A study by the Productivity Commission (PC) of the ‘demand-driven’ system for opening Australian universities to a wider range of students has resulted in a mixed report card.
The study, The Demand-Driven University System: A Mixed Report Card, explores what happened to young Australians during the universities’ demand-driven period using administrative, population and longitudinal survey data.
It addresses two questions: Who are the ‘additional students’ who enrolled in a university under the system; and to what extent was the system more accessible to people from under-represented ‘equity groups’?
PC found the system drove a surge in domestic undergraduate enrolments between 2010 and the year 2017 when it finished.
Chair of PC, Michael Brennan said this gave opportunities to a broader range of students, but with mixed success.
“Tens of thousands graduated and went on to well-paying jobs but many also dropped out,” Mr Brennan said.
“The chance of a university education has been transformative for many, setting them on a path to better economic prospects, but it is also costly — to students as well as taxpayers.”
Mr Brennan said more people from low socioeconomic backgrounds attended university following the expansion in the system — one of the policy’s main aims.
However, there was little improvement in participation for regional or remote and Indigenous young people, and significant participation gaps remained for all these groups.
He said 21 per cent of the additional students dropped out of university by age 23, compared with 12 per cent for other students.
“That isn’t to say that a capped funding system is more effective,” Mr Brennan said.
“It can be too restrictive, discourage innovation and opportunity, and some people fail in that system too,” he said.
“Our report doesn’t make specific policy recommendations, but it certainly points to areas where improvement is needed, regardless of whether or not funding is demand-driven.”
The Productivity Commission’s 132-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
