The Student Equity in Higher Education Evaluation Framework (SEHEEF). Final Report

Executive summary

The SEHEEF Final Report was funded by the Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment (from the National Priority Pool under the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program).

The SEHEEF was developed in consultation with the Higher Education (HE) sector to guide three levels of evaluation:

• Overall national program evaluation of the HEPPP and its outcomes.
• Quality improvement evaluations of HEPPP-funded university projects.
• Evaluations of the effectiveness and impact of HEPPP-funded university projects.

Foundations of the SEHEEF

The key foundations included: a categorisation of student life stages; a distinction between HEPPP-funded programs and HEPPP-funded activities; a typology of HEPPP-funded activities; a Student Pathway Map; and a HEPPP Program Logic.

Overview of the SEHEEF

• The SEHEEF delineates evaluation activities to be delivered at the university level and those to be considered at the level of the Australian Government.
• University level activities are segmented into Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and Impact Evaluation, with the latter encompassing both Quantitative Impact Evaluation (QIE) and Theory-Based Impact Evaluation (TBIE).

Implementation of the SEHEEF

• The SEHEEF provides a preliminary framework for evaluating HEPPP that comes with proposed planning and reporting tools and respective categorisations.
• Effective governance, leadership, and sector buy-in are crucial for the successful implementation of the SEHEEF (Student Equity in Higher Education Evaluation Framework).
• The Department of Education’s role includes setting direction, communicating requirements, and coordinating national-level components.
• Universities are responsible for implementing university-level components, including data collection and program evaluations.
• Resourcing the SEHEEF is important, with budgets for evaluation informed by program profiles, complexity, and intended outcomes.
• There is a need for capability building in evaluation design expertise at universities to support the SEHEEF.