Universities accept students likely to drop out in order to make money

Universities’ “naked desire’’ to make money will result in 20,000 of this year’s school-leavers dropping out of degrees they were ­always destined to fail, a new report reveals.

Students who enter university with a low Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) are three times more likely to drop out than students with high ATARs. Picture: iStock

Universities’ “naked desire’’ to make money will result in 20,000 of this year’s school-leavers dropping out of degrees they were ­always destined to fail, a new report reveals.

The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) warns that low academic entry standards are “wasting time and money’’ for students left with debts when they drop out of degrees they find too difficult.

It calls for universities to return some taxpayer funding for every student who fails to finish a degree.

The CIS analysis of federal Education Department data shows “scandalously low’’ completion rates at many of the nation’s 43 universities.

“With each year, more students are failing to finish their degree on time, or dropping out of university entirely,’’ the report says. “Students not completing their study is not only an inefficient use of taxpayers’ resources … but a waste of time and money for those students themselves – who incur the cost of debt for classes taken but without the benefit of a qualification.’’

The CIS report, by data scientist Rob Joseph, shows that the University of Southern Queensland has the lowest completion rate of any university, with just 43 per cent of students finishing their degree within six years and 39 per cent dropping out.

The University of New England, Charles Darwin University and Southern Cross University have six-year completion rates below 50 per cent.

The highest rates are 90 per cent at the University of Melbourne, 86 per cent at the University of Western Australia, and 86 per cent at Bond University, where students pay full fees.

In medicine, dentistry and physiotherapy – degrees requiring near-perfect marks at high school – fewer than 5 per cent of students quit their studies.

But one in three students drop out of degrees in early childhood teacher education, social work, tourism, or sport and recreation.

Mr Joseph has calculated that students who enter university with a low Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) are three times more likely to drop out than students with high ATARs.

Among students with an ATAR above 95, only 4 per cent dropped out of uni – compared to roughly one in three students with an ATAR below the average of 70.

The CIS blames universities for enrolling too many school-leavers who struggled at school and have a 50 per cent chance of dropping out.

Only 4 per cent of students with an ATAR above 95 dropped out of uni. Picture: iStock

The average ATAR is 70, yet universities are offering places to 55 per cent of applicants with an ATAR below 50, and to 81 per cent of those with an ATAR between 50 and 60.

The CIS report shows that a quarter of school-leavers are being admitted to university without an ATAR – including those enrolled for excellence in sport or the performing arts, or on “equity’’ grounds due to poverty, disadvantage or other disadvantage.

They are twice as likely as ATAR-entry students to drop out in their first year.

“While these admission practices may have led to more young people obtaining a degree, they have also led to more school-leavers wasting time and debt without a degree to show for it,’’ the CIS report says. “The goal is to help more students finish a degree, not just start one.’’

The CIS demands that universities set more rigorous academic entry standards, and provide extra support for students enrolled on equity grounds.

It says many students with low or no ATARs would be better off going to TAFE, finding an apprenticeship or getting a job straight from school.

“Given the scandalously low completion rates and high attrition for non-ATAR-based admissions, universities should be increasing their use of ATAR in admissions, not reducing it,’’ the report says.

“Many of these admissions do not appear to be the result of a holistic consideration of student capabilities, but rather a naked desire for more fees revenue that ignores what is best for the students.’’