Deakin University is celebrating another historic milestone: in 2020, exactly 100 degrees were conferred on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
This is a huge achievement for our First Nations cohort and follows from the continued growth of enrolment numbers in 2020, with Deakin cementing its position as the most popular university destination in Victoria for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The flexibility of our study options – from the Community Based Delivery model at NIKERI Institute, through to the Cloud and campus-based course offering via the Indigenous Access Scheme – mean that First Nations students now have more options than ever before about how and where they study in a culturally-supported way.
The Indigenous Access Scheme has been designed to increase enrolment in a wide range of courses, including some disciplines where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been traditionally underrepresented such as Engineering, Architecture, IT and Business (among several others). The Scheme aims to look beyond the blunt instrument of applicants’ ATAR scores and allow students to demonstrate their willingness and aptitude for tertiary study through a range of considerations, such as community involvement, prior education and relevant life, leadership, or work experience.
It has been a landmark year for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community at Deakin, with the establishment of the Vice-Chancellor’s Indigenous Advisory Council (VCAC) taking place during NAIDOC week, alongside ongoing work by the Office of Indigenous Strategy and Innovation to achieve the recently revised Graduate Learning Outcome 8 (GLO8).This positive momentum highlights Deakin’s mission and commitment to achieving reconciliation, supporting Aboriginal self-determination, and moving towards equitable educational outcomes for all Australians.