RMIT’s social inclusion programs for students aim to increase access to further education, build a more diverse student population, and provide an equitable and inclusive experience for all students.
RMIT’s equity access schemes ensure that people from the widest range of backgrounds have an opportunity to access RMIT programs. Consideration for entry applies for mature age applicants, Indigenous Australians, applicants from a regional or rural area or from a non-English speaking background, a woman applying for a program in which women are under-represented, people living with a disability or medical condition, or who have experienced disadvantaged financial circumstances, and/or have experienced difficult personal circumstances.
We are proud that RMIT’s equity access schemes are effective mechanisms to grow enrolments from priority equity groups. We analyse and report on applications and admissions of under-represented groups annually. For applications for 2021 entry, the most recently available data shows just over 37,000 undergraduate and vocational education applicants received equity consideration, resulting in 8,700 applicants receiving an offer for an RMIT program through these equity access schemes.
For 2020 applications through the centralised Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC), of the 5.600 VTAC undergraduate enrolments:
Priority equity group | Percentage of all VTAC undergraduate enrolments | Percentage of successful applicants who gained entry via an RMIT equity access scheme |
Low Socio-economic status | 14% | 86% |
Indigenous students | .16% | 100% |
With a disability | 9% | 83% |
From a regional or remote area | 8% | 84% |
RMIT’s Schools Network Access Program (SNAP) commenced in 2001 as an innovative partnership with a small number of schools in the north of Melbourne, focused on enhancing tertiary access and participation for students from communities that have been under-represented in university enrolments.
The SNAP partnership has grown to include over 200 secondary schools throughout metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.
View the complete list of SNAP partnership schools.
In 2020, 3,751 students received an RMIT offer through the SNAP priority access scheme. SNAP students are represented across 88% of RMIT programs.
SNAP-enrolled student outcomes demonstrate that:
I Belong is a program of on-campus experiences for selected SNAP secondary school students designed to increase aspiration for tertiary education.
I Belong offers an innovative approach to discipline exploration through applied workshops, presentations from industry experts and peer-delivered modules.
In 2020, over 1,800 students participated in I Belong programs on RMIT campuses. Programs range from multidisciplinary Tertiary Experience Days to five-day intensive, discipline-specific experiences.
I Belong programs are distinctly different across the middle years (Years 9–10) and senior years of schooling (Years 11–12), and align with the student lifecycle and key academic and developmental transition points. I Belong guides students from campus familiarisation and awareness of disciplines, courses, careers and industries, to university access and support programs, through to transition to tertiary study.
Programs for Years 9–10 students are applied learning experiences drawing upon key industry partnerships and the opportunities available at an urban university of technology and design.
I Belong middle years programs enable students to:
Senior years programs build on students’ discipline and career knowledge, with particular concentration on equipping them to succeed in tertiary education. Students undertake practical workshops on topics including time management, becoming an independent learner and choosing a tertiary program.
I Belong senior years programs demonstrate a strong focus on:
RMIT partners with the following organisations to deliver I Belong programs:
SNAP Champions are current RMIT tertiary students who applied through the SNAP priority access scheme. SNAP Champions are paid employees of RMIT and contribute to I Belong through the delivery of interactive presentations focusing on demystifying the transition from high school to further education, dispelling myths and misconceptions.
Many of our SNAP Champions have been successful in RMIT’s allocation of $1.6 million in equity scholarships.
RMIT receives additional funding through the federal government’s Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme (HEPPP) to provide a range of on-campus and online services to help students succeed.
Learn more about support services available to current RMIT students
RMIT strategies and policies to advance gender equity are continuing to achieve the desired outcomes as female students close the gap in access, and outcomes. RMIT tracks commencement, participation, attrition and successful completion by gender (and a range of other priority equity groups) and the most recent indicates that there are not large discrepancies at an institutional level between male and female students. However, the headcount of male and female students at a college level indicates more work is still required to address gender segregation.
In the RMIT College of Business and Law, increases in female headcount are tracking towards parity with the male headcount, with only a 2.27% difference between in 2020. Despite the significantly higher increase in the STEM College’s female student headcount than that of males (5.7 percentage point increase compared to 3.6pp), female students in STEM represented only 32% of STEM’s student population in the most year for which data is available, 2020. This is reversed in the Design and Social Context College, with male students representing only 35.7% of DSC’s student population in 2020. Despite the increase in female enrolments, women and men continue to follow different educational paths and the pattern of female and male segregation into different industries remains.
RMIT tracks women's likelihood of graduating compared to men's and has in place schemes to close the gap. RMIT reports on these matters to its Academic Board, its key governance body overseeing student matters. In the most recent report:
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.