astra domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/studyfoxx/public_html/proactivetraining.com.au/news/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131Complimenting another article\u00a0 on\u00a0 regional and remote issues in this edition of VDC News (Highlighting VET in regional and remote Australia<\/a>) are a couple of pieces of work that look, first, at the support services<\/u><\/a> available to tertiary students in regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas and then provide a \u2018good practice framework\u2019<\/u><\/a> for this support.<\/p>\n This work sits within a context which has examined the issues related to the work of the Regional Education Expert Advisory Group which has also produced a series of issues papers<\/u><\/a>\u00a0to address the challenges facing tertiary education in regional, rural and remote areas following the 2019 Napthine Review<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n A team drawn from a range of organisations prepared the\u00a0report<\/u><\/a>. It \u201cexplores the range of support services that Australian tertiary providers currently deliver to students from regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas\u201d and provided advice to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) \u201con ways to ensure the delivery of ongoing best practice support services (see below). The project used a process involving desk research\u00a0and consultations with a wide range of tertiary sector stakeholders including those from \u201ctertiary regulators, peak bodies, networks and interviews with sixty-seven public and private tertiary education providers. Seventy tertiary students were also consulted through interviews and focus groups.\u201d<\/p>\n As the report notes:<\/p>\n Exploring the support services available to, and needed by, RRR tertiary students is complicated by the diversity of tertiary students and tertiary providers across the country. There is no typical regional student [although \u201cthe Napthine Review found that RRR tertiary students are more likely to be female, mature aged, Indigenous, and from low SES backgrounds. They are also more likely than metropolitan students to be juggling competing priorities, including work commitments and caring responsibilities.\u201d] Even when attempts have been made by various researchers to capture different types of students, e.g., those who leave regional areas and those who stay, blind spots remain where research has not included consideration of mature age students, or VET students.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Support services might include such things as academic support, pastoral care, mentoring\/buddy programs, accommodation, childcare support, employment assistance and cultural safety.<\/p>\n Key messages include:<\/p>\n Above all, clear, consistent messaging raises awareness and understanding of required support services. It also requires that ongoing data are collected on RRR students\u2019 needs, use and relevance of services so that \u201cdecisions are informed by organisational strategy and evidence-based student needs.\u201d This is to ensure that both \u201cincremental and breakthrough improvements are actively implemented and are informed by data.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, \u201cresearch points to the value of enabling programs for supporting the academic needs of RRR students and facilitating student interactions and connections,\u201d and many RRR students want face-to-face experiences.<\/p>\n The Good Practice Framework \u201cprovides guidance for tertiary providers to assist them in supporting RRR students. It is designed to encourage reflection on current practice and knowledge sharing within and between tertiary providers.\u201d It consists of 5 elements. These are:<\/p>\n Each of these elements involves a description that helps you as a user of the Good Practice Framework to consider what to think about, and ask the questions \u2018how do you\u2019, and \u2018could you\u2019 address the particular element. This is accompanied in each case by views from both students and educators as well as a set of \u2018stories\u2019 from the field. There is also more detail about this framework in the support services report<\/u><\/a> summarised above.<\/p>\nThe research<\/h2>\n
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The Good Practice Framework<\/h2>\n
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