Background Information on Australian Indigenous Higher Education

Student Outcomes

‘Success, especially for Indigenous students, is built on trust and requires continuity in relationships and staff’ - Andersen, Bunda & Walter, 2006, Indigenous Higher Education: Releasing the Potential

Below is information regarding Australian Indigenous student outcomes in Australian Tertiary Program.This information is drawn from a number of sources which are provided for the reader to access.

From 2012 Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

In the decade from 2003, Indigenous higher education enrolments across Australia grew by 52%.

Australia’s Indigenous population is under-represented in the university system. According to the 2012 Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, Indigenous People Comprise 2.2 per cent of the overall population, but only 1.4 per cent of student enrolments at university in 2010, including only 1.1 per cent of higher degree by research enrolments. Staffing levels are also low, with 0.8 per cent of all full-time equivalent academic staff and 1.2 per cent of general university staff in 2010 being Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander people.

From the Australian Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council Report 2007 -

Attrition is a major issue for Indigenous higher education students. If Indigenous students progressed towards completion of their studies at the same rate as non-Indigenous students, their higher education completions could be more than double the currently achieved rate.

Improving the outcomes for Indigenous students who enter higher education requires attention to their personal, academic and financial well-being.

The career and further education pathways of Indigenous graduates are of profound importance to the future of Indigenous Australians. Indigenous graduates are role models in setting up a positive cycle of participation in education. Indigenous higher education is central to the goal of the social, cultural and economic development of the whole of an Indigenous community. Overall, the outcomes for Indigenous people who complete their courses are good. Indigenous students who graduate experience employment rates comparable with those for all graduates.

Data from the Graduate Destination Survey show that the full-time employment rate for Indigenous graduates is slightly higher than for non-Indigenous graduates and the average starting salaries for Indigenous bachelor level graduates are higher than that for non-Indigenous graduates (DEST 2005). These outcomes may be partially explained by the mature age of many Indigenous students, the fact that many are in employment while studying, and the extent to which well-qualified Indigenous people are sought after for leadership roles.

Enrolment in postgraduate education is another outcome that is pivotal, not only to the lives of the individuals concerned, but also to the objective of raising the profile and status of Indigenous people and Indigenous research and knowledge on campus. Indigenous students are presently highly underrepresented in postgraduate courses. Universities need to confront the circumstances that might make some Indigenous students feel isolated or out of their depth in such courses.

From Australasian Survey of Student Engagement Volume 10 April 2011, AUSSE (Australasian Survey of Student Engagement): Dispelling myths: Indigenous students’engagement withuniversity

Indigenous students are engaged with learning at asimilar or slightly higher level than their non-Indigenouspeers, and report levels of overall satisfaction equal toor higher than their peers.

Despite such positive findings, Indigenous studentsare more likely to seriously consider leaving theirinstitution. While only 1.9 per cent of Indigenousstudents actually plan to leave before completion,Indigenous students continue to be less likely tocomplete than their non-Indigenous peers.

Indigenous students report markedly higher levels ofengagement in relation to work-integrated learning.This difference is probably due to the fact that theolder Indigenous students are often employed beforecommencing study, and select courses directly relevantto their work.

Table 1 Selected Indigenous and non-Indigenous domestic Australian students’ demographic characteristics

Demographic / Non-Indigenous students / Indigenous students
Female / 70% / 73%
Low SES / 18% / 27%
Age 25 years or older / 22% / 43%
Mean age / 24 years / 28 years
Median age / 20 years / 22 years
Provincial / 22% / 29%
Remote / 1% / 5%
First in family / 47% / 56%

Conclusions and next steps

Drawing on both the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) figures, and the openendedcomments, we can say that universities seemto be meeting the expectations of Indigenous studentson many levels. Yet we end our analysis of the AUSSEfindings by returning to our initial anomaly. The puzzleis that, whilst Indigenous students are very positiveabout their studies, and are engaged on similar (or insome instances, higher) levels to their peers, they remainmore likely to seriously consider leaving. The continuedunder-representation of Indigenous students in highereducation, combined with the greater likelihood ofnon-completion, remains a serious concern. The issue of student support appears a crucial one, withvital contributions being made by both administrativeand academic staff, whether Indigenous or not. Theperhaps under-recognised Indigenous centres providea strong central pillar for such support systems, withIndigenous staff in the disciplines also playing theirpart. The question of how best to support the supportersis one that universities might also consider, given thevery small number of Indigenous staff in the highereducation system as a whole.