Education for all: The U@Uni Academy

Institutions have a responsibility to enable everyone to have equitable and inclusive access to, and meaningful participation in, quality education (United Nations).

The suggestion that our current education system provides equitable and orderly progression from school to further education and employment is a myth. Australia has nearly twelve percent of its young people (aged 15-19) not engaged in employment or education and around one in five students not finishing school, with these numbers higher in certain communities.

In addition, not all young people have the same opportunities to access higher education, with data indicating that many groups remain significantly underrepresented. The potential for a student to realise their aspirations in higher education is strongly influenced by their socioeconomic status, social circumstances and geographical location rather than intrinsic capability (OECD 2018), suggesting that current entry processes reproduce social inequities and reflect disproportionate educational opportunities. Students from equity groups, including those from low socioeconomic status (LSES) backgrounds, often experience complex challenges and barriers that can impact their ability to access and participate in further education.

As a key part of the UTS Widening Participation Strategy, the new U@Uni Academy program addresses this head-on by providing students from LSES backgrounds access to tertiary education, while developing their skills in areas that are relevant to university and the changing future of work. Beginning at the end of year 10, the U@Uni Academy is a two-year program that provides a select cohort of students with hands-on and project-based university experiences, academic support and opportunities to develop key 21st century capabilities including creativity, critical thinking and communication. Students who successfully complete the program will be offered a place at UTS, allowing entry for up to 300 students from LSES partner schools in South Western Sydney. 

We want to ensure students are prepared when they get here, so during the program students are held accountable for their learning with culminating projects, portfolios and events. Here their work is displayed, pitched, and evaluated in front of peers, families, teachers, academics and industry. Through the use of REVIEW, technology in-use across UTS and in select high schools, students go through a process of self and peer assessment, as well as receive teacher and faculty feedback. This builds not only their skills, but also their capability to make decisions about the quality of work done by themselves and others.

The program is part of UTS’s recognition and response to the underrepresentation of diverse cohorts in higher education. The comprehensive level of support and specific investment in students from LSES backgrounds is sector leading. We are not only enabling equitable access, but providing deep strengths-based support for two years prior to entry. The program aims to break some of the barriers students face by providing them access to informed networks and academic support and by fostering a sense of belonging in higher education.

In line with the UTS 2027 initiative ‘Delivering positive social change’, the U@Uni Academy has been approved by the UTS Academic Board for a pilot of 6 years starting late 2019.

Visit the Academy's website to find out more: https://www.uts.edu.au/partners-and-community/initiatives/social-justice-uts/centre-social-justice-and-inclusion/uuni