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Access & Equity in Higher Education for Mature Students Research Symposium

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October 4, 2024 | Research Symposium
Access & Equity in Higher Education for Mature Students

Event Notice

Unfortunately, we will not have an ASL interpreter available at this year's AEHEMS Research Symposium due to funding constraints. We understand that this may impact some attendees, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We will post content on our social media following the symposium with closed captioning.

We are committed to making our events as accessible as possible and are actively working to improve our programming in the future. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for your understanding.

About the Symposium

Access and Equitiy in Higher Education for Mature Students

Event Details

October 4, 2024
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Event Location

Ground Floor, OISE Library
Â¥·ïÌìÌÃ
University of Toronto
252 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5S 1V6


Getting to OISE

Subway
St. George subway station, Bedford Rd. exit.

Parking
Green P Parking is available underground, with access from Prince Arthur Ave.


Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact us at aehems@utoronto.ca.

Keynotes

Who are Mature Students?

This opening keynote will define who mature students are and identify the particular forms of discrimination they face in accessing and remaining in higher education.

Student Funding

Through an exploration of financing decisions of a 2015 cohort of bachelor’s degree graduates, this keynote explores student funding needs, access, and implications. Preliminary findings suggest mature students experienced an increased likelihood of incurring debt, delaying their ability to benefit from their postsecondary credential. 

Future Directions: Reflections on Research

The closing keynote will wrap up the full day symposium by highlighting critical learnings from the day and identifying future areas of research. Important connections to the Access office and wider community will also be discussed. 

Lance McCready

Lance T. McCready

Professor Lance T. McCready is an associate professor in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Learning at the Â¥·ïÌìÌÃ. He is the Director of the Transitional Year Programme.

Daniel Corral

Daniel Corral

Dr. Daniel (Danny) Corral is an assistant professor of higher education in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at OISE, University of Toronto.

Helen Tewolde

Helen Tewolde

Helen Tewolde is the inaugural Director of the University of Toronto’s . This office plays a key role in funding unique access initiatives across the tri-campus, developing partnerships and facilitating knowledge transfer and dialogue on strategic access issues.

Paper Presentations

Indigenous Mature Students (Dr. Jill Carter & Discussant Jennifer Sylvester)

This session explores questions around curating spaces and conditions where adult learners in higher education will serve generations that follow them. Two Indigenous scholars will engage in discussions around working with learners without (re)traumatizing them.

African/Caribbean/Black Mature Students (Dr. Chevy Eugene & Dr. Isaac Saney & Marcus Singleton)

In this session, Black scholars with long-standing histories and lived experiences in access programs like TYP will explore how systemic racism and barriers are challenged using decolonial pedagogies, drawing from Black scholars and amplifying Black voices, to teach and learn from students as educators in access programs. 

Prison Education for Mature Students (Dr. Max Mishler & Rachel Klein & Discussant Dargine Rajeswaran)

This session explores whether contemporary prison education programs in the age of mass incarceration are complimentary parts of a broader project of decarceration and, potentially, prison abolition or if they function to justify, naturalize, and expand the reach of America’s carceral state.

STEM Education for Mature Students (Nadia Qureshi & Thelma Akyea & Jessica Stockdale)

This session will discuss the underrepresentation of racialized and mature students in STEM post-secondary. Panelists will discuss their respective research studies on additional barriers mature students face accessing STEM, and implications for STEM pathways and curriculum.

Mature Students with Precarious Status (Dr. Tanya Aberman & Dr. Paloma Villegas)

This session focuses on York University’s Sanctuary Scholars program which works to deborder Higher Education (HE) to provide pathways for migrant students with precarious immigration status-non-status, refugee claimants, applicants for permanent residence, certain visa holders, etc.-- to enroll in undergraduate programs and pay domestic tuition rates.

Presenters

Tanya Aberman

Tanya Aberman

Tanya Aberman (she/her) holds a PhD in Gender Feminist and Women’s Studies from York University. She is the coordinator of the Sanctuary Scholars programs at York University and Toronto Metropolitan University, programs that provide access to the universities for students who have precarious immigration status.

Thelma Akyea

Thelma Akyea

Thelma Akyea, a doctoral candidate at OISE, University of Toronto, focuses on Black feminist theorizing, sociocultural learning theories, curriculum studies, and physics education. Her current research examines the educational experiences of Black women in Canadian post-secondary physics and astronomy. She is also a vice-principal with a focus on equity and inclusion.

Jill Carter

Jill Carter

As a researcher and theatre-worker, Jill Carter (Anishinaabe/Ashkenazi) works in Tkaron:to with many Indigenous artists to support the development of new works and to disseminate artistic objectives, process, and outcomes through community-driven research projects.

Chevy Eugene

Chevy Eugene

Dr. Chevy Eugene is an Assistant Professor in the Black and African Diaspora Program (BAFD) at Dalhousie University, Canada.

Rachel Klein

Rachel Klein

Rachel Klein is a PhD candidate in the department of American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California.

Max Mishler

Max Mishler

Max Mishler is currently Assistant Professor of History at the University of Toronto, where he specializes in the history of the Atlantic World; comparative slavery and emancipation; histories of capitalism; and social movements in American history.

Nadia Qureshi

Nadia Qureshi

Nadia Qureshi (she/her) is a PhD candidate at the Â¥·ïÌìÌÃ, University of Toronto. Her doctoral research uses Critical Race Theory to center the experiences of excluded voices in the field of STEM education.

Dargine Rajeswaran

Dargine Rajeswaran

Dargine Rajeswaran is a PhD student at the University of Toronto, envisioning abolitionist programming where impacted people drive the design of transformative education.

Isaac Saney

Isaac Saney

Isaac Saney is a Black Studies and Cuba specialist at Dalhousie University, and coordinator of Black and African Diaspora Studies.

marcus singleton

Marcus Singleton

Marcus Singleton is a passionate and critical-thinking hip-hop artist and educator originally from the South Side of Chicago. His PhD research challenges anti-Black policies and systems.

Jessica Stockdale

Jessica Stockdale

Jessica Stockdale is a M.Sc. student at the University of British Columbia where she is investigating the challenges faced by post-secondary access programs to offer pathways to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Jennifer Sylvester

Jennifer Sylvester

Jennifer Sylvester an Anishinaabekwe of Pottawatomi, Chippewa and Odawa nations from the Beausoliel First Nation. She is currently in her fifth year of her Ph.D in Leadership, Higher and Adult Education (LHAE) at University of Toronto - Â¥·ïÌìÌà (OISE).

paloma

Paloma E. Villegas

Paloma E. Villegas (she/her) was born in Mexico and migrated to California as a child. She is a first-generation college graduate as well as an Associate Professor in the department of Sociology at California State University, San Bernardino.

Presenters

Amanda Andrews

Amanda Andrews

Amanda Andrews is an Anishnawbe Kwe from Neyaashiinigmiing Unceded First Nation, Ontario. Amanda is currently in the role of Indigenous Career Educator with Career Exploration and Education, Student Life.

Alyssia Bueno

Alyssia Bueno

Alyssia Bueno is a Student Success Programs Officer at the Faculty of Arts & Science, and former Learning Strategist supporting students in the Transitional Year Programme and Academic Bridging Program at the University of Toronto.

Brandon Cole

Brandon Cole

Brandon Cole is the Outreach & Â¥·ïÌìÌà Coordinator for the Transitional Year Programme for the University of Toronto. Brandon focuses on community development and supporting vulnerable populations and educational opportunities.

Helen Reddy Katz

Helen Reddy Katz

Helen Reddy Katz is a Family Care Advisor within the University of Toronto’s Family Care Office. She has been supporting students with family responsibilities at UofT in various roles for over fifteen years.

Maryanne Small

Maryanne Small

As Manager of Initiatives and Program Planning within the Office of External and Community Relations at George Brown College, Maryanne strives to design and deliver quality educational initiatives and steward high value partnerships that focus on access to training and employment for underserved populations.

Shane Wallace

Shane Wallace

Shane Wallace is the Registrar at the Transitional Year Programme, a University of Toronto special access programme that provides support to communities historically underserved by the University.

Layla Warsame

Layla Warsame

Layla Warsame is the Alumni Engagement Officer at the Transitional Year Programme (TYP) at UofT. She is passionate about educational and career trajectories, along with supporting students through student services to strive towards their greatest potential.

The Access & Equity in Higher Education for Mature Students symposium is generously supported by a Connections Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada