Francesca Broome
With over 1 in 5 Australian students dropping out of their university course in 2013, recent data has revealed attrition rates are at an all time high since 2005.
Whether it be lack of motivation or uninspiring prospects, many Australian students are choosing alternative paths to a career.
Millie Mustey studied a bachelor of health science and said she had two years of failing. ‘I had to really consider if I was to finish or leave, I was not committed’ she said.
A week after she decided to leave, she had a full time job in real estate and within four months she was promoted to a management position.
Even though Millie was able to secure full time work, many other young Australians without a degree may not be so lucky and could end up simply unemployed and with less direction than ever before.
So who is most at risk of dropping out?
According to the data released by the Australian Government, gender, age and subjects studied contribute to these rising attrition rates.
On average, females were found more likely to drop out than males, but only marginally (19% compared to 18%). Mature age students (over the age of 39) were much more likely to drop out of a course than those under the age of 25 and it was also found that indigenous students are almost twice as likely to drop out of a course with a staggering 31% attrition rate
[infogram id=”7e21f6ba-ffa9-4df0-b1f4-a16faf2cb574″]Based on subjects, those studying a bachelor of society and culture had the greatest attrition rate with 22.2%, marginally ahead of information technology and agricultural studies.
Sophie Clausen, a second year student of society and culture, said ‘I have no idea what I want to do, it’s all so broad. It’s hard to be motivated when you can’t see a place to end up’. Sophie has cut down her hours she is required to attend per semester and says even still, it’s a struggle.
The course with the lowest attrition rate was a bachelor of engineering with only 13% dropping out. This coincides with the fact that those who achieved an ATAR of 70 or below were almost three times as likely to drop out of a course than students who achieved an ATAR of 89 or above. Most engineering courses will require an ATAR of 80-90 or above.
[infogram id=”a45b9557-9b41-47fe-9d85-f4af0f97b49f”]Those who study part time were found to be 20% more likely to drop out than those who study full time. Commitment is where many students struggle. It could be suggested that, the more intense the course or hours, the more committed the student and the less likely they are to contribute to these alarming rates.
Each student that leaves university without a degree or qualification and has incurred a HECS debt is a cost to our nation. We need to ensure each student is not only prepared for the different level of commitment that is required from higher education to that of schooling but also aware of what they are enrolling for to ensure it is the right fit.
Our nation needs a diverse student population who successfully complete degrees in order to properly cater for employment demands. Do we need to condense courses and make them more intense or create compulsory program, which prepares students to enter university. Either way, the government needs to make a change to provide support for our students.
data source: http://data.gov.au/dataset/higher-education-attrition-rates-2005-2013/resource/9c1156be-cc9f-42a9-a3bc-41ed46fa97ef
