On 1 August, Minister for Training and Skills and Higher Education, Hon. Gayle Tierney, visited La Trobe University’s Shepparton Campus to announce more than $1 million in funding to renew the successful Raising Expectations project until the end of 2022.
The project aims to increase university access and support for students from out-of-home care backgrounds.
The project is led by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (CFECFW), with La Trobe University, Federation University Australia and Swinburne University as partners.
Led by Associate Professor Andrew Harvey, La Trobe University’s efforts on the project include: improving data capture on care leavers at the point of application and enrolment; increasing outreach to flexible learning schools and care(r) organisations; improving support for enrolled care leavers through the provision of bursaries and scholarships; raising awareness of the specific needs of care leavers as an equity group through the development and distribution of guidelines for university staff; and influencing institutional, state and national research and policy agendas.
La Trobe University’s Higher Education for Care Leavers Strategy has received a number of awards, including an Australian Financial Review (AFR) Higher Education Award and a Victorian Protecting Children Award.
You can find out more about La Trobe’s support for care leavers here.
