Part-time students make up 31% of all Australian university students, yet university policies and systems remain designed for full-time school-leavers. Associate Professor Kelly Linden shares preliminary findings from her research with almost 1,000 part-time students about their experiences, needs and the policy barriers they face. Ebe and Kelly talk about:

• Research findings on what supports part-time student success, including access to engaging lecturers and clear expectations
• Policy barriers facing part-time students: extensions, scholarships, work-integrated learning and recognition of prior learning
• The impact of caring responsibilities and work commitments on part-time study without inclusive policies
• Inconsistencies in how universities define and support part-time enrolment
• Public transport and taxation policies that disadvantage part-time students
• Universal facility access: how universities could share resources to support distance and part-time learners
• Policy recommendations for better supporting part-time students
• The role of universal design for learning in improving equity

Guest

Associate Professor Kelly Linden is a 2025 Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) Equity Fellow. Over nine years at Charles Sturt University, she's developed award-winning student retention programs and led research into supporting part-time students and students from equity backgrounds.

Links and resources

• Connect with Kelly
• Kelly's research on part-time students

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For students who want to transform their universities. For staff ready to build genuinely inclusive systems. For academics and professionals who think big about what Australian higher education could become.

Ready to raise the bar?

Support the podcast: higherhopespod.com
Follow us: LinkedIn @HigherHopesPod | Instagram @higherhopespod
Full transcript: Available at higherhopespod.com

Produced on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples.

In this bonus episode, Ebe shares the recording of her November 2025 ADCET webinar on the neurodiversity paradigm, which drew over 500 registrations from across Australia.

The session covers the foundations and principles of the neurodiversity paradigm as articulated by Dr Nick Walker and Sonny Jane Wise, contrasting it with the pathology paradigm that currently dominates university support systems. Ebe explains key concepts including neurodiversity, neurodivergent identity, neuronormativity, biocertification and biopower, and explores what these mean for how universities structure support, assessment and inclusion.

The webinar addresses a growing issue in the sector: institutions adopting neurodiversity language whilst maintaining the same exclusionary practices and diagnostic requirements. Ebe calls this "paradigm washing" and outlines what genuine paradigm shift would require instead.

Practical guidance is offered for disability practitioners, teaching staff and institutional leaders, with particular focus on universal design for learning, harm reduction approaches, epistemic justice, and moving from individual accommodations to systemic change.

The episode includes Q&A with ADCET's Rebecca Morris, addressing questions about assessment design, the role of diagnosis, and how to balance institutional requirements with paradigm shift.

Resources mentioned in episode:

• ADCET webinar recording (video)
• Written Q&A responses from webinar
• History of the paradigm and terminology (including the role of Kassiane Asasumasu in coining 'neurodivergent' and 'neurodivergence')
• Dr Nick Walker's work
• Sonny Jane Wise's work, including the Neurodiversity Smorgasbord

New from Higher Hopes:

• Submit your questions for "Ask me anything about neuro-affirming practice in higher education"
• Higher Hopes on Substack

Send us a text

Support the show

For students who want to transform their universities. For staff ready to build genuinely inclusive systems. For academics and professionals who think big about what Australian higher education could become.

Ready to raise the bar?

Support the podcast: higherhopespod.com
Follow us: LinkedIn @HigherHopesPod | Instagram @higherhopespod
Full transcript: Available at higherhopespod.com

Produced on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples.

In this episode, Ebe speaks with Associate Professor Amani Bell (University of Sydney) and Lachlan Sibir (classroom teacher and researcher) about placement equity and placement poverty in Australian higher education.

The conversation explores what placement equity means and why it matters for students from equity-deserving backgrounds. We discuss the strengths and limitations of the Commonwealth Prac Payment, which currently supports students in education, nursing, and social work but excludes many other degree programmes that also require extensive unpaid placements.

The episode examines the intersection of placement poverty with Indigenous student support and other equity initiatives, before diving into practical solutions such as flexible placement models, payment structures based on year level, and strengths-based approaches. We challenge the difference between framing placement support as welfare versus recognising the labour students contribute to organisations, and share insights on designing inclusive and accessible placement experiences that work for all students.

Throughout, the conversation challenges the idea that "this is how it's always been done" and explores concrete ways to make placements equitable without students having to choose between financial survival and completing their degrees.

Episode resources:

• ACSES Fellowship Report: Addressing placement inequities via participatory action research
• The team’s literature review on global approaches to ameliorating placement poverty
• Australian Council of Deans of Health Sciences Report
• Information about the Commonwealth Prac Payment
• ADCET resources on Inclusive fieldwork, work placements, excursions and practicums
• Paid Placements Aotearoa
• Students Against Placement Poverty

Send us a text

Support the show

For students who want to transform their universities. For staff ready to build genuinely inclusive systems. For academics and professionals who think big about what Australian higher education could become.

Ready to raise the bar?

Support the podcast: higherhopespod.com
Follow us: LinkedIn @HigherHopesPod | Instagram @higherhopespod
Full transcript: Available at higherhopespod.com

Produced on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples.