Towards a fairer chance for all: Revising the Australian student equity framework

Abstract

In 1990, the Australian Government published A Fair Chance for All, the first national framework for student equity in higher education. A Fair Chance for All declared that all Australians should have the opportunity to participate successfully in higher education, and that this objective could be met by ‘changing the balance of the student population to reflect more closely the composition of society as a whole’ (Department of Education Employment and Training, A fair chance for all: national and institutional planning for equity in higher education. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1990, p. 2). The Framework identified six under-represented groups for policy priority: people from low socioeconomic backgrounds; Indigenous Australians; people from regional and remote areas; people with disabilities; people from non-English speaking backgrounds; and women in non-traditional areas. Ambitious participation targets were established for each group, and national and institutional strategies were outlined to help reach these targets. Twenty-five years on, the architecture of the Framework remains in place. The original objectives, strategies and categories have shaped how access to higher education is understood, funded and managed through the most significant period of growth in higher education in Australia’s history. Targeted strategies and a rapid increase in student numbers have opened the doors of university to more Australians than ever before. Yet despite progress across some of the six categories and broad systemic growth, the student population still does not reflect the composition of society (Koshy, Student equity performance in Australian higher education. National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Perth, 2014). Inequality is persistent, and progress in widening participation has been slow. This chapter argues the need for comprehensive reform of student equity policy to drive systemic and cultural change.