ADCET Manager Awarded 2025 ACSES Equity Fellowship
The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) has announced Darlene McLennan as one of the recipients of their 2025 Equity Fellowship. This fellowship will support crucial research into empowering disability services across the Australian higher education sector.
About the Fellowship Project
The fellowship project, titled "Empowering Disability Services in Australian Higher Education: A Participatory Action Research Project on Professional Standards, Service Evaluation, and Capacity Building," comes at a critical time for the sector. Recent data shows that domestic undergraduate enrolments of students with disability have more than doubled, rising from 46,493 in 2012 to 116,422 in 2022.
This comprehensive research project will examine several key areas essential to the future of disability services in higher education:
- Meeting legal obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992
- Adapting to changing landscapes, including the Universities Accord reform process
- Developing effective workload benchmarking tools
- Exploring professionalisation pathways
- Building sector capacity
- Enhancing institutional value and impact
Research Approach
The 12-month fellowship will employ a three-phase approach:
- Sector Scan and Current Practice Analysis (February-June 2025)
- Comprehensive literature review
- Analysis of policy documents
- National survey of disability service practitioners
- In-depth stakeholder interviews
- Evaluation and Capacity Building Exploration (June-October 2025)
- Investigation of professionalisation models
- Case studies of innovative disability service models
- Analysis of international best practices
- Examination of workload management approaches
- Resource Development and Recommendations (October 2025-January 2026)
- Co-design of practical resources with practitioners and students
- Development of benchmarking tools
- Creation of service self-assessment frameworks
- Establishment of professional development pathways
Project Outcomes
The fellowship aims to deliver several practical outcomes for the sector, including:
- Workload benchmarking toolkit
- University self-assessment frameworks
- Professional development frameworks
- Best practice guides
- Case studies showcasing innovative approaches
Sector Engagement
Throughout the fellowship, regular updates and engagement opportunities will be provided through:
- Expert Reference Group meetings
- Webinars and workshops
- Video and podcast updates
- Social media engagement
- Regular sector consultations
Get Involved
Disability practitioners, university leaders, and students across Australia are invited to contribute to this important research. The success of this project relies on sector-wide collaboration and input.
To express interest in participating in the research or to learn more about engagement opportunities, please contact Darlene.McLennan@utas.edu.au
About ACSES Equity Fellowships
The ACSES Equity Fellowship Program is part of ongoing efforts to raise the profile of student equity in higher education. Projects funded will inform an area of Australian higher education practice and policy in relation to domestic students, via a combination of research, translation, best practice implementation, evaluation, and knowledge transfer. Fellows contribute to these efforts through targeted projects aimed at addressing some of the sector's most pressing challenges.
Regular updates about the fellowship's progress and opportunities for involvement will be shared through ADCET's channels throughout 2025.