Press Release/HECS

March 2012 MEDIA RELEASE

Gains, Losses in College Student Achievement

"The Big Squeeze," a study of student admissions and achievement at Australia's top 7 universities, will be released March 15, according to Professor Gillian Clarke, author of the study. Clarke, Dean of the School of Education at Advance University, wanted to measure the effects of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) on the quality of and access to tertiary education in Australia.

Clarke found that the number of students from public high schools gaining entry to undergraduate courses at Australia's top universities had declined by 10% since the introduction of HECS. The number of mature age students gaining entry to these schools also decreased by 5%. Gains of 5% were noted in the admission of students from private schools as well as of international students. The study also found a decline in the quality of academic work produced at the undergraduate level since the introduction of HECS, although the overall pass rate increased by 10%

Clarke stressed that the decline in grade point average and public school enrollments could be influenced by factors other than HECS, such as the troubled economy or higher expectations for students. Clarke expressed her thanks to the Education Affairs Institute, which partially funded the study. HECS was probably one of the most far-reaching changes to tertiary education in the past decade, she said, and the study was a wake-up call about changes in tertiary education. Professor Brian Summer, Chancellor of Advance University, called Clarke's work a landmark study that cannot be ignored.

"The Big Squeeze," Clarke's study, will be released at the Balmoral Room, City Hall, Brisbane, at 10 a.m. tomorrow (16 March 2012). A two-page executive summary of the study is also available.

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