Australian higher education practices

Australia is a desirable destination for higher education for many students, especially those from other countries in Asia where competition has pushed them to study abroad. With many of the international students struggling with the cost of their attendance, Andrew Kelly recommends that Australian institutions look carefully at students' funding challenges, on language proficiency, and academic integrity. Only by looking at the comprehensive picture can student success be enhanced.

In addition to providing educational opportunity for international students, Australia moved to a demand-driven model for domestic students in 2011. This model lifted caps on support for domestic students which resulted in an increase in total enrollment of students up to the age of 22 from 53% to 60%. The new students tended to have lower literacy skills in comparison to their peers, but this achieved the access objective. A less positive outcome was that the new students were less successful in continuing their study and graduating. Another impact of the demand-driven strategy was an increase in students who were first-generation or lower income. No impact was found in the participation rates of indigenous students or those from remote areas of Australia.