28 April 2015: More than 50 students from high schools in Canberra and Wagga Wagga are visiting the University of Canberra campus from TODAY for the first ACT Indigenous Success (ACT-IS) Project camp.
Funded by a competitive grant awarded under the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program, the University of Canberra is working with The Australian National University (ANU), UC College and ANU College to break down barriers to higher education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students or those from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds in schools and colleges across the region.
University of Canberra dean of students Michele Fleming said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and those from low SES backgrounds often face a series of barriers including attitudinal, financial and locational, when it comes to participating in higher education.
"Some of these students have never considered university as a viable option. These students need to feel that university is a place for them and that they can be supported and succeed in higher education," Associate Professor Fleming said.
The ACT-IS project addresses these barriers by providing a range of activities to build on students' self-esteem, confidence and academic skills, to smooth the transition into university study and to connect them with the range of support available to them within the university itself.
The program is delivered in two parts. Working with Year 9 and 10 students from 11 schools from the ACT and regional NSW, the first part includes in-school and on-campus activities aimed at raising aspirations and empowering students to achieve at school and progress into higher education.
In part two, Year 11 and 12 students from an additional three high schools and colleges will complete a University Pathways Course. This involves a four-day camp where they attend classes on campus, and over the year complete two units delivered face-to-face in their schools and online. This has been approved as an accredited pathway into specified degree programs at the University of Canberra.
As part of their camp experience, students from ACT's Dickson College and Erindale College, and Wagga's Mount Austin High School will also take part in a campus tour, scavenger hunt and attend educational sessions including one with the University of Canberra's resident robot Ardie.
- Associate Professor Fleming is available for interview and photos are available on request
Contact the University of Canberra media team:
Amanda Jones: 0409 140 415
Claudia Doman: 0408 826 362