Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students on the Central Coast to gain entry into University

Monday, 16 August 2021

In response to an external review of enabling pathways, a new version of the Yapug enabling pathway program will be delivered for the first time on the Central Coast in 2022. Yapug is a pathway program designed to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to gain knowledge and skills for entry into university while immersing them in Indigenous knowledge, history and culture.

Yapug on the Central Coast

Over the past 20 years, the University of Newcastle has supported over 500 Indigenous students through the Yapug enabling pathway program at Callaghan, helping them gain knowledge and skills for entry into undergraduate study.

In response to an external review of enabling pathways, a new version of Yapug will be delivered for the first time on the Central Coast in 2022. The program is facilitated by the Wollotuka Institute in conjunction with the Pathways and Academic Learning Support Centre and will utilise a large number of courses from the well-established Open Foundation program, alongside four Yapug specific courses focused on Indigenous studies and health. Students who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and at least 18 years of age in the year they commence study, can apply to enter the program and don’t have to have any prior experience or education.

The University of Newcastle remains committed to Indigenous higher education, innovation and engagement in local regions and beyond and pathway programs like Yapug are central to this commitment.

Head of the Wollotuka Institute, Associate Professor Kathleen Butler, explains “Given the increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and uptake of higher education on the Central Coast, there is an ongoing and increasing need for appropriate pathways into university. Delivering our Yapug program on the Central Coast will play a vital role in increasing participation in higher education from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students”.

The success of the Yapug program has been recognised at a local and national level with students taking up the program to enable more opportunities for themselves, their family and their community. Yapug graduate Kieran Shipp says that it gave him greater opportunities to make an impact. “My main motivation for entering the Yapug program was that I wanted to be more than what I was becoming at home and I wanted to have a greater impact on my community. The program has given me the opportunity to succeed in life and provide me with the skills necessary to obtain my undergraduate degree and become a medical doctor. This has also inspired some of my immediate family members to enrol in university degrees,” said Kieran.

To successfully complete Yapug, students are required to complete 80 units of study and can be completed over a year full-time or part-time up to 2 years. Students will receive a Certificate of Attainment from the University upon completing their qualification as evidence of the skills and knowledge they’ve gained from the program. Completion will also guarantee admission into over 40+ degrees at the University of Newcastle.

Students apply directly for the Yapug program via the Yapug website newcastle.edu.au/yapug. Applications will open in October 2021 for study in Semester 1 2022. Students can also send an enquiry through to yapug@newcastle.edu.au should they have any questions.

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