Evaluation of Three Student Access Programs at Flinders University

It is well established that education is transformative in the way it delivers benefits at individual, local, and global levels. It is also well established that people from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are underrepresented in higher education. As one of the outcomes of the Bradley Review (2008), the Australian Government established the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) to provide funding from the Commonwealth Department of Education to the university sector to enhance the participation of young people from lower SES background in higher education. Flinders University’s Student Access Unit (SAU) receives funding through HEPPP to run 15 access programs and five participation programs. Three of their flagship programs, provide a continuum of experience for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, from the pre-entry phase, with the 'River Journey' and the 'Enrichment Program', through to the participation phase, with the 'Transition Experience'. These three programs were the focus of a comprehensive evaluation to better understand the facilitators and barriers around efficient and effective program implementation in order to identify opportunities for improvement. Findings from the evaluation show overwhelming support from participants for the three programs. The impact of the programs lies mainly in raising aspirations of students about their future pathways, due to the dedicated and passionate efforts of Student Ambassadors. Ratings of specific parts of the programs have generally been improving since commencement in 2012, suggesting that the SAU has been successful in continually refining its program offerings based on the information that it receives through its various feedback processes, including talking to schools. A number of recommendations are given.