WA Regional Higher Education Exchange - 22 March 2024

Curtin University, in partnership with ACSES, held the WA Regional Higher Education Exchange on the 22 March 2024. Our own Amma Buckley, Project Manager of the Regional University Study Hubs Network, attended the event, along with staff from different study hubs across WA.

Below was gathered from the ACSES news article, click here to view:

ACSES was delighted to join WA Education Minister Tony Buti and Curtin University VC Harlene Hayne to attend and present at the WA Regional Higher Education Exchange on Friday.

This important event discussed how we can co-create opportunities to improve higher education access and success in rural, regional, and remote WA.

Here are some insightful quotes from the event:

“Large numbers of students are seeking help with food and accommodation. Students from the regions forced to travel to Perth are dropping out amid cost of living pressures.” Harlene Hayne

“In Australia we see tertiary education as a credential to get a job. But I have a romantic view of education that it is intrinsically important for society. So kids in the regions should have the highest possible level of education they can, not just for economic or job opportunities, but to make them better members for the community.” Tony Buti

“It’s a settled view by the Australian Government Department of Education that we will expand our higher education substantially. In doing so we need to hardwire equity into that. Geography matters to an extraordinary amount. Universities are not just one aspect that determines whether Australia prospers or not, but could very well be the aspect. All you need to do is look around to the countries in the Indian Ocean Region that are investing heavily in their knowledge economy.” Shamit Saggar

“If we look at 10 to 14-year-olds living in WA, non-First Nation students need to travel 82km on average to reach a university main campus, while First Nations students need to travel 362km. When we add in the Study Hubs, you can see those distances really decrease. For non-First Nation kids the average distance halves and for First Nations kids it reduces to about a third. And I think this really shows how Study Hubs are bringing universities closer to kids, or to tomorrow’s university students.” Gemma Cadby

“The WA data on university participation from regional and remote students shows we have work to do to achieve parity with population representation. In terms of student outcomes, some WA unis perform better than others, although it is also recognised that students differ across institutions and each institution faces their own challenges. We also don’t yet know much about the role of regional study hubs in engaging students and improving their success so more work is needed in this area.” Ian Li

- ACSES News Article

"Pilbara Kimberley University Centre staff travelled from the regions to attend Curtin University campus to exchange information with all WA Universities about growing awareness of the huge benefits of having tertiary education fully accessible in the regions.  

Thanks to the Pilbara Development Commission for supporting our staff's travel to Perth for the exchange."

- PKUC University Centre