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Atlas of Higher Education:  A community focus

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Appendix B - Statistical definitions and assumptions

The information presented in this appendix is drawn from Census data, the IRDB and the higher education student database.

The age structure of each region is compared to the age structure of the Australian population. The total population (*) for a region is defined by aggregating the population count of each age group. Similarly the local industry and employment scenario is compared to that for the whole of Australia.

While information on regional population and economic characteristics is reasonably accessible, information on students is generally only available at an aggregate level. Here, however, we provide detailed information on students currently enrolled at universities.

First, students are classified by location status. This classification is possible because each student who enrols in a higher education institution (**) is asked for two addresses, permanent home address and semester address. This along with other information collected at enrolment allows the classification of those who report a permanent home address in the region into students:

  • studying in area, on campus - if a student is studying on-campus and lists a permanent home address postcode that is in the same statistical division as their semester address postcode then they are considered to be in the first category 'studying in area on campus';

  • studying off campus - these are students who are studying externally but who have reported a permanent home address within the statistical division;

  • moved elsewhere to study - this group of students have reported their permanent address as in the region but have provided an address outside the region as their semester address;

  • the final category includes those students who report a semester address in the region but report a permanent address outside the region. These students are classified as 'move into area to study'.

Each group is cross classified by level and field of study, university of choice, background and average University Admission Index (UAI).1

1      Students with overseas permanent postcodes are excluded from this study

Students with invalid permanent addresses are excluded from the four categories, however, they are included in the Australian average figures

Students with invalid semester addresses, except for external students, are excluded from the four categories, however they are included in the Australian average figures

Addresses are to be considered to be invalid if postcodes are not a valid Australia Post postcode or ABS-derived postal area

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