Regional participation: the role of socioeconomic status and access

This report provides information on the factors affecting participation of regional students in Australian universities, and particularly the relative importance of socioeconomic status and access to university in influencing higher education participation across regions. Key findings include the increase of regional participation in university among 19-21 year-olds, up from 18 per cent in 1996 to 21 per cent in 2006. However, university participation among metropolitan students grew at a faster rate, from 28 per cent to 35 per cent. This increases the gap between regional and metropolitan participation from 10 percentage points to 12 percentage points.   Image: Bond Sarah / Flick