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Rural kids getting in to uni through innovative program

December 2, 2015

Rural kids getting in to uni through innovative program

Tyranny of distance and social disadvantage are no match for a UOW program that is helping more rural young people get into university.

UOW’s Batemans Bay and Bega campuses recently won an Australian Rural Education Award (AREA) for the In2Uni Regional Outreach Program, an initiative that is aimed at lifting the number of school students from rural and remote areas that go on to study at the tertiary level.

The award - in recognition of projects that build links between schools and the rural community - is a result of the contributions by UOW’s Bega and Batemans Bay campuses to the success of In2Uni’s Rural Outreach efforts on the New South Wales South Coast region.

Their approach involves maintaining close ties to the local community through more than 200 businesses, organisations and services to inspire and encourage younger rural students to aim for higher education as well as shape the programs according to their specific needs.

UOW's regional campuses are a vital part of improving access to higher education.

UOW Bega campus manager and In2Uni regional outreach program coordinator Sam Avitaia said the program helped build awareness and aspirations toward higher education and supported students when they arrived at university. 

The method has proven to be very successful. In 2014, the In2Uni program reached 33 schools in the Bega and Batemans Bay regions, engaging with more than 1700 students across eight programs. In addition, more than 30 UOW students from the Bega and Eurobodalla areas volunteered to be mentors in their former high schools.

In that same year, more than three quarters of the students who participated in the Year 12 University Preparation Program at Bega and Batemans Bay received an offer for higher education study, most of them through Early Admission. 

Many also received scholarships and sponsored pathways through the personalised advice provided by the University campus staff and mentors, as well as offers of work through UOW’s community ties.

Kayla Robbie from Eden Marine High School took part in the Year 12 In2Uni program in 2014. 

“I wasn’t sure if I would be able to study at university, but In2Uni gave me the confidence to do it -- I loved meeting with the mentors every week and was so thrilled when I got Early Admission into the Bachelor of Arts at UOW Bega. I’ve loved uni this year and my aim is to become a Primary School teacher.”

Kayla successfully applied to become an In2Uni mentor herself in 2016 and is looking forward to mentoring students from the region.

Regional Campuses & Student Diversity Director Anne Snowball said there were 16 high-quality applications for AREAs in 2015 and the award recognised the excellent work of the UOW Student Diversity Team, student In2Uni mentors, regional In2Uni schools, and staff at regional campuses inspiring rural and regional students to aim for and achieve a tertiary education.

The award was presented by the Society for the Provision of Rural Education in recognition of innovative practices relating to rural education at its national SPERA conference in Melbourne in November.