Indigenous university student success in 2013

'Continuations' include students who have taken a year or more off, and then returned to study. The one-year rise in this key variable has been better than 10.2 %, 13.4 % at post-graduate level. Even more significant has been the rise in master's-level continuations – a massive 27.7 %, to a total of 686 students. In fact, the number of students continuing master's-level courses has risen an amazing 128 % since 2006.

This surge in continuing student numbers suggests that graduate numbers will increase substantially from 2014 onwards.

Trend-line since 2005: an annual increase of 6 % p.a.

Enrolments [Table 3]

In 2013, a total of 13,781 Indigenous students were enrolled in university courses across the country, an increase of 9.1 % over 2012, and 64.7 % better than 2005. 96 % of all award-level enrolments were at degree- and post-graduate-level. Total enrolments approached the equivalent of one and a half age-groups.

Conversely, the numbers of Indigenous students enrolled in sub-degree-level courses has plummeted since 2005 by more than 70 %. In 2013, fewer than 2 % of all Indigenous students were enrolled in sub-degree courses. Indigenous-focussed courses tend to be at sub-degree level.

Trend-line since 2005: an annual increase of 6.4 % p.a.

Graduations [Table 4]

1,859 Indigenous students graduated in 2013, almost all (97.7 %) at degree-level or above, and the equivalent of nearly 20 % of a relevant age-group. Although, of course, 'graduations' is a lag-factor, the total for 2013 is better than 54 % above that of 2005. More than seventeen thousand Indigenous students have now graduated since 2000.

Post-graduate completions doubled between 2005 and 2013. Some 4,377 Indigenous students have graduated at post-graduate level since 2000.

Two-thirds of all graduates were women and the gender disparity is very slowly increasing.

Trend-line since 2005: an annual increase of 5.57 % p.a.