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Student Equity in Australian Higher Education

Twenty-five years of A Fair Chance for All

  • Provides the first comprehensive review of student equity policy in Australian higher education since the creation of A Fair Chance for All

  • Examines the impact of sectoral expansion and competition on notions of student equity

  • Critiques the identified student equity groups, and examines other marginalised groups and individuals

  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii

About this book

This book examines twenty-five years of the Australian framework for student equity in higher education, A Fair Chance for All. Divided into two sections, the book reflects on the legacy of equity policy in higher education, the effectiveness of current approaches, and the likely challenges facing future policymakers. The first section explores the creation of the framework, including the major elements of the policy, the political context of its development, and how it compares with international models developed during the same period. The performance of the six student equity groups identified within the framework is also examined. The second section of the book considers future trends and challenges. The Australian university sector has undergone seismic change in the past twenty-five years and faces further changes of equal magnitude. The twenty-fifth anniversary of A Fair Chance for All comes as Australian higher education is poised for another wave of transformation, with rising expansion, competition, and stratification. While the emerging landscape is new, the questions have changed little since A Fair Chance for All was first conceived: How should we define student equity, and what policies are likely to promote it?                                                        

Editors and Affiliations

  • La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

    Andrew Harvey, Matthew Brett

  • Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

    Catherine Burnheim

About the editors

Dr Andrew Harvey is Director of the Access and Achievement Research Unit at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia. Andrew has published widely in areas of higher education policy, including issues of university access, student equity, retention and attrition, postgraduate education, and students from out-of-home care backgrounds. He currently leads a range of external grant projects covering adaptations to tertiary admissions practices; global citizenship and student equity; and comparative international student equity frameworks.

Dr Catherine Burnheim is Manager, Partnerships and Pathways at Monash University. Catherine has extensive experience in widening participation policy and practice, working with vocational education providers, rural communities, asylum seekers and mature age students. She writes extensively on higher education issues, including a recent co-authored chapter in The Dawkins Revolution: 25 Years On (G. Croucher et al. (eds), 2013, Melbourne University Press).



Matt Brett is Senior Manager of Higher Education Policy at La Trobe University and has worked in equity policy across multiple Australian institutions. He has specific interests in disability and equity issues and previously prepared the University of Melbourne's Social Inclusion Plan, Mental Health Strategy and Disability Action Plan. Matt’s most recent publication on policy issues is a chapter on Equity Policy and Knowledge in Australian Higher Education (In T. Fitzgerald (Ed.), 2014, Information Science Reference).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Student Equity in Australian Higher Education

  • Book Subtitle: Twenty-five years of A Fair Chance for All

  • Editors: Andrew Harvey, Catherine Burnheim, Matthew Brett

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0315-8

  • Publisher: Springer Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-10-0313-4Published: 06 April 2016

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-10-9131-5Published: 25 April 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-10-0315-8Published: 29 March 2016

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVII, 292

  • Number of Illustrations: 10 b/w illustrations, 34 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Higher Education, Educational Policy and Politics, International and Comparative Education

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access