The Queensland Commitment FAQs
What is The Queensland Commitment?
The Queensland Commitment reaffirms our founding principles as the University of and for Queensland by focusing on delivering equitable access to education and transformative change across the state.
Our first goal is to break down all personal, financial and geographical barriers facing Queensland students aspiring to study at UQ by 2032.
We’ll do this by:
- enhancing pathway programs
- growing UQ’s endowment fund to support need-based scholarships (matched funding available)
- encouraging volunteering and giving back
- partnering with communities, industry and government
- addressing inequalities faced by diverse groups – including those from regional and remote Queensland, low socio-economic background, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Who is leading this effort?
The Queensland Commitment is a collaborative initiative, championed by The University of Queensland. We know that we are stronger together, and that our success requires the support of our whole community – through funding, advocacy and action.
To create change for Queensland, we need to work with Queenslanders everywhere.
We believe in the power of local knowledge, expertise and experience. We will bring together schools, community groups, philanthropists and governments to drive community-led approaches that address the root causes of educational disadvantage in Queensland.
What are we trying to accomplish? What is the goal?
Our first ambition is to remove barriers facing Queensland students aspiring to study at UQ by 2032.
We are also striving for 30 per cent of our domestic undergraduate students to come from a regional, remote or low socio-economic background within 10 years, including efforts to ‘close the gap’ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
We want to ensure promising students have the resources required to focus on their studies, graduate sooner, and build a workforce for a more prosperous state.
While we’re beginning with a focus on equity and engagement, more initiatives under The Queensland Commitment will be developed over the next decade as we strive to transform lives and communities across our state.
How can I help?
We are building a community of ChangeMakers who share our vision for equitable access to education and are passionate about the future of Queensland.
You can join us by volunteering in your local community, becoming an advocate for our mission, or making a gift to The Queensland Commitment fund.
Donors can ensure that students are given support when they need it, research outcomes can be accelerated, and world-class academics and facilities can continue to be found right here at UQ. You can learn more about giving to UQ here.
Why is it called The Queensland Commitment?
The Queensland Commitment returns UQ to its roots as the first university in Queensland, founded by and for the people of the state.
While we have achieved global recognition for excellence in teaching, learning and research, we remain committed to supporting prosperity and opportunity for Queensland and the people who make what we do possible.
Why are we doing this now?
With the world turning its attention to Queensland as we approach 2032, we believe there is no greater investment than the people and the future of Queensland.
The next ten years will be an exciting time for Queensland as we prepare for the world’s most significant sporting event, and at UQ, we are looking forward to playing our role in its success.
We believe we can make a difference by supporting Queenslanders to reach their potential and achieve incredible things.
Is this another philanthropic campaign?
This is more than a fundraising initiative. There are both important philanthropic and community engagement components to The Queensland Commitment, which will require us to work with our partners to build sustainable, long-term solutions to addressing educational inequalities in Queensland.
We will do this by growing UQ’s endowment and enhancing pathway programs, in order to help students transition into university study and create more need-based, endowed scholarships to support them across their education journey.
But this is just one part of The Queensland Commitment. We will begin with a focus on equity and engagement, but more initiatives will be launched across the next decade.
Why are we targeting people from a low socio-economic background and regional and remote areas?
We know that undertaking university study can lead to transformative opportunities, but that underrepresented students can face many barriers to accessing a higher education. The interplay between these barriers is complex, as people can be confronted with a varying combination of obstacles – including geographic, financial and social factors.
According to the 2021 Universities Australia report, while university attainment has increased across geographical locations since 2010, individuals in major cities remain twice as likely to hold a university degree compared to those in regional and remote areas.
In 2021, 48.6 per cent of people aged 25 to 34 and living in major cities had degrees, compared to 19.9 per cent in inner regional areas and approximately 16 in outer regional, remote and very remote areas. If you consider socio-economic status (SES), two-thirds of those in the highest bracket attain a degree, whereas only 18 percent of people in the lowest socio-economic bracket manage to do so.
The impact of SES on students’ academic performance has been extensively explored in the literature around the world, including research from UQ’s Institute for Social Science Research. Accumulated empirical evidence shows that low SES students tend to perform worse academically than their peers from more advantageous backgrounds globally, including Australia.
We also know that there has been a decline in low SES, regional and remote students attending university in Australia, and that there is persisting underrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in tertiary education. Through The Queensland Commitment, UQ is determined to address this decline and continue to ‘close the gap’ for Indigenous students.
How much money is required to support students in need at UQ?
As we build aspiration and pathway programs, we anticipate that already unmet financial need will grow. In other words, our success will drive greater demand and greater investment. More importantly, it will drive greater opportunity through philanthropy.
For people who want to financially support The Queensland Commitment, you can give any amount to an existing fund that supports need-based scholarships to be part of the initiative. To create a new endowed, need-based scholarship, funding is required to be $100,000 or more.
UQ is committing matched funding for gifts over $50,000 for endowed need-based scholarships. Please contact qld.commitment@uq.edu.au if you'd like to learn more about matched funding.
Scholarships aren’t enough to solve this, right?
That’s right. Scholarships are an important part of supporting students once they enrol and start studying at UQ, but we know that the journey to university starts much earlier in life.
It’s why we support programs like Wonder of Science, which builds knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for science and technology in Queensland’s young people by visiting schools across the state and providing STEM resources. UQ is also proud of its pathway programs like the Young Achievers Program and InspireU, which are focused on building the tertiary education ambitions of regional and remote students and Indigenous students respectively.
We also want to make sure we’re working with communities across Queensland to better understand their needs and amplify their voice to create change. We want to support every Queenslander to access quality tertiary education and every community in the state to prosper and grow.
What is low socio-economic status?
UQ aligns with the Australian Government in defining low socio-economic status by postcodes. The SES value of postcodes is derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas Index of Education and Occupation for postal areas. You can learn more about this on the Australian Government’s Department of Education website.
What is considered regional or remote?
UQ uses the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ definition of regional and remote through the Australian Statistical Geography Standard, and in particular, the Remoteness Structure.
The terms ‘regional’, ‘remote’ and ‘rural’ encompasses all areas outside Australia's major cities. You can learn more about the specific requirements on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.
Is matched funding available?
Yes. UQ is committing matched funding for gifts over $50,000 for endowed need-based scholarships. Please contact thequeenslandcommitment@uq.edu.au if you'd like to discuss matched funding.
Media enquiries?
If you’d like to get in touch about media for The Queensland Commitment, please contact the Marketing & Communications team within Advancement & Community Engagement at thequeenslandcommitment@uq.edu.au.