Pathways through higher education – from admissions to graduate outcomes ACER Insights Dr. Daniel Edwards ACPET Higher Education Symposium Sydney, 3 February, 2012

Overview What we do and what we know Insights from our research: Workforce outcomes AdmissionsEngagementRetention Learning outcomes

Workforce outcomes Admissions EngagementRetention Learning outcomes

Admissions Context: Growth and ambitious targets for attainment Need to ‘tap’ new student markets Demand driven system opening up for public HEIs Private providers crucial part of growth and sustainability of growth

Admissions So – How do we promote growth, but maintain quality? Admissions systems/policy an important facet in achieving targets while maintaining quality. Work we have done with DEEWR and ACPET provides some viable alternatives to the traditional single metric Yr12 score entry

Admissions Student Aptitude Test for Tertiary Admissions pilot program UniTest and Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) piloted to evaluate use as an admissions instrument – supplementary to school results or prior learning Evidence suggests these aptitude tests offer opportunity for entry by students otherwise unlikely to gain a place via traditional entry criteria

Admissions Figure 1: Socioeconomic status by admissions type

Admissions Figure 2: Impact of low socioeconomic status on uniTEST and Year 12 outcomes, standardised regression coefficients

Admissions Figure 3: Gender by admissions type

Admissions ACER-ACPET study 2009 found the emphasis of many private HEIs on alternative modes of selection: interview statement of intent letter of recommendation Coupled with support mechanisms, providers involved in this study found these effective in enrolling non- traditional cohorts

Admissions ACER-ACPET study 2009 found the emphasis of many private HEIs on alternative modes of selection: interview statement of intent letter of recommendation Coupled with support mechanisms, providers involved in this study found these effective in enrolling non- traditional cohorts

Workforce outcomes Admissions EngagementRetention Learning outcomes

Engagement & Retention Student engagement increasingly recognised as important AUSSE (since 2007) has been helping institutions monitor engagement

Engagement & Retention Highlighting the link between good relationships and retaining students… Figure 4: Quality of relationship and departure intentions, AUSSE 2011

Engagement & Retention …and benchmarking us against other systems Figure 5: Proportion of student cohort reporting ‘good relationships’ at university by country

Engagement & Retention Figure 6: Higher education student flows (students who completed Yr 12 in 2001), LSAY Other data and research have been assisting us to understand the full story when measuring retention

Workforce outcomes AdmissionsEngagementRetention Learning outcomes

Learning Outcomes Information gap Very little reliable information which enables comparative judgments to be made about the capabilities of students in different institutions and in different countries, or about the quality of teaching. As such over-reliance/emphasis on global rankings using research metrics

Learning Outcomes Projects underway to change this… National level – Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration - AMAC (Aust and NZ medical schools) International level – Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes - AHELO (16 countries, three tests)

Workforce outcomes AdmissionsEngagementRetention Learning outcomes

Workforce Outcomes Various collections (Graduate Destinations Survey, Beyond Graduation) ACER/DEEWR Graduate Pathways Survey (2008) GPS explores pathways 5 years after graduation

Workforce Outcomes Figure 7: Relevance of degree to work, by time since graduation (GPS)

Workforce Outcomes Figure 7: Relevance of degree to work, by time since graduation (GPS)

Workforce Outcomes Figure 7: Relevance of degree to work, by time since graduation (GPS)

Workforce Outcomes Figure 8: Graduates employment by industry, education and society and culture comparisons, five years out (GPS)

Workforce Outcomes Figure 9: Graduate median salaries – selected groups (GPS)

Workforce outcomes AdmissionsEngagementRetention Learning outcomes

Further information: Dr. Daniel Edwards (03)