Australian higher education institutions have focused on attrition rates with increased vigour in light of the introduction of a new student success metric tied to attrition rates. Online programs have been of particular concern given persistently high attrition rates, being roughly double that of programs delivered either face-to-face or in…

Efforts to address attrition rates at universities have been driven by Tinto's (1975) model of student engagement with its focus on student: (a) pre entry attributes; (b) academic engagement; and (c) social engagement. Using an ethnographic approach, the study involves interviews with business students to explore the links between these aspects…

This article reports on and discusses the findings of an investigation carried out to explore the expectations of an English language enhancement course (ELEC) held by a group of undergraduate students at an Australian university. For the study, a mixed-methods approach was utilised, with two instruments: a survey with a combination of closed- and…

Literature relating to Indigenous Australian students in higher education highlights the need for improving the retention rates of Indigenous students in Australian universities. A cause for concern has been the increasing numbers of Indigenous Australian people experiencing lower progress and completion rates in comparison to non-Indigenous…

A study examined the difficulties encountered by first-year, part-time Technical and Further Education (TAFE) students that cause them to consider withdrawing from, and in many cases, dropping out of their TAFE programs. Questionnaires were administered to 4,150 early withdrawers (persons who dropped out between January 1 and May 16, 1986), 2,940…

In Australia, the Youth Allowance (a form of government income support) is being changed to require that most youth under 18 who receive it be engaged in full-time education or training. This change has positive and negative potential impacts on young people, schools, families, technical and further education, adult and community education, and…

In 1983 Australia experienced unexpected nation-wide increases in enrollment in post-compulsory schooling (Year 11 and Year 12). This study sought to identify factors contributing to this increase, to assess the extent and characteristics of the change, and to examine the motivations and expectations of the students concerned. Patterns of school…