Access to higher education: does distance impact students' intentions to attend university?

The purpose of this study was to investigate if, net of other factors, distance is a predictor of students' intentions to attend university. This report contributes to the existing literature in a number of ways. In phase one, internet-based mapping software is used to create a continuous measure (e.g. kilometres) of students' distance from a university as opposed to a relatively limited number of discrete categories (e.g. metro, remote). Continuous measures may increase understanding of how factors, such as geographical location, impact participation and access to higher education. In phase two, the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data indicated that geographical location in Australia significantly predicts students' intentions to attend university. Provincial students were significantly less likely to report intent to study at university when compared to metropolitan students. Moreover, remote students were even less significantly likely to report an intention to go to university as students in the metro category. As distance increases, the likelihood of students reporting intent to study at university decreases.

Students from regional and rural Australia face a number of barriers preventing them from accessing higher education. Discussed in the report, these commonly include economic, information, class and geographic barriers. Increased access to higher education in regional and rural Australia is one component of a multi-faceted approach to tackling the barriers that commonly impact students' participation.

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