SoTL Seminar Series: Available but not accessible – a study of HDR student experiences with university COVID-19 support initiatives – Kate Manlik

4 August, 2022
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

This is part of the SoTL seminar series featuring MQ staff presenting their experiences and approaches to undertaking SoTL. The format will be a half hour presentation followed by a half hour workshop.

Sponsored by the Teaching & Leadership Community of Practice and open to all interested MQ staff.

Attend via Zoom.

Presenter: Kate Manlik

Topic: Available but not accessible: HDR student experiences with university COVID-19 support initiatives

About this research:

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted higher degree research (HDR) students’ thesis progress and experience (Donohue et al. 2021). HDR students have had limited access to research materials and laboratories, and experienced social isolation from their colleagues and peers (Wang and DeLaquil 2020). In response to the ongoing pandemic, many Australian universities have offered COVID-specific provisions to HDR students, such as leave or extensions to candidature. However, the uptake of these provisions often requires students to self-evaluate their eligibility or merit for receiving support. Given previous knowledge that there is a lack of support for women and other minorities to remain in academia (Windsor and Crawford 2021), it is unclear whether these procedures allow equitable access for support. This paper will present the findings of a self-report survey (n=485), which gathered qualitative and quantitative data regarding HDR students’ experiences during the pandemic. Various prevalence statistics were calculated using quantitative data and specific student experiences were identified in inductive analyses of the qualitative data. This project draws attention to the potential inequalities that inhere in application-based COVID-19 provisions.

The presenter:

Kate Manlik (they/she) is a Cultural Studies PhD student at Macquarie University. Their current research explores lesbian and queer women’s place in the Australian HIV landscape. She is also interested in fostering HDR student well-being through policy reform and the creation of caring spaces.

Register to attend and you’ll be sent a calendar invitation with the Zoom link.

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