SVA is a network of students and staff from tertiary institutions partnering to foster and embed a culture of authentic, meaningful and inclusive student engagement in institutional decision-making across governance, learning, teaching and student experience.

SVA was launched as a pilot led by Professor Sally Varnham in 2019 as a result of the research conducted from a 2016 Australian National Senior Teaching Fellowship. This research sparked the development of a national framework for student partnership in university decision-making and governance (the STEPUP Principles), along with toolkits and good practice guides. 

SVA is currently proudly hosted by the University of Southern Queensland, which marks our third institutional host after being developed and piloted at the University of Technology Sydney and spending the following three years at the University of Adelaide.

SVA is now supported by 28 Australian member institutions. Working under the guidance of the STEP-UP Principles, SVA supports cross-institutional collaboration and development of student, staff and institutional capabilities to engage decision making about all aspects of student experience, from teaching and learning, to services and space, and governance.

Staff and student members work together to contribute to the development of guides and training resources, sharing of case studies and exemplars, and connecting with practitioners through national networking opportunities and events, including our Student and Staff Practitioner Network sessions and our Symposium and Student Summits.