Understanding the Completion Patterns of Equity Students in Regional Universitites

Regional universities play an important role in sustaining dynamic regional communities and contributing to regional and national economic prosperity. Regional universities make critical contributions to national imperatives to increase the participation of groups who are underrepresented in higher education and to enable the populations of regional and remote Australia to reach parity in terms of access to and attainment of a higher education qualification. In these ways, regional universities contribute to Australia’s knowledge-driven economy by providing regional populations with the opportunity to participate in higher education in order to take on and create the jobs of the future in regional Australia and more widely. It is within this context, that the enhanced persistence and completion of Australian higher education students, particularly regional cohorts, is a goal for both universities and government.