Regional participation: the role of socioeconomic status and access

This report provides information on the factors affecting participation of regional students in Australian universities. In particular, it examines the relative importance of socioeconomic status and access to university in influencing higher education participation across regions. The report shows that regional participation in university among 19-21 year-old students increased from 18 per cent in 1996 to 21 per cent in 2006. However, university participation among metropolitan students increased faster from 28 per cent to 35 per cent, so that the gap between regional and metropolitan participation increased from 10 percentage points to 12 percentage points. The report finds that lower socioeconomic status, as measured by education and occupation levels, explains most of the gap in participation between regional, outer metropolitan and inner metropolitan areas. While proximity to campus matters, the report finds that access to university appears to have less influence on university participation than socioeconomic status.

Published summary from DEEWR website. Show less