tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/university-student-demographics-16834/articlesUniversity student demographics – The Conversation2022-07-12T20:03:10Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1866302022-07-12T20:03:10Z2022-07-12T20:03:10Z$1.5bn has gone into getting disadvantaged students into uni for very small gains. So what more can be done?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473518/original/file-20220712-13-1wrjox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=534%2C0%2C4285%2C2845&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The proportion of Australian university students from under-represented backgrounds has “barely moved” in more than a decade, federal Education Minister Jason Clare <a href="https://www.jasonclare.com.au/media/speeches/5137-universities-australia-2022-gala-dinner">noted</a> last week. About 15% of undergraduates came from low-socieconomic-status (SES) backgrounds in 2008, he said, and a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview200910/EducationHigher">target of 20% by 2020</a> was set. Today the figure is <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/national-data/">around 17%</a>.</p>
<p>Since 2010, the Australian government has invested <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/has-government-investment-higher-education-equity-been-worth-it">nearly A$1.5 billion</a> in higher education equity programs. Yet participation and retention rates for the various equity groups <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/ncsehe-briefing-note-equity-student-participation-australian-higher-education-2014-2019-2/">remain stubbornly lower</a> than for other students. Equity groups include students from low-SES backgrounds and regional and remote areas as well as Indigenous students and students with a disability. </p>
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Read more:
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<p>The new minister’s commitment to improving outcomes for students from disadvantaged backgrounds is welcome. The challenge is to identify exactly how to achieve that goal. Reasons for the lack of progress to date are both “big” (macro) and “small” (micro). </p>
<p>At a macro level, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ejed.12441">systemic issues</a> include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>finance – on average, students now <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/317516">takes 9.4 years to repay</a> their university debt, but the <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/maria-raciti-fellowship-perceived-risks-university-lowses/">perceived financial risk increases</a> for those from less wealthy backgrounds</p></li>
<li><p>distance – students from rural and remote areas often must relocate for their studies, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755458618302226">adding complexity to educational choices</a></p></li>
<li><p>prior education – students don’t have equal access to the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2012.750278">knowledge they need</a> to succeed at university. They might have attended a school where going on to university is unusual or be the first in their family or community to do this. </p></li>
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<p>All these issues mean attending university is a more complicated endeavour for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-first-in-family-uni-students-should-receive-more-support-38601">Why first-in-family uni students should receive more support</a>
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<h2>What needs to be done instead?</h2>
<p>Achieving more equitable participation in higher education requires fundamental shifts. </p>
<p>The first shift relates to <a href="https://scholars.uow.edu.au/display/publication138663">how universities consider diverse students</a>. Current <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/resources/2017-section-11-equity-groups">equity group definitions</a> do not adequately capture the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2020.1740172?journalCode=cedr20">diversity of learners within equity groups</a>. </p>
<p>Students should not be characterised only in terms of “binary” groups – for example, low socio-economic status or not. We need far more nuanced understandings of students’ individual circumstances than postcode identifiers or <a href="https://issr.uq.edu.au/higher-education-participation-and-partnerships-program-2016-national-priorities-pool-review-identified-equity-groups">outdated classifications</a> can provide. </p>
<p>The lack of progress on equity points to the need to avoid a <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/mediareleases/university-support-humanitarian-migrants/">“one size fits all” approach</a>. Targeted support <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Mercer-Mapstone_USYD_Final.pdf">attuned to students’ individual needs</a> is essential. </p>
<p>Technology can be used to provide <a href="https://studentsuccessjournal.org/article/view/2152">support at critical stages</a> of students’ academic journey, pre-empting decisions to quit their studies. An example of this would be using data analytics to check that students are regularly accessing online content. Checks like these should be followed up with in-person support via telephone or email. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/odds-are-against-first-in-family-uni-students-but-equity-policies-are-blind-to-them-155647">Odds are against ‘first in family’ uni students but equity policies are blind to them</a>
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<h2>Disruption has created opportunities</h2>
<p>The timing for such change is perfect. The pandemic has caused a major disruption to higher education delivery. At the same time, the global move to <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-learning-is-real-world-learning-thats-why-blended-on-campus-and-online-study-is-best-163002">blended learning</a> – combining electronic or online learning with face-to-face options – offers huge flexibility to better focus on students as individuals. </p>
<p>Students with a disability or who are older, have family or work responsibilities or live a long way from campus need this flexibility. Designing learning that works for students amid the realities of the pandemic particularly <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1360080X.2021.1933305">favours those from equity groups</a>. The lack of flexibility in traditional on-campus offerings often excluded them. </p>
<p>Carefully embracing the <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Baker_UNSW_FINAL.pdf">possibilities of technology</a> can lead to inclusive practices being “embedded” across the institution, rather than being an add-on or an afterthought. However, this is expensive work that requires adequate resourcing. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2022.2057450">Recent research</a> found full-time students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds are <a href="https://www.acer.org/au/discover/article/ditch-the-widgets-start-investing-in-their-amazing-futures">four to six times more expensive</a> to support. Smaller regional campuses are often the ones that bear these costs.</p>
<p>The researchers called for more transparent and realistic funding models that cover the hidden investment by some institutions. They found the “opaque” nature of equity funding is a problem.</p>
<p>For example, a student may belong to more than one equity group and so receive funding from various schemes. Or the services provided for equity students are used by all students for much broader benefit. These complexities mean a realistic cost analysis is difficult. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-can-put-city-and-country-people-on-more-equal-footing-at-uni-the-pandemic-has-shown-us-how-164492">We can put city and country people on more equal footing at uni — the pandemic has shown us how</a>
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<h2>And what can each institution do?</h2>
<p>Such big changes need to be accompanied by actions at an institutional and individual level. The mantra “you can’t be what you can’t see” challenges universities to reconsider how their marketing and recruitment <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9780367854171/reimagining-higher-education-student-rachel-brooks-sarah-shea">portray “being a student”</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/200917-HE-Facts-and-Figures-2020.pdf">Nearly one in four students are older than 24</a> when they start university. Marketing and images that assume a younger school-leaver cohort need to be discarded. </p>
<p>This is important from an equity perspective. If you already have a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ejed.12434">lower sense of belonging or feel like an “imposter” at university</a>, depictions of youthful student “homogeneity” only confirm this. </p>
<p>Equally, small but important gestures can make a big difference to learners’ achievements in higher education. Using an <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/covid-19-student-equity-australian-higher-education/">“equity lens” to look at all facets of the university</a> is key. Begin with things like:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>providing clear and simple explanations instead of obtuse university terminology</p></li>
<li><p>scrutinising timetables to avoid unintentional exclusion - this might include specific options for parenting students or those who work to support their studies </p></li>
<li><p>ensuring <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/research-database/assessment-adjustments-impact-inclusion/">inclusive design principles</a> underpin decisions on assessment and program design</p></li>
<li><p>highlighting the diversity of staff.</p></li>
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<p>These are simple but effective ways to promote feelings of belonging not only for equity groups but also students in general. </p>
<p>To realise the minister’s laudable ambition, all these changes need to be co-ordinated and based on solid evidence. An overarching <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/research-database/the-best-chance-for-all-a-policy-roadmap-for-post-pandemic-panic/">equity roadmap</a> is needed. </p>
<p>Any change should be informed by <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/">significant research in this field</a> and key stakeholders. They include not only those working at the equity coalface but also the people most affected by greater inclusion: the students, families and communities that our higher education institutions serve. </p>
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<p><em>This article is part of The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/breaking-the-cycle-119149">Breaking the Cycle</a> series, which is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186630/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah O' Shea receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Education. She is affiliated with University of Wollongong (Honorary Fellow), the Churchill Trust and the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. This article is part of The Conversation's Breaking the Cycle series, which is about escaping cycles of disadvantage. The series is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.</span></em></p>Despite a nearly 50% increase in the proportion of 25-to-34-year olds with a degree since 2008, the percentage of university students from under-represented equity groups has hardly changed.Sarah O'Shea, Professor and Director, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1726202021-11-26T03:20:03Z2021-11-26T03:20:03ZAustralia’s strategy to revive international education is right to aim for more diversity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434070/original/file-20211126-25-1pndk0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C412%2C5860%2C3921&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/australian-strategy-international-education-2021-2030">Strategy for International Education</a> released today by the federal government highlights the importance of international education to the Australian economy and community.</p>
<p>But, with the arrival of COVID-19, commencing international student numbers fell dramatically <a href="https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/international-student-data/Pages/default.aspx">by 22%</a> in 2020. The impacts prompted the government to further rethink its ten-year plan for international education and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-international-education-market-share-is-shrinking-fast-recovery-depends-on-unis-offering-students-a-better-deal-162856">exposure to risks in foreign markets</a>, not to mention sector-wide budget overhauls, restructures and cost savings.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-international-education-crisis-will-linger-long-after-students-return-to-australia-170360">Why the international education crisis will linger long after students return to Australia</a>
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<p>Over the past ten years, international education in Australia had grown by 151% to the highest levels on record. International student numbers reached a <a href="https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/international-student-data/Pages/default.aspx">peak of more than 956,000</a> in 2019.</p>
<p>International education has been a major export earner. Its value to the economy had grown to <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/international-trade/international-trade-goods-and-services-australia/latest-release">A$40.3 billion a year</a> and supported 250,000 jobs. </p>
<h2>Why is a new strategy needed?</h2>
<p>Despite being a <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-lost-6-of-their-revenue-in-2020-and-the-next-2-years-are-looking-worse-166749">major source of revenue</a>, international students have been highly concentrated in some universities. And most come from a limited number of source countries. </p>
<p>Before the pandemic, six universities accounted for <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/student-data/selected-higher-education-statistics-2019-student-data">half of all overseas student revenue</a>: Sydney, Melbourne, Monash, UNSW, RMIT and UQ. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/which-universities-are-best-placed-financially-to-weather-covid-154079">Which universities are best placed financially to weather COVID?</a>
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<p>Following public consultations under the Council for International Education, the government has released the new strategy. It’s based on four pillars:</p>
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<li>diversification </li>
<li>meeting Australia’s skills needs </li>
<li>students at the centre </li>
<li>growth and global competitiveness. </li>
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<p>The pandemic has been a key driver for rethinking the strategy. However, it has served as an amplifier of the need for reform rather than the sole rationale. </p>
<p>In its <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/council-international-education/resources/2019-report-pm">2019 report</a> to the prime minister, the Council for International Education had already recommended a new plan. It highlighted concerns about increased competition, the sustainability of the sector and geopolitical rebalancing.</p>
<p>The report portrayed a major success story for Australian international education. It noted double-digit growth in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, India and Sri Lanka. However, it also noted softening demand in other key markets, particularly China.</p>
<p>The risk of over-concentration in source countries was evident, but seriously underemphasised at the time. And this concern was connected mainly to worries about foreign interference and geopolitical tensions.</p>
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<img alt="Cover of Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-30." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434068/original/file-20211126-23-cgxujm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434068/original/file-20211126-23-cgxujm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434068/original/file-20211126-23-cgxujm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434068/original/file-20211126-23-cgxujm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434068/original/file-20211126-23-cgxujm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434068/original/file-20211126-23-cgxujm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434068/original/file-20211126-23-cgxujm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The newly released Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-30.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.dese.gov.au/australian-strategy-international-education-2021-2030">DESE</a></span>
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<h2>A renewed focus on managing risks</h2>
<p>The new strategy aims for the sector to reposition itself to increase offshore and transnational education. Typically, one in five international students study in these ways. <a href="https://www.teqsa.gov.au/latest-news/publications/guidance-note-transnational-higher-education-australia">Transnational education</a> is often delivered through offshore campuses or in partnership with an overseas institution.</p>
<p>The strategy seeks greater diversity of courses, disciplines, source countries and delivery modes. The outcomes are to be measured through a diversification index, greatly increasing transparency for the sector.</p>
<p>Often a source of complex risk, increased transnational education and sustained offshore study may require the higher education regulator, TEQSA, to review its approach. Its <a href="https://www.teqsa.gov.au/latest-news/publications/guidance-note-transnational-higher-education-australia">guidelines</a> were last updated in October 2017. </p>
<p>In addition, the expansion of Australia-based transnational education may face increased global competition from other offshore providers.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-international-education-market-share-is-shrinking-fast-recovery-depends-on-unis-offering-students-a-better-deal-162856">Australia's international education market share is shrinking fast. Recovery depends on unis offering students a better deal</a>
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<p>For universities to diversify into new markets they will have to manage a risk associated with limited market knowledge. Market concentration has meant Australian universities have become geo-market experts with a focus on particular countries. This approach is ingrained into university operations, strategic aspirations and global partnerships. </p>
<p>Adopting the jack-of-all-trades approach that “everyone diversity” may require additional government efforts to avoid simply transferring the risk of market concentration to other risks to quality arising from limited market knowledge and a lack of geo-market specialisation.</p>
<p>One assumes the pathway to diversification is not only growth but also better distribution of international student demand across universities. This will require smaller universities to take on a greater share of Chinese and Indian student enrolments, now concentrated in the larger universities.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-lost-6-of-their-revenue-in-2020-and-the-next-2-years-are-looking-worse-166749">Universities lost 6% of their revenue in 2020 — and the next 2 years are looking worse</a>
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<h2>Engagement and a sense of belonging matter too</h2>
<p>The move to off-campus studies had major impacts on student satisfaction in 2020, as measured by the Quality Indicators of Learning and Teaching (<a href="https://www.qilt.edu.au/surveys/student-experience-survey-(ses)">QILT</a>). While universities were quick to adapt, learner engagement and sense of belonging deteriorated. These trends were key drivers of the decline in satisfaction. </p>
<p>A challenging aspect of the strategy is to reconcile its goals of increased transnational and offshore education while at the same time increasing the sense of belonging to Australian communities, and managing risks to quality. Such a result appears to be operationally counter-intuitive.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-unis-do-need-international-students-and-must-choose-between-the-high-and-low-roads-149973">Our unis do need international students and must choose between the high and low roads</a>
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<p>A question that requires further detail is how the government plans both to enhance its regulatory framework to allow for greater flexibility and to cultivate greater capabilities across the sector in online, offshore and transnational education.</p>
<p>As the strategy notes, international education is one of Australia’s great success stories. At the heart of that story is the realisation of ambition for millions of students who have lifted themselves from poverty, learned new skills and joined a global community. The real test of whether the strategy holds water is if it satisfies its most central asset – our students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Omer Yezdani does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>International education is a huge source of income for the sector and the broader economy, but students are concentrated in a limited number of institutions and most come from a few source countries.Omer Yezdani, Director, Office of Planning and Strategic Management, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1499732020-11-17T18:49:10Z2020-11-17T18:49:10ZOur unis do need international students and must choose between the high and low roads<p>Australian universities have come to rely heavily on revenue from onshore international students. <a href="https://asiasociety.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Asia_Taskforce_Discussion_Paper_4_Higher_Education.pdf">Numbers more than doubled</a> in the decade to 2018. But the proposition that Australia’s public universities should step back 50 years, retreat from international education and focus wholly or largely on domestic students is naively nostalgic. </p>
<p>Such a move would be a backward step economically, culturally and diplomatically, as a new <a href="https://asiasociety.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Asia_Taskforce_Discussion_Paper_4_Higher_Education.pdf">Asia Taskforce discussion paper</a> concludes. It would diminish Australia and its global standing.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Data-snapshot-2019-FINAL.pdf">37 of our universities</a> are publicly owned and thus have a social obligation to serve domestic students. It is right that we have a robust debate about the international student presence on our campuses. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the debate has generated more heat than light. It’s at risk of being hijacked for ideological purposes, rather than generating credible and practical solutions on which the sector and government can act.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-what-australian-universities-can-do-to-recover-from-the-loss-of-international-student-fees-139759">COVID-19: what Australian universities can do to recover from the loss of international student fees</a>
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<h2>Getting to the root of the problem</h2>
<p>Criticisms of the sector aren’t without merit. As some academics <a href="https://www.cis.org.au/app/uploads/2019/08/ap5.pdf">have suggested</a>, and as COVID-19 has writ large, universities’ high exposure to the international education market is high risk. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369485/original/file-20201116-13-6rm8jq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing breakdowns of university revenue sources from 2004 to 2018" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369485/original/file-20201116-13-6rm8jq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369485/original/file-20201116-13-6rm8jq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369485/original/file-20201116-13-6rm8jq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369485/original/file-20201116-13-6rm8jq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369485/original/file-20201116-13-6rm8jq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369485/original/file-20201116-13-6rm8jq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369485/original/file-20201116-13-6rm8jq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in sources of university revenue from 2004 to 2018 (in 2018 dollars)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/200917-HE-Facts-and-Figures-2020.pdf">Universities Australia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/Research-Snapshots/Documents/RS_International%20students%20at%20universities.pdf">proportion of international students per institution</a> in 2018 averaged 22%, ranging from a low of 4% (New England) to a high of 48% (Bond). At some business and engineering faculties, the proportion exceeded 50%. </p>
<p>Enrolments at some of our largest universities also have an unacceptable skew towards single countries – either China or India. Some universities, particularly Group of Eight institutions, have fallen into the habit of setting international fees according to what China – the world’s largest student market – will bear. This has eroded competitiveness in more cost-sensitive countries like those in South East Asia and Latin America. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369481/original/file-20201116-15-1yr4qpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing countries of origin of international students at Australian universities" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369481/original/file-20201116-15-1yr4qpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369481/original/file-20201116-15-1yr4qpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369481/original/file-20201116-15-1yr4qpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369481/original/file-20201116-15-1yr4qpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369481/original/file-20201116-15-1yr4qpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369481/original/file-20201116-15-1yr4qpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369481/original/file-20201116-15-1yr4qpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Data-snapshot-2019-FINAL.pdf">Universities Australia. Data source: DET Selected Higher Education Statistics 2008 and 2017 Student Data</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Furthermore, the sector can and must lift its game on all-round educational quality. The issues include academic and English-proficiency admission standards, the quality of the learning experience, and graduate employability and job outcomes.</p>
<p>Whatever the critics might assert, though, the root cause of this reliance is not institutional greed. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-universities-came-to-rely-on-international-students-138796">underlying driver</a> has been bipartisan attachment to weaning the sector off the public purse and requiring it to stand on its own two feet financially. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-universities-came-to-rely-on-international-students-138796">How universities came to rely on international students</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the two decades to 2015, OECD data suggest Australia slipped from sixth place to <a href="https://www.aheia.edu.au/resources-391/higher-education-workforce-of-the-future-167">24th among OECD countries</a> in terms of public investment in higher education as a share of GDP. While <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-tertiary-education-funding-is-not-as-low-as-it-seems-in-oecd-metrics-102710">some</a> dispute these metrics, the flatlining of real direct funding by government has created a university sector that is neither fish nor fowl: publicly owned yet increasingly reliant on commercial income sources.</p>
<h2>Fee revenue isn’t the only benefit</h2>
<p>A striking feature of criticisms of the international student presence is a refusal to acknowledge its benefits. Education was the nation’s <a href="https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/Research-Snapshots/Documents/Export%20Income%20FY2016%E2%80%9317.pdf">third-largest export earner</a> last year. Higher education alone contributed A$31 billion. </p>
<p>International students contribute greatly to local economies too. They spend on accommodation, food, leisure and entertainment. Over <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/05/21/31-200-nsw-jobs-rely-on-university-of-sydney-.html">31,000 jobs rely</a> on the University of Sydney alone. </p>
<p>Falling onshore international student numbers have magnified the pandemic’s impacts. A Mitchell Institute <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/educational-opportunity-in-australia-2020.pdf">research paper</a> last week forecast a 50% decline in onshore international students by mid-2021. The paper detailed the suburb-by-suburb economic impact on our cities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-to-halve-international-student-numbers-in-australia-by-mid-2021-its-not-just-unis-that-will-feel-their-loss-148997">COVID to halve international student numbers in Australia by mid-2021 – it's not just unis that will feel their loss</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="SOYqH" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/SOYqH/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The <a href="https://thepienews.com/the-view-from/what-did-international-students-ever-do-for-australia/">socio-cultural benefits</a> these students bring are also habitually ignored or dismissed. </p>
<p>Neglected, too, are the many benefits and opportunities, including “soft power” projection, that flow from having <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/australia-global-alumni-engagement-strategy-2016-2020.pdf">hundreds of thousands of Australian university alumni worldwide</a>. There are well over 200,000 in China alone.</p>
<h2>Low road or high road?</h2>
<p>The sector and policymakers now face a stark choice regarding the number, size and student profile of universities. In the post-pandemic world, and in the absence of increased direct government funding per student, the sector must choose between the “low road” and the “high road” to survival and sustainability.</p>
<p>The low road would involve pulling back to a largely or even wholly domestic focus. The results would very likely be sector-wide decline, shrinking universities, deteriorating campus facilities, a lowering of horizons and a reversion to a pre-1990s focus on domestic student education. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/without-international-students-australias-universities-will-downsize-and-some-might-collapse-altogether-132869">Without international students, Australia's universities will downsize – and some might collapse altogether</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Internationalism would give way to isolationism and educational nationalism of Trumpian proportions. This path would consign the sector to a future of parochialism, mediocrity and global irrelevance.</p>
<p>Alternatively, the sector could take the “high road”. This would involve repositioning itself as a high-quality provider of new forms of learning for both international and domestic students. </p>
<p>The sector and government would have to work in partnership to rebuild universities’ global brand and reputation, recover international student numbers and reprofile this student cohort. The latter step would aim both to improve the academic merit of students from China and diversify intakes. </p>
<p>The high road is also the hard road. It requires a pro-active (not defensive) mindset and an all-round shift in perceptions of Australia, Australians and our universities. But it may well set the sector on a bright new path.</p>
<p>The hope that a surge in domestic student demand will save the sector from atrophy is delusional. The government must either greatly increase recurrent funding per student or provide strong tactical support to recover and diversify international student enrolments. The latter approach would enable the sector to continue to cross-subsidise degree studies by domestic students, fund high-quality research, and develop campus and IT infrastructure <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youre-preparing-students-for-21st-century-jobs-youre-behind-the-times-131567">fit for the fourth industrial revolution</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369509/original/file-20201116-23-a7a4qh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing growth in university research funding sources since 2000" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369509/original/file-20201116-23-a7a4qh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369509/original/file-20201116-23-a7a4qh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369509/original/file-20201116-23-a7a4qh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369509/original/file-20201116-23-a7a4qh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369509/original/file-20201116-23-a7a4qh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369509/original/file-20201116-23-a7a4qh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369509/original/file-20201116-23-a7a4qh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Growth in sources of funding for university research since 2000 (in 2018 dollars)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/200917-HE-Facts-and-Figures-2020.pdf">Universities Australia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/7-6-billion-and-11-of-researchers-our-estimate-of-how-much-australian-university-research-stands-to-lose-by-2024-146672">$7.6 billion and 11% of researchers: our estimate of how much Australian university research stands to lose by 2024</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The sector can do this without major direct funding increases from a <a href="https://theconversation.com/these-budget-numbers-are-shocking-and-there-are-worse-ones-in-store-143250">debt-burdened government</a>. But government needs to help the sector help itself.</p>
<h2>A 10-point action plan</h2>
<p>Universities should act decisively and in concert to:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>diversify international students</p></li>
<li><p>focus on all-round quality (admission quality, learning quality, graduate outcome quality) of Chinese students</p></li>
<li><p>increase strategic partnerships with international institutions as a channel for recruiting high-quality students</p></li>
<li><p>leverage international alumni networks more effectively to promote the sector and assist student recruitment and graduate placement</p></li>
<li><p>accentuate intensive courses for international students to capitalise on booming demand for life-long learning.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Government could support progress along the high road as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>sponsor tripartite trade and education missions to target countries</p></li>
<li><p>expand support for intensive study visits</p></li>
<li><p>host sector-wide events and promote further learning for international alumni</p></li>
<li><p>actively encourage employers to provide in-program placements and onshore post-study work for new international graduates</p></li>
<li><p>sponsor initiatives to help graduates secure quality jobs in their home countries.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The sector and government should embrace the high road in partnership. This can only be achieved if we engage in a mature and nuanced discussion about root causes, practical solutions and the sort of university system we really wish to have in this country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149973/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Shields has recently authored a discussion paper on this topic for the Business Council of Australian and Asia Society's Asia Taskforce.No payment was received for production of this paper. John has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council for projects unrelated to this contribution. His position at the University of Sydney Business School includes responsibility for academic leadership of the School's international engagement activities. He has also been involved in international student recruitment to the School since 2009.</span></em></p>Educating international students provides far more benefits for Australia than is commonly acknowledged. But it has also created problems and an ambitious agenda is needed to overcome these.John Shields, Professor of Human Resource Management and Organisational Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/735092017-02-26T19:03:56Z2017-02-26T19:03:56ZThe typical university student is no longer 18, middle-class and on campus – we need to change thinking on ‘drop-outs’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158014/original/image-20170223-6422-1l5ocm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many students often work part-time and have family responsibilities. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government released its latest <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/completion-rates-cohort-analyses">figures on completion rates</a> at Australian universities earlier this year. It shows that students who study off campus, are on a part-time course, are older, Indigenous, from disadvantaged backgrounds or regional areas of Australia are less likely to complete their university course.</p>
<p>Many journalists rushed to decry the “fact” that these “drop-out” rates in some universities <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/one-in-three-students-dropping-out-of-university-20170117-gtt63m.html">are shocking</a>. But, in addition to misunderstanding and therefore misrepresenting the data, the assumptions underpinning how completion rates are calculated are woefully out of date.</p>
<h2>Who is the average student?</h2>
<p>The current Australian student cohort is different from the one that many readers might imagine – and from the one that existed when mechanisms to measure attrition were created. </p>
<p>While a large number of students (670,000) are in the 18-22 years age bracket, <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/selected-higher-education-statistics-2015-student-data">latest available figures</a> from 2015 show there were over 181,000 students aged 30-39; almost 90,000 aged 40-49; over 36,000 aged 50-59; and almost 10,000 aged 60 and over. </p>
<p>As indicated by <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/student-data">government statistics on mode of attendance</a>, a growing number of university students have never actually set foot on a campus, having undertaken online and other external modes of study. </p>
<p>These same figures show an increasing number study part-time. Many start, stop and start university study over a very long time. Some <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/completion-rates-cohort-analyses">take almost a decade to complete a three-year degree</a>.</p>
<h2>How should this change how we measure drop-out rates?</h2>
<p>Despite the world having shifted and student bodies having changed significantly, we persist in measuring drop-out rates as if the whole Australian university sector is the same as it was last century. Back then, students were more commonly 18 years old, middle-class, child-free, unencumbered school-leavers who often had financial support from their family to attend university.</p>
<p>So how do we currently measure drop-out rates? Based on reports from individual higher education providers, the government annually counts the number of commencing students in year one at census date, then counts them again a year later, subtracting those who have graduated – and that calculation determines our attrition rates. </p>
<p>We do a second calculation that adjusts for students who move programs or universities but who are still in study.</p>
<p>Many assume that the people who aren’t there a year later have dropped out. Indeed, they may have. They may have done so permanently. But they may also have left temporarily, to come back to that program and institution, or others, at a later date.</p>
<p>That is certainly what students from working-class backgrounds who study at regional universities do. </p>
<p>A soon-to-be-released national study of these students found significant evidence that regional students dip in and out of study. On average, they take longer than metropolitan and higher socio-economic status students to complete their programs of study.</p>
<p>Calculating attrition rates in the way we currently do ignores those students who may have formally or informally withdrawn from university, but who may later return to study, as many working-class regional students do. </p>
<h2>Why do students drop out of study?</h2>
<p>This latest research shows that these students often have complex lives and competing priorities. </p>
<p>Many are parents and many have other caring responsibilities. They must balance academic study with these caring and related responsibilities, which often include the need for paid employment while studying.</p>
<p>Many are also the first in their family to attend university. This means they lack familiarity with the peculiarities of university life and expectations of them as students. It also means they are unlikely to receive financial support from their family.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://theconversation.com/better-academic-support-for-students-may-help-lower-university-attrition-rates-66395">better academic support</a> may help some students in some cases, the answer is not that simple.</p>
<p>Many of these students experience significant financial pressure. The costs of study materials, long-distance regional travel to university campuses on top of the usual expenses of living – including sometimes supporting a family, often while on a reduced income – mean they may have to make difficult choices about their priorities, choices that other more traditional students do not ever have to make. </p>
<p>The research shows that some students step out of study because they get a job that meets immediate short-term needs, such as paying for accommodation and food. </p>
<p>They often return to study later when the immediate needs are met. Rather than the full-time study load a traditional student would take, these students often take on a part-time load, sometimes the minimum load of one subject a semester. This is because that is all they can manage on top of their family, caring and/or employment responsibilities. </p>
<p>It is often not possible, nor desirable from a personal point of view, for these students to study full time, nor to complete their undergraduate program in a single time period, or within the minimum completion time.</p>
<h2>Our thinking needs to change</h2>
<p>The assumptions and mechanisms for measuring and monitoring attrition of students need to take into account the realities of all students’ experiences and responsibilities, and the choices they have to make about study in the context of their complex lives and competing priorities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73509/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcia Devlin receives funding from the Higher Education Participation and Partnership Program National Priorities Pool and the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education.</span></em></p>How we calculate university drop-out rates must be amended to reflect the changing cohort of university students, who often dip in and out of study and take longer to complete their degree.Marcia Devlin AM, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Quality), Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/425672015-05-30T19:24:33Z2015-05-30T19:24:33ZOxford’s first female vice-chancellor won’t end gender inequality on her own<p>The appointment of Louise Richardson as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/may/28/oxford-university-to-appoint-first-female-vice-chancellor">vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford</a> is a watershed moment for British academia. Women occupying such strategic positions are important for symbolic and substantive reasons. They not only serve as role models for female students, but could <a href="http://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/forward/documents/WEPAN2.pdf">facilitate institutional change</a> by improving recruitment, retention, and the advancement of women within professorial ranks.</p>
<p>Currently in UK universities, men still outnumber women by a margin of four to one in senior academic positions, while women are <a href="http://oss.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/05/29/0170840613483658">over-represented in lower teaching grades and temporary research posts</a>. The more prestigious the institution, the fewer women who reach top jobs in research or academic leadership. Yet women outperform men in almost every single aspect of higher education.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83444/original/image-20150530-15244-rin7wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83444/original/image-20150530-15244-rin7wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83444/original/image-20150530-15244-rin7wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83444/original/image-20150530-15244-rin7wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83444/original/image-20150530-15244-rin7wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83444/original/image-20150530-15244-rin7wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1010&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83444/original/image-20150530-15244-rin7wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1010&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83444/original/image-20150530-15244-rin7wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1010&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trailblazer: Dorothy Garrod.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Oxford and Cambridge are particularly conservative. The first woman to ever hold a Chair at either Cambridge or Oxford was the accomplished Palaeolithic archaeologist, <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9430783">Dorothy Garrod</a>, elected as Cambridge’s Professor of Archaeology in 1939. Until 1948 Oxford University did not have a single female professor and until 1978, only a few select colleges accepted female students. It has been only seven years since all the colleges opened their doors to <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/about/oxford-people/women-at-oxford">both men and women</a>.</p>
<p>The situation is not much different in the USA or Europe. <a href="http://www.aaup.org/NR/rdonlyres/63396944-44BE-4ABA-9815-5792D93856F1/0/AAUPGenderEquityIndicators2006.pdf">Research</a> by the American Association of University Professors reveals that in 1,445 colleges and universities, there are fewer tenured female staff. Women make up 60% of all PhDs, but only 24% of professors. </p>
<p>In all 28 countries of the European Union women make up only <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/she-figures-2012_en.pdf">20% of full, Grade A professors</a>. In the words of the former EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, “This is regretful for women researchers and bad for Europe.” The gendered meritocracy strikes at the very heart of the academic enterprise. Women’s continuing marginalisation has profound implications on both how knowledge is reproduced and on what counts as knowledge.</p>
<p>While representation of women in higher professorial ranks, editorial board membership and <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/mapping-the-maze-getting-more-women-to-the-top-in-research_en.pdf">research funding bodies</a> is disappointing, there are even fewer women presidents, provosts and vice-chancellors in leading universities across the globe. </p>
<h2>Women left behind</h2>
<p>Gender bias in selection, evaluation, and promotion processes, the demands made by academic life on women if they are to be accepted and succeed, have all been used to explain the persistent discrimination of women in academia. This reflects men’s social power and widely shared cultural assumptions about women’s position in society. </p>
<p>Behavioural ethics research suggests that many such assumptions are <a href="https://hbr.org/2003/12/how-unethical-are-you">due to unconscious bias that both women and men share</a>. These concern feelings and knowledge (often unintended) about our social group membership (concerning race/ethnicity, gender, class).</p>
<p>The appointment of Louise Richardson, a renowned scholar on terrorism, a teacher with a formidable track record and experienced academic leader, helps breaking such preconceptions. But calls for women’s inclusion are often associated with tokenism and image-making rather than ensuring equal participation. The success of women in prominent positions can also stall the organisational efforts to improve the lot of the many. This often arises from the unspoken expectation that all women can navigate their way to seniority without implementing proactive policies to support them. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83445/original/image-20150530-15217-2it5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83445/original/image-20150530-15217-2it5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83445/original/image-20150530-15217-2it5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83445/original/image-20150530-15217-2it5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83445/original/image-20150530-15217-2it5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83445/original/image-20150530-15217-2it5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83445/original/image-20150530-15217-2it5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83445/original/image-20150530-15217-2it5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Halls of privilege.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford#/media/File:Radcliffe_Camera,_Oxford_-_Oct_2006.jpg">Diliff</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet for every woman at the peak of the academic ladder there are many others who have been left behind. We need more than just a few women at the top if we are to end gender discrimination in academia. Richardson acknowledged as much in her <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/may/28/oxford-university-to-appoint-first-female-vice-chancellor">interview in The Guardian</a>: “I look forward to the day when a woman being appointed isn’t in itself news.”</p>
<p>Much more is needed for this to happen. Nurturing and developing talented women through fast-track career and mentoring schemes are pivotal for increasing their numbers in leadership positions. Adopting family friendly policies is an essential measure for nurturing talented female researchers. There are also different strategies that women can use to overcome their predicament. These include finding a powerful champion in their own organisation, enlisting support of male and female mentors and joining peer support groups.</p>
<h2>Improving access</h2>
<p>None of these strategies is likely to be successful without improving the access to education for all who could benefit from it. As a child of the family of seven whose parents and most siblings did not go to the university, Louise Richardson readily acknowledges the role of education in her life. Without it she would not have become who she is. Most, if not all of it, would have been free or close to free. </p>
<p>Access to affordable education can help people from disadvantaged backgrounds move upwards but the social mobility is no longer an option for many students graduating with tens of thousands of debt in the UK and USA. Even fewer of children from disadvantaged backgrounds make it to Oxford: only <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12048629">0.8% of students at Oxford and Cambridge received free school meals</a> while <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/27/oxbridge-state-school-numbers-falling">43 and 39%</a> of them, respectively, were privately educated. </p>
<p>The first female vice-chancellor at the University of Oxford is well-qualified to address some of these issues.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42567/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marianna Fotaki receives funding from British Academy Small Grant Scheme "Gender Inequality in Higher Education in the UK and Australia" (2010-2012)</span></em></p>For every woman at the peak of the academic ladder there are many others who have been left behind.Marianna Fotaki, Network Fellow, Edmond J Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University and Professor of Business Ethics, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/403732015-05-24T20:13:36Z2015-05-24T20:13:36ZWho goes to university? The changing profile of our students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80915/original/image-20150508-1210-1mo584o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are 100 females for every 80 males at university. Who else goes to uni? And how is it changing?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Higher education is a major determinant of a population’s knowledge and skills, <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12546-012-9089-2#page-1">workforce participation</a>, <a href="http://www.oecd.org/edu/Education-at-a-Glance-2014.pdf">employment</a>, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1759-3441.2008.tb01040.x/abstract">incomes</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/319/5866/1047.full">economic growth</a>, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/imre.12120/full">immigration</a>, <a href="http://download-v2.springer.com/static/pdf/995/art%253A10.1007%252Fs10680-012-9277-y.pdf?token2=exp=1430965340%7Eacl=%2Fstatic%2Fpdf%2F995%2Fart%25253A10.1007%25252Fs10680-012-9277-y.pdf*%7Ehmac=62f238b115d9d14d6f0561c8dd82db0a3b73c96524a40c6db9a0be4220b73752">family formation</a>, and of <a href="http://www.oecd.org/edu/Education-at-a-Glance-2014.pdf">the educational attainment</a> and <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF03031865#page-1">future prosperity</a> of subsequent generations. </p>
<p>The percentage of Australia’s population with a Bachelor’s degree is high by <a href="http://www.oecd.org/edu/Education-at-a-Glance-2014.pdf">international standards</a>. But who goes to university? And how are the patterns changing?</p>
<h2>Growth</h2>
<p>In 2013 just over <a href="https://education.gov.au/student-data">1.3 million</a> students were enrolled in higher education in Australia. In recent years the number of students has increased as a <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/home/higher-education/">share</a> of the population, with 2011 census data showing 36.6% of 20-year-olds attending university or other tertiary institutions (up from 32.6% in 2006). </p>
<p>In 2011 the percentage of the population aged 15 and above with a Bachelor’s degree or higher (18.8%) was over nine times the figure for <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ViewContent?readform&view=ProductsbyCatalogue&Action=Expand&Num=2.2">1971</a> (2%).</p>
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<p>Overseas students account for a high proportion of students by international standards. The rate of growth in the number of international students was especially rapid between 2000 and 2009, and far exceeded that for domestic students. While over the 2010-12 period the number of international students fell (by 3.5%), the increase in domestic students more than offset this numerically. </p>
<p>The percentage of international students peaked at 28.3% in 2009 before falling to 25.0% in 2013. In the first half of 2014 the number of international students in Australia reached a record level.</p>
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<p>Substantial numbers of former international students transition to <a href="http://www.immi.gov.au/pub-res/Documents/statistics/migration-trends-2012-13.pdf">permanent residency</a> in Australia. After a reduction between 2007 and 2010, following immigration policy reform, the number of former students gaining permanent residency has recovered. This is due to increased numbers transitioning from new temporary visas.</p>
<p>Management and commerce remains the leading broad field of education. However, since 2009 the growth of students in this field has stalled and the growth rate has been well below those for society and culture and health. </p>
<h2>Gender imbalance</h2>
<p>Female students have outnumbered their male counterparts <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/816-mapping-higher-education-2014.pdf">since 1987</a>, and now do so by a considerable margin. In 2014 the sex ratio for higher education students was just 80 males per 100 females. </p>
<p>This compares, for example, to 269 males per 100 females in 1970. The numerical imbalance between male and female students widened between 2004 and 2012 (from 84.1 to 79.3 males per 100 females), but has closed slightly over the last two years.</p>
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<p>The distributions of male and female students between subject areas remain asymmetrical. Females are severely underrepresented among students of IT, engineering and related technologies, and architecture and building. Males are underrepresented among education, health, society and culture, and creative arts students. </p>
<p>The study fields with the higher proportions of females tend to have lower lifetime <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/home/higher-education/">income expectations</a>. The gendered differences in study patterns are likely to promote continuing sex segregation in some <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252437453_Gender_unmasked_The_implications_for_policy_of_demographic_shifts_and_gender_discrimination">professional occupations</a> in the future.</p>
<h2>The underrepresentation of the disadvantaged</h2>
<p>Family background remains an important determinant of <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/home/higher-education/">who</a> studies at <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF03031865?LI=true#page-1">university</a>. </p>
<p>Despite a <a href="https://education.gov.au/selected-higher-education-statistics-2014-student-data">modest increase</a> over the last ten years, people from lower socioeconomic status areas remain underrepresented among higher education students. Only 16.1% of domestic higher education students having a permanent home address in the 25% lowest socioeconomic postcodes.</p>
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<p>The increase in the percentage of students from low socioeconomic areas has accelerated gradually over the phased implementation of demand-driven funding since 2010.</p>
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<p>The Indigenous population is also underrepresented (just 1.4% of domestic students in 2014). There has been a partial “closing of the gap” in higher education participation in recent years. The percentage of Indigenous students has increased gradually from 1.2% in 2005, and slightly more rapidly than could be explained by the growth of the percentage of Indigenous people in the relevant population age groups.</p>
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<h2>Linguistic and religious diversity</h2>
<p>Australia’s university student population is more diverse than the wider population in terms of languages spoken at home. According to 2011 census data, 31.2% of students speak a language other than English at home. Mandarin (6.8%), Cantonese (3.1), Arabic (2.0) and Vietnamese (1.8) are the most commonly spoken languages other than English among students. </p>
<p>Students’ patterns of religious adherence also are significantly more diverse than those of the wider community. Only 50.7% of students are Christians (compared to 66.9% for Australia), while the percentages with no religion (34.0% compared to 24.4% nationally), Buddhist (5.0% compared to 2.7%), Muslim (4.2% compared to 2.4%) and Hindu (2.6% compared to 1.4%) all are significantly above average. </p>
<p>The percentage with no religion is almost as high among Australia-born students as among overseas-born students, and is higher among students than among people of the same age who are not studying.</p>
<h2>Work and study combination</h2>
<p>By international standards the percentage of Australia’s students who combine study with work is high. In the 2011 census, 62.4% of tertiary students were in work, with nearly twice as many working part-time as working full-time. </p>
<p>The percentage of students who also work fell slightly (from 65.6%) between 2006 and 2011. This may be related to an ongoing increase in the percentage who study full-time (66.9% in 2006 to 73.7% in 2011). </p>
<p>The top four occupations while studying are in sales or hospitality: sales assistants (7.7% of students), waiters (2.9), checkout operators and office cashiers (2.1), and bar attendants and baristas (1.8). The short-term opportunity cost of study would be reduced by the high percentage of students who also work.</p>
<h2>The future</h2>
<p>Australia’s universities should be planning to <a href="https://go8.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/backgrounder-future-demand-for-higher-education-in-australia.pdf">accommodate</a> further growth in numbers of domestic student enrolments, in view of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-our-big-australia-is-getting-bigger-20846">projected 25% growth</a> of the 18-24 years old population over the next <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3222.0">20 years</a>.</p>
<p>The projected growth is due to recent increases in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-baby-bonus-failed-to-increase-fertility-but-we-should-still-keep-it-4528">births</a> and high levels of immigration. </p>
<p>The larger cohorts of prospective local graduates may reduce Australia’s need for skilled immigrants, to the detriment of some future international students. </p>
<p>Failing to expand future domestic student enrolment at least in line with demographic growth may have a negative effect on equality in higher education. It would be a shame to see young people from lower socio-economic or other disadvantaged backgrounds miss out on going to university because our higher education system has failed to prepare for our growing population.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong><em>The Conversation is running a series on “What are universities for?” looking at the place of universities in Australia, why they exist, who they serve, and how this is changing over time. Read other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/what-are-universities-for">here</a>.</em></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40373/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Parr receives funding from Macquarie University and Catholic Education Commission NSW.</span></em></p>In 1970 there were 269 male university students per 100 female university students. However females overtook males in 1987 and now there are 80 males for every 100 females.Nick Parr, Associate Professor in Demography, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.