DETYA - Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs


Map of Australia Victoria News South Wales South Australia Queensland Tasmania Northern Territory Western Australia Australian Capital Territory

Uniatlas Home

Step 1. Select a State or Territory from the map

Step 2. Select a Statistical Division from the following drop down menu

Or

Enter Postcode

Atlas of Higher Education:  A community focus

[ next ]   [ return to contents ]

1  Introduction

Individual regions, through their distinctiveness are often better placed than nation states to develop competitive advantage in their local industries. By focusing on their areas of research strength and improving their linkages with industry in the regions, as well as their local communities, universities are in a unique position to transfer knowledge and skills into initiatives for economic growth, environmental improvement and community development.

In the context of a changing learning environment, the Australian Government has recognised the importance of fostering links between universities and their local and regional communities. This is shown by recent policy changes to the funding of university research and in supporting a number of projects to explore university-community engagement issues. However, the Government is aware that local and regional involvement is generally patchy and roles are poorly defined. The Government is keen therefore to foster further discussion, planning and implementation of learning-based engagement initiatives at the local and regional levels.

This data atlas is designed to be a planning tool to stimulate informed dialogue among local and regional communities and with their higher education institutions. It aims to facilitate strategies to enhance greater access to learning to meet local and regional requirements. The data can be used to enrich conversations at the local and regional level about such priorities as economic competitiveness, student demand and supply flows, urban and rural regeneration, cultural vibrancy, social well being and the achievement of sustainable objectives.

The data can also be used by management to benefit the strategic objectives of the higher education institution that include issues such as market share, competitiveness as knowledge producers and providers, and the efficient use of infrastructure and human and social capital. For universities, future planning in the provision of learning services is more and more a decision about returns on outlay. The physical, human and economic attributes of the regions they are located in can be a useful and unique platform for improving the position of the university.

This data atlas provides universities and their local communities with educational, economic and demographic information about their region that can underpin and facilitate strategies for regional development. For each region there is data for:

  • total population and age distribution of population;

  • the main sectors of employment, how many people are employed as professionals and the median weekly income;

  • the education level of the population generally and the current level of participation at all levels of education; and

  • what students are studying, where students are studying and how they are studying.

While the information included here will not meet all of the data needs of universities and their local communities, it should provide a sufficiently sound statistical base for regional initiatives.

This introductory chapter discusses:

  • why there is a need for greater interaction between universities and their local region,

  • the ways in which universities can interact with the region;

  • how universities can benefit from such interaction; and

  • some of the outcomes regional communities and universities might pursue through greater engagement.

Since a major concern for regional communities is the loss of students to metropolitan universities, we have included in Appendix A a series of maps that show net student flows in and out of each postcode. We also list the 50 postcodes attracting the most students from other areas and the 50 postcodes losing the most students. The purpose is to show the pattern of where students are coming from and where they are going to in Australia.

The data in this publication is at the Australian Bureau of Statistics statistical division level. Detailed data for all statistical divisions including student flows is at Appendix B. While this data is useful, many regional areas may wish to focus on smaller geographic areas. Accordingly, the Department of Education and Youth Affairs is making the data available online at postcode level on the department's web site www.detya.gov.au/uniatlas. An example of the data available online is at Appendix A.

[ next ]   [ return to contents ]

 

Return to the Top of the Page

home  |  search  |  site map

Any comments or queries should be sent to: wwweditor@detya.gov.au

This page was last updated on 06 March 2001
Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs
Copyright © Commonwealth of Australia
Disclaimer
DETYA Web Site Privacy Statement