Designing Opportunity for All

Sarah Ellis, Manager, Success and Strategy (Student Equity), the University of Technology Sydney and Vice-President (Australia), EPHEA

Sarah has over 12 years’ experience in the higher education sector, working in academic support and leading strategic planning for student equity initiatives. She has implemented outreach programs that increase participation for priority groups and has contributed deeply to sector-wide efforts to redesign systems for access, success, and belonging. For Education Technology Insights APAC, she shares insight on how true student equity requires systemic redesign, shared responsibility, and collaborative action.

1. Could you tell us about your professional journey and what initially drew you to the field of student equity and inclusion?

My pathway into student equity and inclusion is shaped by personal experience and a commitment to sector change. Growing up in Western Sydney, facing financial challenges, and being the first in my family to attend university gave me a lived understanding of how transformative education can be—and how many structural barriers capable students encounter.

Early in my career, while supporting students academically, I repeatedly saw those barriers reflected in the experiences of priority learners. I realised that lasting change requires more than individual support; it demands institutions rethink their policies, pathways, and assumptions about who succeeds.

That led me into the strategic side of equity and widening participation. Over the past 12 years, I have focused on leading outreach programs and institution-wide initiatives aimed at shifting systems—through action plans, curriculum and admissions reforms, and sector advocacy through EPHEA. My work centers on creating structures that enable access, success, and belonging at scale. I remain in this field because I believe institutions have a responsibility to design systems where opportunity is genuinely accessible to all.

2. Every role comes with its challenges. What are some key challenges you currently face in advancing student equity, and how do you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges today is the pace and scale of sector-wide reform. With the Australian Universities Accord reshaping funding, pathways, and expectations around inclusion, we are building long-term solutions within a rapidly changing policy landscape. Balancing stability with responsiveness is a constant tension.

“Equity is not a program but a principle. It means designing systems where access, success and belonging are expected outcomes shared across institutions and communities.”

In this environment, adaptability comes from anchoring work in principles of fairness, inclusion, and structural equity while responding to new policy directions. It is also crucial for the sector to share ideas and build more consistent pathways for priority cohorts. A collective approach is essential as equity goals—and the mechanisms to achieve them—continue to evolve.

3. The higher education landscape is evolving, especially in accessibility and inclusion. How do you adapt your strategies to meet these changing needs?

Much of my work focuses on adapting proactively to significant transformation. The Universities Accord has reframed expectations around accessibility, inclusion, and parity, signaling moves toward needs-based funding, system-level collaboration, and more flexible learner pathways. In this context, strategies must evolve from program-focused interventions to structural redesign.

These reforms bring opportunity and complexity. Institutions must expand participation, improve outcomes, and redesign pathways while navigating resource constraints and heightened expectations. I respond by focusing on:

• Strengthening governance and evidence: embedding frameworks, KPIs, and transparent reporting to ensure compliance and agility.

• Building shared ownership: engaging faculties and central units early and co-designing actions.

• Leveraging sector networks: using communities of practice and cross-sector collaborations to stay ahead of policy shifts.

• Maintaining a future-focused perspective: aligning initiatives with the broader Accord direction to ensure sustainability and impact.

4. Collaboration seems central to your work. How do partnerships within and beyond UTS contribute to your goals for social justice and inclusion?

Collaboration is essential to achieving social justice and inclusion. Partnerships within institutions, across the sector, and with community allow us to address systemic barriers in coordinated and sustainable ways.

Internal collaboration helps integrate equity into institutional practice—shaping policy, modelling values-driven practice, and ensuring equity and inclusion are part of core decision-making. I also encourage strong collaboration across the sector through networks like EPHEA, which provide access to expertise, emerging practices, and collective advocacy no single institution can achieve alone.

Community partnerships are equally critical. Successful widening participation requires reciprocity, trust, and recognising communities as contributors, not recipients. Using approaches such as appreciative inquiry, I engage authentically with schools, community organisations, and students—starting from strengths, identifying what works, and co-designing solutions that honor lived experience.

Collaboration amplifies what is possible. It helps address structural barriers at scale and contributes to a more inclusive higher education system—not just a more inclusive university.

5. How do you envision the future of student equity and inclusion in universities, and what role do you see yourself playing?

I see the future of student equity in Australia as defined by system-wide transformation. The Accord’s ambition for population parity in participation by 2050 positions equity as a core measure of institutional success. This creates an unprecedented opportunity to rethink how universities attract and support priority students.

Positive shifts are emerging—stronger enabling pathways, better data use to understand barriers, and increasing recognition of community voice and Indigenous self-determination in shaping services and policy. As the sector navigates change, equity work will need to be more integrated, collaborative, and accountable.

My contribution is to support institutions in turning aspirations into practical action: embedding equity into planning and governance, strengthening partnerships, and maintaining a focus on evidence building and co-design with students and communities. My role is to help create the conditions where equitable access and success are expected outcomes—not exceptional ones.

6. What advice would you share with professionals or educators aspiring to contribute meaningfully to educational equity?

Start with the understanding that meaningful equity work is everyone’s responsibility. It requires collective action across teaching, admissions, student services, faculties, and leadership.

Shift the question from “How do we support individual students to succeed?” to “How do we design systems where students do not need to fight for access or belonging?” With that mindset:

• Embed equity early: apply an equity lens at the design stage, not retrospectively.

• Center learner agency: listen deeply to students and communities with lived experience—and remunerate their contribution.

• Use evidence: build and utilise strong evidence bases to inform decisions.

• Take shared responsibility: challenge personal assumptions and those built into long-standing practices.

When equity becomes a shared responsibility rather than a siloed task, the impact is broader, deeper, and more sustainable.

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