The news that Australia's university dropout rate is worsening and that around one in three students fails to compete their studies within six years has raised relatively few eyebrows in higher education circles. Perhaps that calm is warranted. After all, tertiary education operates on purely utilitarian and economic terms – to generate income for the institutions that are doing the educating and to provide students with value for money and career opportunities after graduation. So falling completions may be viewed simply as a reflection of changed student preferences or of shifts in the graduate employment market. Moreover, universities are reimbursed for teaching students enrolled in Commonwealth-supported places – and dropouts are still required to repay their tuition fees.
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But if a shrug of the shoulders is the common response, there's no ignoring the fact that this dropout rate represents a colossal waste of time, resources and energy for all concerned, particularly for the erstwhile students. Dropouts are, on average, more likely not to repay their debts to the Commonwealth, so there are financial implications as well.
Education and Training Minister Simon Birmingham has referred to the worsening outlook to urge prospective students to research carefully what they plan to study this year – and where. It's sensible advice, as students who have dropped out commonly cite a bad or inappropriate study choice as the reason. Senator Birmingham's caution about university choice is also apposite because regional universities have a higher dropout rate than their city counterparts – and far higher than that of the Group of Eight universities.
Prudent though Senator Birmingham's advice may be, there are reasons for fearing that it will go unheeded. The expectation that today's school-leavers must or should go to university is considerable – and the current tertiary education funding model caters to that expectation by encouraging enrolments, even to students of indifferent academic ability. That, and the fact that 18-year-olds rarely know their own minds, suggests inappropriate choices will continue to be made.
Were more prestige attached to vocational education, the situation might be different. However, the belief that a university degree trumps all is popular and entrenched – even though people with law degrees, among others, struggle to find jobs while Australian industry is beset by shortages of hospitality workers and tradespeople. A more responsive and streamlined TAFE system might change attitudes, but establishing a national consensus for change won't be easy. Reforming the university funding model to encourage completions rather than enrolments also appears problematic in the current political environment.
There are, however, ways to ease the dropout rate. Schools and colleges could be better equipped to offer comprehensive career guidance or counselling, and to prepare students for the difficult transition to tertiary study. Universities could strive harder to ensure that freshers who need academic support or counselling can get it. They might also look overseas for lessons in how to keep students from dropping out.
