In 2025, the Student Success Conference will be held in collaboration with EPHEA and NAEEA.

We are pleased to announce that the Call for Submissions for the 2025 Student Success Conference and the Conference Issue of the Student Success Journal are now open.

View the Preliminary Program here.

Submission Process

To make a submission of an Emerging Initiative, Good Practice Report or Poster for presentation at the 2025 Student Success Conference, please complete the two-step process below.

1. Complete the Call for Submissions form via the button below.
2. Use the link at the end of the Call for Submissions form to upload your paper. Please save your submission as a PDF before uploading. Please save your file using the first five words of the title of your submission as your file name. The system will automatically add your name to the file.

Complete the Call for Submissions Form

If you make a mistake in your upload, you can resubmit the PDF file here. Please use the same naming system and we will keep the most recent upload.

To submit a Research Paper for presentation at the Conference and publication in the Conference Issue of the Student Success Journal, please refer to the Refereed Paper Submission Type information below and follow the Student Success Journal guidelines. Please indicate in the submission process that the article is for the 2025 Conference Issue. If accepted, the paper abstract will be published in the Conference Proceedings and the full paper in the special Conference Issue of the Student Success Journal.

Submissions for both the 2025 Conference and Student Success Journal Conference Issue
close 24 February 2025

Other Important Dates can be found at the bottom of this page.

Submission Links

Call for Submissions

Preliminary Program

Submission Types , Quality Requirements and Review Criteria

• Refereed Paper
• Good Practice Report
• Emerging Initiative
• Poster

Written Submission Format Requirements

Downloadable Templates

Call for Submissions 2025 Conference and Student Success Journal – Conference Issue

The Organising Committee invites submissions for the 2025 Conference to be held in person from 30 June to 2 July 2025.

There are three submission types:

• Good Practice Reports
• Emerging Initiatives
• Poster Presentations

In addition, the Student Success Journal invites submissions of research papers for presentation at the Conference and publication in the Conference Issue of the Journal.

Student Success is an international, open access, peer-reviewed, scholarly publication which is ranked Q1 in Education by Scopus. It accepts articles that explore the experiences of students in tertiary education, it is supported by STARS and hosted by QUT. The Journal is included in several indexing databases including Scopus and Web of Science. Both STARS and the Student Success Journal are not-for-profit initiatives for higher education run by the sector.

In 2025, refereed papers for the Conference Issue should be submitted directly to the Journal to be considered for publication.

Please indicate in the Journal submission process that the article is for the 2025 Conference Issue.

All submissions to the Conference and Student Success must adhere to the relevant Submission Type, Quality Requirements and Review Criteria and written submission format requirements and must be submitted by the deadline.

Please read the submission guidelines carefully to ensure your submission meets the quality, format, and type-specific requirements. Submissions that do not meet these requirements may be returned to authors prior to peer review and may not be considered for presentation or publication.

An A4 version of accepted posters will be required for inclusion in the Conference proceedings. Instructions for posters appear below. The submission deadline is 24 February 2025.

All submissions to the Conference and the Student Success Journal should explicitly relate to one or more of the Conference themes listed below. Emerging Initiatives and Good Practice Reports will constitute the majority of the Conference program and all paper presentations will be scheduled in 30minute timeslots (with 10minute intervals between presentations). A library of posters will be viewable throughout the Conference, along with a dedicated Poster Session to speak with the poster authors.

At least one author of an accepted Conference submission must be registered for the Conference by 01 June 2025 for the submission to appear in the proceedings. Presentations must be made in person by a registered delegate at the conference.

The Conference and the Student Success Journal provide opportunities to disseminate and discuss current research, good practice, and emerging initiatives that are aimed at enhancing students’ tertiary learning experiences and student success. Submissions on any of the following STARS and Student Success Journal themes will be considered for inclusion:

• Students – who are they, what are their needs, what works for different cohorts, strategies for broader social inclusion and increasing participation in tertiary education, a particular focus on access, participation and success of First Nations peoples is encouraged.
• Transitions – pathways to tertiary education, transitions into tertiary education (the first-year experience), transitions during tertiary education (work integrated learning, transition from the different year levels of study), and transitions from tertiary education including graduate employability, and capstone experiences.
• Achievement – strategies promoting student achievement including curricular and co-curricular reform focused on employability or threshold skills and concepts, or the use of educational technologies and tools such as gamification, virtual reality and simulation enhanced learning.
• Retention – program, discipline, whole of institution, inter-institutional and sector collaborations designed to improve student retention, threshold skills and concepts, with a particular focus on retention initiatives for under-represented cohorts.
• Success – student engagement, technology enhanced learning, understanding students’ expectations and realities, psychological wellbeing, application of learning analytics, other initiatives that evidence student success, particularly for under-represented cohorts.

In 2025, we encourage submissions aligned with any of these themes that report on initiatives or are research specifically focused on First Nations students, Māori and Pacifica Students, students from disadvantaged or equity groups students and other under-represented cohorts.

We expect a large number of submissions for the 2025 Conference. Authors are reminded to adhere to the quality and formatting requirements and address the submission type criteria to ensure timely consideration of your submission.

Submission Types


Refereed Papers for the 2025 Conference Issue of the Student Success Journal 

Papers submitted for consideration for the Conference Issue of the Student Success Journal need to meet the definition of research and as such should have a strong empirical or theoretical foundation and present new knowledge or findings, or report on the application of existing knowledge to a new domain. Full papers are required at the time of submission. Papers will be double-blind peer reviewed. You should ensure that your submission is of the highest standard to increase the likelihood of acceptance. Refereed papers may not exceed twelve (12) pages including title, author details, abstract, body and references. Please indicate in the submission process that the article is for the 2025 Conference Issue.

Please refer to Student Success submission guidelines before writing your refereed paper.

Important: Authors of refereed papers must make a presentation on their paper as part of the Conference. Any questions about submitting to the Journal can be sent to journal@unistars.org

Quality Requirements for Refereed Papers

All submissions for the Conference Issue of the Student Success Journal will be initially reviewed by the Conference Team and Journal Editors and are expected to meet the following requirements:

• Align with one or more of the 5 Pillars of Student Success and Student Success Journal themes.
• Refer to previous relevant published works.
• Be of a high professional standard.
• Be proof-read and publication ready.
• Adhere to the description for research papers.
• Comply with the paper submission format guidelines.
• Comply with latest APA referencing system (7th Edition).

Submissions that do not meet these quality requirements will be returned to authors for correction before being considered for inclusion.

Review Criteria for Refereed Papers

Refereed papers accepted for the Conference Issue of the Student Success Journal must comply with the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment – Higher education research data collection (HERDC) definition and criteria for research (p.7 https://www.education.gov.au/research-block-grants/resources/herdc-specifications-collection-2022-data).

Each accepted refereed paper will be:

• a substantial scholarly activity, as evidenced by discussion of the relevant literature, an awareness of the history and antecedents of work described, and be provided in a format which allows a reader to trace sources of the work through citations;
• original (that is, more than merely a compilation of existing works);
• a contribution to knowledge, and;
• in a form that enables dissemination of knowledge.

In addition to these criteria and the quality requirements listed above, refereed papers will be assessed using the following criteria:

• Contribution to the existing body of knowledge and scholarship.
• Suitability of methodology or approach.
• Synthesis of relevant theoretical or empirical literature. Currency of material and research supported by related and compelling evidence.
• Originality of argument, ideas, or content.
• Development of argument.
• Organisation and structure.
• Clarity of style and expression.

Good Practice Reports – 2025 Conference 

Good Practice Reports should describe national or institutional-wide projects (or projects of a similar scale) and their outcomes and impact. They are not required to meet the definition of research but should be scholarly in approach and informed by relevant literature. Where such work is in-progress or is specific to a particular subject or degree program, or is limited to a department or school, the appropriate submission type is a more likely to be an Emerging Initiative. Good Practice Reports should describe the project or initiative, and its rationale, the project deliverables and/or outcomes and their impact in terms of the 5 Pillars of Student Success (students, transitions, achievement, retention and success). Critically, Good Practice Reports should highlight how the outcomes/deliverables could be applied more broadly or used in other contexts.

Good Practice Reports should be between 8-10 pages and may not exceed ten (10) pages in total including any introductory material (project and project team details and project overview), body and references.

Quality Requirements for Good Practice Reports

All submissions of Good Practice Reports will be initially reviewed by the Conference Team and are expected to meet the following requirements:

• Align with one or more of the Conference and Student Success Journal themes.
• Refer to previous relevant published works.
• Be of a high professional standard.
• Be proof-read and publication ready.
• Adhere to the description of a Good Practice Report.
• Comply with the submission format guidelines.
• Comply with latest APA referencing system (7th Edition).

Submissions that do not meet these quality requirements will be returned to authors for correction before being accepted for consideration.

Review Criteria for Good Practice Reports

Submissions that meet with quality requirements, will be considered for inclusion in the Conference, Good Practice Reports will be assessed using the following criteria:

• Reference to existing good practice or the literature on which project is based.
• Description of the project, including the rationale for the project and its aim and objectives.
• Description of the project’s deliverables and/or outcomes highlighting how these can be taken-up or applied more broadly or used in other contexts.
• Description of the project’s impact or potential impact in terms of the Conference topics.
• Currency of material.
• Originality and practicality of the practice being reported.
• Organisation and structure.
• Clarity of style and expression.

An exemplar Good Practice Report can be viewed here.

Report presentations should not exceed 15 minutes and should allow at least 15 minutes for discussion with delegates.

Emerging Initiatives – 2025 Conference

Emerging Initiatives focus on practical initiatives and innovations. Submissions should explain what is being done/proposed, how the work is innovative or what particular problem or issue is addressed and importantly how or why this initiative builds on or extends existing good practice or knowledge. Submissions should include a rationale that explains why the initiative exists or what it hopes to achieve, and the approach or method that will be used. Importantly presenters of emerging initiatives should solicit feedback and encourage discussion from conference delegates about the initiative.

Emerging Initiatives submissions should be submitted as a presentation proposal of 1-2 pages and may not exceed 2 pages in total.

Quality Requirements for Emerging Initiatives

All Emerging Initiatives submissions will be initially reviewed by the Conference Team and are expected to meet the following requirements:

• Align with one or more of the Conference and Student Success Journal topics.
• Refer to previous relevant published works.
• Be of a high professional standard.
• Be proof-read and publication ready.
• Comply with the submission format guidelines.
• Comply with latest APA referencing system (7th Edition).

Submissions that do not meet these quality requirements will be returned to authors for correction before being accepted for consideration.

Review Criteria for Emerging Initiatives

Submissions that meet the quality requirements will be considered for inclusion in the Conference. Emerging Initiatives will be assessed using the following criteria:

• Evidence of an understanding of existing good practice and relevant scholarly literature.
• The quality of the description of what is being done or proposed and how the emerging initiative builds on or extends current practice or knowledge.
• A clear rationale for why the initiative is being explored or undertaken and the approach or method that is being/will be used.
• Currency of material.
• Level of impact (or expected impact).
• Originality and practicality of initiative.
• Organisation and structure of the proposal.
• Clarity of style and expression in the proposal.
• Inclusion of key questions or issues that will be posed to encourage audience participation and discussion.

An exemplar Emerging Initiative can be viewed here.

The presentation proposal should include the paper title, author details, proposal and questions or issues for discussion with conference delegates. Submissions should also include 4-5 key relevant references (included in the 2-page limit). Presenters should plan for at least 15 minutes of audience participation or discussion about the initiative based on the questions or issues for discussion within the presentation proposal.

The Conference Organising Committee reserves the right to combine submissions on similar topics into moderated discussions.

Posters – 2025 Conference

Posters are presented during the Conference in the form of an 0A printed poster. Posters are most appropriate for providing a visual presentation of complex ideas or summaries of large programs that lend themselves to collegial and informal discussion. The purpose of a poster is to present information in a concise and visual manner. Posters provide a talking point and an opportunity for collegial engagement for delegates of the Conference.

The initial submission is a poster proposal (click here for an example) which should not be more than one A4 page in length and complies with the poster proposal quality and review criteria. Poster proposals should be submitted by the submission deadline. A template is available to assist with formatting. If your Poster Proposal is accepted, a digital version of your actual poster (click here for an example) will be required by 10 June 2025 for inclusion in the Conference Program and Proceedings.

Quality Requirements for Posters

All Poster submissions will be initially reviewed by the Conference Team and are expected to meet the following requirements:

• Align with one or more of the Conference and Student Success Journal themes.
• Refer to previous relevant published works.
• Be of a high professional standard.
• Be proof-read and publication ready.
• Comply with the relevant submission format guidelines.
• Comply with latest APA referencing system (7th Edition).

Submissions that do not meet these quality requirements will be returned to authors for correction before being accepted for consideration.

Review Criteria for Posters

Poster Proposals that meet the quality requirements will be considered for inclusion in the Conference. Poster proposals will be assessed using the following criteria:

• Currency of material.
• Description of impact (or expected impact).
• Originality and practicality of the work presented.
• Organisation and structure.
• Clarity of style and expression.

An exemplar Poster Proposal can be viewed here.

Written Submission Format Requirements

• Font – Times New Roman, 12pt unless specified.
• Page format – A4 portrait, all margins 2.54cm, all fully-justified.
• Paper title – 14pt, bold, centred, sentence case, followed by 18pt spacing.
• Author details – 12pt, centred, title case, given name, surname, faculty or school or department & institution, followed by 18pt spacing. If more than one author from same institution / department please provide these details only once.
• Abstract – 12pt, italics, fully justified, indented 1cm from left and right margins, followed by 18pt spacing. Word limit is 150 words.

• Section headings ‐ 12pt, bold, sentence case, left aligned, no numbering. 12pt space before and after heading.
  • 1st level subheading – 12pt, italics, sentence case, left aligned. 12pt space before and after heading. Do not number subheadings.
  • 2nd level of subheading ‐ 12pt, sentence case, left aligned. 12pt space before and after heading. Do not number subheadings.
• Body Text and size – 12pt, single‐spaced, fully justified. 12pt spacing after each paragraph.
• References and citations – 12pt – Please use the latest version of APA referencing style. A simplified guide is available at https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/qutcite.html#apa  Please
  • List references under a Section Heading “References”
  • Use ‘hanging’ indents
  • Provide long quotes (approximately 30 words or more) – as 10pt, indented 1cm from left and right margins, fully justified.

• Tables and figures – Captions in 12pt, bold, sentence case, centered below table or figure.
• Footer – 10pt, left aligned, same footer on all pages containing the following details: Paper title, submission type e.g. research paper , nuts and bolts, poster.
• Footnotes – 10pt, left aligned, should only be used for points of clarification not for references or citations. If used they should appear at the bottom of the page on which the relevant item appears, not at the end of the text preceding the references.
• Page numbers –10pt, bottom of page, right aligned.

• Length (please note different requirements for each submission type).
  • Refereed Papers – only to be submitted to Student Success – not more than 12 pages in total including references. (please ensure you submit an Emerging Initiative version of the paper to ensure it is considered for the Conference)
  • Good Practice Reports –not more than 10 pages in total including references (as a guide 8-10 pages will be required to adequately meet the criteria).
  • Emerging Initiatives – not more than 2 pages in total including a brief reference list.
  • Posters – not more than 1 page in total including references.

Downloadable Templates

• Good Practice Reports and Emerging Initiatives Template
• Poster Proposal Template

Unsure of the formatting requirements? Please find examples below:

• An exemplar Good Practice Report can be viewed here
• An exemplar Emerging Initiative can be viewed here
• An exemplar Poster Proposal can be viewed here.
• An exemplar Poster can be viewed here.

Further examples can be found in the proceedings from previous Conferences.

Important Dates

• 24 February 2025 –  Submission Deadline.
• from 01 May 2025 – Notifications start being sent to authors.
• 01 June 2025 – At least one Author must be registered to attend.
• 10 June 2025 – Digital version of accepted posters required.

Please Note: Presenters must be a paid attendee of the conference in order to present a paper.