The Government’s big university objective is increasing graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds – it will help if they are happy campers on campus
Ian W Li and colleagues used Student Experience Survey data 2016-20 and student records to explore how straight-from-school undergraduates judge their university experiences, to understand the experience of students who already are accessing university from under-represented groups.
Their findings include:
Secondary school and university experience
- differences between people from public and private schools are “muted” although those from non-government schools were slightly more satisfied with learner engagement and resources and teaching spaces at their university
- socio-economic status of school had a negative correlation (but not by much) on student’s sense of belonging at university plus their take on support, skills development and risk of leaving
Personal characteristics and experience
- women were more satisfied overall
- age negatively correlates with a sense of belonging and learning experience
- Indigenous students had more support but also reported an increased risk of discontinuing
- students with disability had a lower overall probability of satisfaction
Study factors and experience
- part-time students were less likely to be satisfied on all measures
- some online study increased overall satisfaction but studying entirely on-line had no overall impact and a 4 per cent increase for risk of discontinuing
the take-out
“The findings highlight the need for better support and targeted strategies to achieve greater parity in the experiences and outcomes of equity group and other disadvantaged student groups in HE.
“The findings signal the value of investigating how to balance on- and off-campus study to optimize satisfaction and experience, as well as the interaction of equity group status and propensity or reasons for off-campus study. “
