aspirations of and barriers to higher education for LSES background high school students and regional high school students, especially women; and learning experiences of LSES background university students and regional university students, especially women. the experiences of Low SES and regional and remote students Identity development This review informed the development of the program in its entirety, including the face to face components and the online space. Completed 2.1.2 Completion of a literature review suitable for inclusion in the Final Report. The literature review is completed and is provided in the supporting evaluation report. Nov 2016 − Dec 2016 3.1 Initial liaison to begin fostering a Community of Practice with schools, local government, and local business in the following regions: Port Macquarie−Hastings; Greater Taree; Lower Hunter; and Port Stephens. The Community of Practice is intended to: provide the high school students with opportunities to gain real−world insights and experiences through guest lectures, site visits and networking events; inform the online mentoring program; provide resources for the online mentoring program; and continue to support student aspiration attainment beyond Completed 3.1 The Research Coordinator visits each region, establishes contacts and begins planning for program delivery. December 2016 / February 2017. The project team members met with targeted schools in the program and local government to garner support and interest for the program in the regional areas of Greater Taree, Port Macquarie, Lower Hunter and Port Stephens. Once school commitment to the program was confirmed, the Research Coordinator worked with the schools to establish contacts and relationships with local business professionals, Industry groups and networks such as the business chambers within the region to secure industry professional involvement in the program. Industry professionals in the regions were then
the life of the Project by coordinating the online mentoring program and providing real−world experiences to its users. supported to participate in the program through a series of activities including the launch and finale events, and attending schools to deliver lunchtime career presentations and be involved in the establishment of a community of practice. 3.2 Submission of application for ethics approval to the University of Newcastle. Not required. 3.2 Application for ethics approval submitted in sufficient time for approval to be granted by the end of February 2017. Early in the year, the Project team conducted a wide-ranging literature review and developed a series of research questions. Since they were exploratory rather than definitive research questions, it was decided to use the experience from the 2017 program to guide the design of a more structured questions and more formal research project, proposed for 2018. Nov 2016 − Feb 2017 4.1 Identification of women professionals in business and law for video recording of interviews to include in the online mentoring program. Completed 4.1 At least 12 women professionals commit to participating, including 6 who have either: spent their pre−university life in a regional/remote area; or are currently working in a regional/remote area. The project had 25 people willing to provide their time to create their profile video. Due to availability and the need for the videos to be diverse in their representation, 20 videos interviews were undertaken: 19 Females 1 Male, 50% being from/working in a regional area. 12 were from a business/ commerce background, 8 from the legal field. Jan 2017 − Mar 2017 5.1 Engage external contractors to deliver: video production; app design and construction. website design and construction; and Completed 5.1 Engagement of external contractors that can deliver services suitable for the online mentoring program. Through the Community of Practice process, we connected with Midcoast Digital, based in Taree who filmed and edited the videos and set up the private online Facebook space (see 13.1.1).
high school students to ascertain their: previous exposure (if any) to university campuses and/or university life; post−school plans and confidence in achieving them, including confidence/ knowledge in accessing information to realise plans; sources of advice their post−school plans; and perception of self and university. Participation target = 85 per cent. prior to commencing the program. 59 students completed the survey. Response rate: 71% Survey questions and survey analysis can be found in the evaluation report. 7.1.2 Pre−mentoring program survey of university students to ascertain each student's: perception of their leadership behaviour; and expectations of the mentoring program. Completed 7.1.1−2 Surveys are distributed, completed and returned. Participation target = 85 per cent. Students were asked to complete an expression of interest to apply to be part of the program. As part of this process students were asked questions in regards to their motivations and interest in the program. This fulfilled the component. Therefore, the response rate: 100% Results from the EOI responses can be found in the evaluation report. 7.2 Mentoring program launch. Completed 7.2 The mentoring program is launched at networking events, specifically: one networking event in Newcastle for university students and professional mentors one networking event in each of the target regions for high school students and Community of Practice members, (e.g. teachers, parents, 120 people (industry professionals, university students and high schools- Mount View, Cessnock Tomaree, Irrawang,) attended the Newcastle Launch of the program on 5 June. 40 people (industry professionals, university students and high schools - Hastings Secondary college both
chambers of commerce, government and business professionals, and Faculty of Business and Law representatives, including research team members). campuses) attended the launch on 13 June in Port Macquarie. 25 people (industry professionals, university students and high schools – Chatham and Taree) attended the launch in Taree on 2 June. 7.3 Stakeholder interviews to explore: knowledge of degree programs on offer, entry pathways to university and knowledge of resources to assist students, such as scholarships views on how the Faculty of Business and Law and stakeholders can work together to engage regional women from LSES backgrounds in business related higher education and succeed. Completed 7.3 Interviews are conducted in each of the target regions with stakeholders, including: parents (total target number across the four regions: 20) teachers (total target number across the four regions: 8) local government representatives (total target number across the four regions: 4) local business (total target number across the four regions: 12). The project team utilised the establishment of the Community of Practice (COP) to inform our work and existing practice. The COP discussed the biggest organisational/ management/workforce challenges for their regional area and opportunities for collaboration, both between the university and the community, and schools and organisations within their community. This discussion extended into the role online resources can play and how they can best support individuals in regional areas. COP meeting attendees and split of representation Port Macquarie: School: 4 Students: 2 Industry professionals: 3 Taree School: 5 Students: 3 Industry professionals: 3 Parents: 4 Port Stephens School: 3 Students: 7 Industry professionals: 3
Cessnock Postponed twice due to lack of numbers. May 2017 − Sept 2017 8.1 Mentoring program. The mentoring program will improve the participation, retention and success of women from regional areas and LSES backgrounds in higher education in business and law by providing participating high school and university students with additional resources experiences to help them realise their educational and career aspirations. Completed 8.1.1 University students complete a 35−hour placement in their mentor's workplace, which provides: exposure to the workplace and working with professionals, and the opportunity to: build professional networks source advice and support on career goals and objectives gain greater career clarity and self−confidence with regard to career decision making 55 university students were matched to 50 Industry Professionals and undertook their 35 hour placement within the workplace. Both the university students and the industry professionals were provided with a participant’s manual to assist with the mentoring experience. One networking session was held in 2017. Completed 8.1.2 University students mentor high school students via Skype, phone and/or email (a minimum of three contacts), which: builds the high school students' knowledge of university access and university life to facilitate informed decision−making; and connects the high school students with university students from a similar background to demonstrate the feasibility of higher education. University student mentors were asked to attend a program launch and a program finale in a regional area Respond to individual enquires and questions about their study/work experiences. Assist regional high school students during a day visit to NeW Space. Participate in the online component of the program – 4 sessions over 8 weeks. These sessions delivered by video conference were designed to stimulate conversation around women’s career development and to learn more about
This serves two purposes: Students can access the resources in their own time and space, and not be limited by when activities occur in school. It reduces the pressure on schools to provide the IT provided to run the program. Through the COP’s it was clear that individuals and organisations were very interested in participation but time was a factor. Providing opportunities through the online space to connect via video and text will enable greater opportunity for two-way communication. Jun 2017 − Sept 2017 10.1 Filming of interviews with mentors for online mentoring program. Completed 10.1 At least 12 interviews are filmed, resulting in videos suitable for inclusion in the online mentoring program. 20 interviews were completed, with 6 filmed on location in Taree and 14 filmed in Newcastle. The content will be used to drive activity to the website in 2018. The videos will be a combination of individual profiles and topic area videos. Jul 2017 − Aug 2017 11.1 University student debriefing (focus group). Completed 11.1 Project Team members facilitate a focus group for the university students to debrief them on their mentoring program experiences. Participation target = 85 per cent. Students who responded to the post- evaluation survey were then asked to attend a focus group. This was held on Tuesday 21 November due to the time of the year, 3 university students participated, and were interviewed by an Academic external to the project.