Review to probe how university system fails poor students

Pushing up rates at which students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds attend university and making sure they stay to complete their degree will be the focus of a federal review of higher education in Australia, writes Julie Hare for the Financial Review.

The big-picture review of universities, headed by former New South Wales chief scientist Mary O’Kane, will attempt to resolve the entrenched unfairness of access to degree-level education.

In a 2009 review of higher education, one of the key targets was for 40% of young people to hold a degree. That has been easily met, but a second target to increase the proportion of students from financially disadvantaged and geographically remote areas to 20% failed to shift the dial.
Full report on the Australian Financial Review site