Focus Area 4: Student recruitment, support and employability

Goal: The University is an inclusive and accessible place where students with disability and/or caring responsibilities are believed, valued, and supported to thrive and succeed

Outcome 4.a: Students feel comfortable, safe, and supported throughout the process of applying for and implementing academic adjustments

Indicator:

Improve staff responsiveness to the needs of students with disability

Measures:

  • Proportion of teaching and learning staff who have completed disability training
    • Baseline: to be established in 2026 from TrainMe data
  • Proportion of students with disability who feel lecturers, tutors and demonstrators in their course demonstrated concern for student learning
    • Baseline: 52.3% of students with disability (QILT-SES 2024)
  • Proportion of students with disability who report satisfaction with the process of implementing their Academic Adjustment Plans
    • Baseline: to be established in 2026 from DIAP Student Survey data

Outcome 4.b: Students are supported to participate and succeed in meeting and completing their course requirements

Indicator 1:

Improve support services and learning and teaching practices to meet students’ learning and participation needs

Measure:

  • Proportion of students with disability who report that their learning and participation needs have been met
    • Baseline: to be established in 2026 from DIAP Student Survey data

Indicator 2:

Increase the proportion of students with disability who continue their studies year after year

Measure:

  • Retention rate of students with disability
    • Baseline: 88.17% for domestic students with disability (Department of Education Equity Performance data 2024)

Indicator 3:

Increase the proportion of students with disability who complete their course each year

Measure:

  • Award course attainment rate of students with disability
    • Baseline: of total domestic student completions, 10.33% were students with disability (Department of Education Equity Performance data 2024)

Indicator 4:

Increase the participation rate of students with disability

Measure:

  • Participation rate of students with disability
    • Baseline: 8.6% of students have a disability (University of Melbourne student data 2025)

Indicator 5:

Improve wellbeing of students with disability

Measure:

  • Proportion of students with disability who report that their higher education experience is very or extremely stressful
    • Baseline: 40.3% of students with disability (QILT-SES 2023)

Actions for this focus area:

4.1: Implement the new service model for Student Equity and Disability Services (SEDS) in line with SEDS Review recommendations:

  • 1.1 – Create a larger SEDS team of staff who strive for excellence and promote equal opportunity
  • 1.2 – Create a specialist and expert SEDS for students
  • 1.3 – Improve the quality and delivery of Academic Adjustments Plans for registered students, including graduate researchers
  • 1.4 – Improve the quality of tangible supports and the efficiency of their delivery

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Executive Director, Student & Scholarly Services and Academic Registrar
Link to outcomes: 4.a

4.2: Establish a Reasonable Adjustment Framework1 to decrease the administrative load on students, SEDS staff and academic staff when implementing academic adjustments

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Executive Director, Student & Scholarly Services and Academic Registrar
Link to outcomes: 4.a

4.3: Improve the measurement of outcomes of students with disability and Academic Adjustment Plans to guide the implementation of data-driven continuous improvement within SEDS

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Executive Director, Student & Scholarly Services and Academic Registrar
Link to outcomes: 4.a

4.4: Increase accessibility of the Special Consideration application and implementation processes, including:

  • Improving the user experience and readability of the Special Consideration website and application form
  • Publishing dedicated guidance for students with Academic Adjustment Plans on applying for extensions
  • Increasing the number of Special Consideration outcomes provided by Student and Scholarly Services through faculty delegations

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Executive Director, Student & Scholarly Services and Academic Registrar
Link to outcomes: 4.a

4.5: Develop common text for use across internal student-facing initiatives to communicate the availability of adjustments and accommodations

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Deputy Vice Chancellor, Education
Link to outcomes: 4.a

4.6: In partnership with faculties, launch and maintain local faculty disability champion (academic equity) roles

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education)
Link to outcomes: 4.a, 4.b

4.7: Strengthen support for students with disability to access and participate in internships, including:

  • Providing training for internship supervisors and Careers & Employability staff
  • Increasing the promotion of internship opportunities and resources about navigating internship processes

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Executive Director, Student & Scholarly Services and Academic Registrar
Link to outcomes: 4.a, 4.b

4.8: Review and address Access Melbourne eligibility for students with disability, using subject-matter expertise, evidence and best practice

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education)
Link to outcomes: 4.b

4.9: Continuously review student entry pathways and implement process changes to reduce barriers to participation for students with disability

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Executive Director, Student & Scholarly Services and Academic Registrar
Link to outcomes: 4.b

4.10: In consultation with students with lived experience, develop opportunities and/or resources to upskill the Widening Participation Outreach team in engaging with students with disability

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education)
Link to outcomes: 4.b

4.11: Raise awareness of the Naarm Scholarship and other scholarship opportunities for students with disability at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels

Indicative timeline to commence: 2026
Executive Lead: Executive Director, Student & Scholarly Services and Academic Registrar
Link to outcomes: 4.b

Next page: Focus Area 5

Footnotes

1 The Reasonable Adjustments Framework will establish, in agreement between faculties and SEDS, standard academic adjustments that can be offered without requiring additional consultation with academic staff