Enhancing graduate outcomes and opportunities

LEAP On initiatives promote student graduate readiness. We promote lifelong learning by enabling students to develop employment ready skills, gain professional experience and build networks.

We encourage students to participate in experiential opportunities that consolidate academic learning. Our initiatives:

  • promote career and workplace readiness
  • enhance professional and student networks
  • engage students with further lifelong learning.

Widening Participation initiatives are funded by the Commonwealth Government’s Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP).

Impact of our programs

In 2020, Macquarie University allocated HEPPP funding to the delivery of 29 separate widening participation initiatives. We engaged disadvantaged and underrepresented students across the life cycle of their learning journey. We also empowered primary and high school students with knowledge relating to alternate learning and entry pathways into university, raising their confidence to pursue higher education learning.

We supported students beginning higher education by providing them with information and resources to assist with academic preparedness. Connections with academics and services enhance student experience, learning outcomes and graduate opportunities.

Engagement

The WPU values the importance of strong relationships, achieved through close working partnerships and collaborations with our community. Collectively, we can create a meaningful impact.

Our community-focused initiatives have assisted to raise awareness, advocacy and action.

2020 Engagement

  • 400 Primary and secondary schools
  • 12,716 School students
  • 1081 University students
  • 393 University staff
  • 388 Teachers
  • 1129 Parents and caregivers
  • 47 Community partners/stakeholders

HEPPP Community Forum

The HEPPP Community Forum connects with an array of internal and external University stakeholders to:

  • share experience of engaging equity cohorts
  • understand the impact of widening participation opportunities on student learning.

Watch the recordings of our most recent forums on YouTube:

Download the combined speaker slides for more information and resources.

Student Equity, Inclusion and Diversity (SEID) network

SEID is a network of internal, student-facing University stakeholders who meet quarterly to promote awareness of issues facing students and find collaborative solutions to support them.

Refugee Education Special Interest Group (RESIG)

RESIG is a grass-roots advocacy network, providing support to students from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds in higher education.

Learn more about RESIG.

Our initiatives involve:

  • promoting awareness of educational disadvantage faced by students from underrepresented and identified equity backgrounds
  • engaging networks of stakeholders and partners in initiatives that encourage the growth of educational equity practice across the community
  • encouraging collaboration across the learning community to reshape discourse, practice and policy around equity in education.

Evaluations

Evaluations are an important means for the University to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to equity in education and the national widening participation agenda. Our quality assurance measures ensure our initiatives meet:

  • institutional and Commonwealth HEPPP funding requirements
  • the needs of students from equity backgrounds.

We employ both qualitative and quantitative approaches to:

  • identify the students, community and stakeholders who engage with our initiatives
  • illustrate the impact initiatives have on access and participation of underrepresented and disadvantaged equity cohorts
  • promote quality of delivery to meet the needs of students and stakeholders impacted by low socioeconomic status and other forms of disadvantage
  • enhance our capacity to make agile initiative adaptations
  • enable the University to meet its annual HEPPP reporting requirements to the Commonwealth Government
  • guide our understanding, awareness of and approaches to equity
  • promote practice across the institution.

Careers

We enable students to participate in initiatives that encourage career-ready skills:

CareerSeekers is a non-profit organisation supporting Australia’s humanitarian entrants into professional careers.

The program provides in-depth preparation and support to people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds who are studying at university or looking to restart their professional career in Australia.

Macquarie University formalised our relationship with CareerSeekers in 2019, and we have had 30 students undertake an internship to date.

Register with CareerSeekers.

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E: Widening Participation Unit