A developmental evaluation of the University of South Australia’s University Makes a Difference Outreach program
Reports on a developmental evaluation undertaken of a University of South Australia outreach program, funded via a 2025 ACSES Capacity Building Grant.
Reports on a developmental evaluation undertaken of a University of South Australia outreach program, funded via a 2025 ACSES Capacity Building Grant.Reports on a developmental evaluation undertaken of a University of South Australia outreach program, funded via a 2025 ACSES Capa Read more
Author
Smith, L., Devis, D., MacGillivray, M., Weiler, T. & Leonard, S.N.
Published on
November 30, 2025
Read time
20
min
This evaluation report presents the initial formative evaluation of the University Makes a Difference Outreach Program (UMaDOP), a University of South Australia (UniSA) widening participation program delivered in the pre-access student life stage as outlined in The Student Equity in Higher Education Evaluation Framework (SEHEEF) (Johnstone et al., 2021).
UMaDOP is designed for students who are engaged in the South Australia’s Department for Education’s (DfE) Tailored Learning program, which specifically supports young people who have disengaged from schooling, or have poor attendance at school (Department for Education, 2024). This may be due to complex personal barriers that negatively impact on schooling.
The evaluation serves three key purposes:
1. To construct a clear and testable Theory of Change for the program along with the
assumptions on which it has been built.
2. To identify initial tensions and enablers in the program as indicators of the key relationships, activities and mediating factors that influence how the program operates in practice.
3. To inform ongoing program development through the use of evidence-informed insights and recommendations.
