogy or assessment. What areas of education were you drawn to as part of your previous studies? What level of education are you interested in researching?

If you are transitioning from completing your Masters, consider whether your research topic could be an extension of your existing work. If you are a classroom teacher or work in initial teacher education, perhaps you could connect your teaching experiences with your study.

Drawn to my topic

In my experience, it is common for Indigenous PhD students to choose an Indigenous-related research topic. I also did my research in Indigenous education because of my ontological connection to the space. I was also drawn to my topic because I wanted to contribute to education policy, which was informed by my experiences as a teacher and student. Although this may seem obvious, my advice is to choose a topic that interests you – whether that be in the field of literary criticism, educational leadership or Indigenous education policy. There is also no need to rush this process – you will be spending a significant amount of time with your topic so it is important to choose wisely. Given the length of the program, to maintain a level of motivation, you will need to select a research topic that interests you.

Choose a deadly advisory team

The PhD program is a long and at times emotional journey and it helps if you have supportive and culturally competent supervisors. The reality is that there is not a great number of Indigenous academics in the Education space. If you are seeking to involve a number of Indigenous scholars on your advisory team, you may have to shift these expectations. When I enrolled in the PhD program, there were no other Indigenous academics or PhD students based in the UQ School of Education. Until other Indigenous PhD students and academics arrived in the School, this was a fairly isolating experience.

Ultimately, my advisory team consisted of experienced non-Indigenous and Indigenous academics (teachers and non-teachers) who were based within and outside of the Education School. This advisory team brought different strengths to supervision. I recommend that you undertake some initial research based on those academics who are experienced in your research area and then contact and schedule to have a yarn with several academics to see if they may be a good fit for your research. Remember, you can always change supervisors if your situation changes.

Apply for scholarship support

Generally speaking, receiving a PhD scholarship will place you in a better financial position with your candidature. This may mean that you may not need to work or teach each semester and instead are able to focus on effectively developing your research. I encourage you to discuss potential university scholarships with your potential supervisors prior to commencing the program in order to place you in the best position to achieve your research goals. 

Find quality support

Finding quality support from people and groups was key for my successful navigation of the PhD program. I come from a predominately trade-based family of seven people, including six men and am the first in my family to graduate from university. While my family were supportive of my studies, this presented multifaceted challenges and so I understand the importance of finding like-minded people and quality support groups. Connect with people who have a shared experience of Higher Degree by Research (HDR) studies and who can offer support to you throughout the program.  

Within the early stages of your candidature, I encourage you to consider applying for the Professional Certificate in Indigenous Research at the University of Melbourne. This course, developed by Professor Marcia Langton, is designed specifically for Indigenous HDR students across Australia. The course provides an opportunity to discuss your research with like-minded Indigenous students and supportive academic staff. If you are potentially interested in applying for this course, I suggest that you have a conversation with your supervisors to see if this program aligns with your busy schedule. I have completed this course and recommend it to HDR students.

Furthermore, I also found support in various reading groups at university. This is discussed more in the second article.

Prioritise your wellbeing

The process of enrolling in a new program at university, navigating administrative issues, regularly meeting with potential supervisors and thinking about multiple aspects of your research study can be overwhelming. Remember to take care of your health and wellbeing during this potentially lengthy and complex process. Develop positive habits early to prioritise your wellbeing so that the program is sustainable and enjoyable.

Dr Mitchell Rom is a Lecturer with the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at Australian Catholic University. Mitchell initially trained as a secondary teacher in the disciplines of English and History and holds a PhD in Indigenous education. His research interests include Education, Equity and Decoloniality. His research has attracted national awards including the Australian Association for Research in Education Betty Watts Indigenous Researcher Award. As a Nunukul/Ngugi researcher, Mitchell has also taught in initial teacher education and has worked across various levels of education. Contact him on LinkedIn.

Australian universities

Australian university staff now in chaos: No idea what will happen after December 31

higher education, higher education policy, , , ,

Imagine not knowing whether your job will exist after the holidays. The anxiety of wondering whether you should be budgeting for a well-deserved break with family or for the impending bills that might not be accounted for by your current salary in the new year. This is a reality for so many people working in Australian universities right now.

“I only have a contract until December 31. I have no idea what will happen after that.”

Released in February, the final report of the Universities Accord highlighted multiple crisis points for the Australian tertiary education sector. That includes inadequate funding, poor governance, wage thefts and a massive over reliance on casual staff. For people within the sector, this report provided some confirmation of their experience. The recommendations provided a small sliver of hope that we might see some change.

The Ending Bad Governance for Good report released by the NTEU last week paints an even more dire picture, while thousands of academics are facing uncertainty about whether they will have work in 2025.

Confusion over casualisation

The final report of the Universities Accord indicated that high rates of precarious employment in the sector negatively impacts the quality of teaching and research within universities, limiting the overall workforce capacity. The report cites data showing that over the past 30 years, rates of casual employment have consistently sat between 15.8% and 22.8% of all university staff.

These types of proportional data, however, report on Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions. That obscure the actual number of people who are precariously employed. Estimates of the number of casually employed individuals vary wildly. There are suggestions that one FTE could really represent between 7 and 16 employees.

The recent NTEU report uses a conservative estimate of 6 people for every FTE role. That raises the overall proportion of individuals who are casually employed to an average of 49% across Australian universities. That’s nearly half of all employees

Moves to reduce the reliance on casual work are welcome – but they have also left institutions in a state of confusion. Universities are currently scrambling to respond to changes in the classification of casual work. The Fair Work Commission’s “Closing the Loopholes” Act involves a range of changes to strengthen the protection of employees. That includes changing the definition of casual employment and the process of conversion to permanent employment.

Approaches vary

Approaches have varied across the sector. But people who have worked at institutions for years or decades are now facing uncertainty about what their roles might look like in the new year or whether their much-needed positions will continue to exist.   

My research over the past eight years with colleagues focuses on the experiences of academics in insecure employment. We see an emerging sense of precarity throughout the sector that extends beyond those who are employed casually. Impacts of the COVID pandemic, reports of hundreds of millions of dollars in staff underpayment and other forms of wage theft, and multiple rounds of restructuring and redundancies contributes to a sense of unease across university campuses.

A crisis of governance

Adding to this unease, the new NTEU report paints a damning picture of university governance.

Neoliberal policies and reduced government funding ensure universities are now seen as businesses. 

But the NTEU report includes shocking examples of management practices that would not be accepted in the business world.

The report describes inflated executive salaries. Over 300 university executives nationally being paid more than the premiers of their respective states. More than $730M was paid to external consultants and contractors in 2023 alone.

This figure seems incomprehensible within a sector that promotes itself as having the ‘best and brightest’ within their own walls. While I note that the amount reported can include other professional services, it does not paint a substantially different picture from the Sydney Morning Herald’s report in 2023.

The NTEU report shows, on average, the 37 Australian public universities examined have paid external consultants almost $20M in one year ($19,836,011). Simultaneously, they are undergoing restructures and cutting programs. They are also cutting staff, who are dedicated to the core business of teaching and research, in precarious positions.

Changing landscapes of academic employment

Between 2020 and 2023, the number of job losses and newly added positions has bounced around dramatically, bolstering the NTEU report’s finding of poor workforce planning.

Over the period of peak COVID-19 pandemic, 4,760 people were made redundant within Australian universities. While 75% of these positions have been readvertised since 2021, universities across the country have announced impending redundancies and some have recently cut entire programs.

At the same time, universities are declaring their commitment to de-casualising their workforce. Our current research examines policies which relate to the shift away from casual employment to permanency

within Enterprise Bargaining Agreements from 35 Australian Universities. We found 27 universities have committed to creating new positions targeting the conversion of a minimum of 2,554 FTE casual positions to permanent roles. A fraction of the public funding spent on consultancy alone would be sufficient to fund these positions.

Universities are complex. Workforce planning is particularly complex in a sector that is governed by student numbers. One issue within the sector, however, is clear. 

A sense of precarity

All academics, regardless of their employment contracts, are feeling a sense of precarity. They are uncertain about their roles, their workload, and the future of the sector.

People who are currently wondering about their employment beyond next month are receiving reports that huge amounts of public funding has been spent on executive salaries and external consultants.

My hope is that public funding for higher education is committed to supporting those who teach our future doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, and nurses. My hope is that funding is dedicated to supporting researchers who engage in cutting edge research and providing training and employment for future researchers to do the same.

Jess Harris is an associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Newcastle. Her research is focused on the leadership and development of teachers and teaching within schools and through initial teacher education. She draws on a range of qualitative research methods, including conversation analysis and membership categorisation analysis.