What are these large Higher Education data sets?

Higher Education Statistics are available to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through the Australian Government’s Department of Education. They are commonly used by universities and researchers to monitor access, participation retention and success of students. The data includes a wide range of parameters such as:

• courses provided by higher education institutions
• numbers and characteristics of students undertaking courses
• student load
• completion of units of study and courses
• student liability status
• numbers and characteristics of staff in higher education institutions
• income and expenditure for higher education institutions
• research activity
• undergraduate applications, offers and acceptances
• equity performance data. 

The data is provided as Excel tables, Pivot tables and visual analytics and is released annually.

The Higher education equity performance data tables are the most useful starting point to explore the experience of students who identify as having a disability. You can explore data sets related to your own institution and also look at the sector as a whole, other institutions, and state-based data.

A particular note about 2020 data

During the transition to the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) System over its first year of operation in 2020, enrolment numbers for Students with Disability were substantially under-reported in the case of several universities. It has not been possible to correct this oversight, so the entire series has been reported as received. The figures for some individual universities, and the aggregate figures for states and university sectors have been affected. This issue can be seen in the 2020 access and participation share indicators and 2020 retention and success rates as reported in the 2021 data set. For this reason, caution should be taken in including 2020 enrolment data for Students with Disability in either annual, aggregate, or cross-institutional comparisons.

Or visit our page Current HE Data Analysis for a snapshot.

How is the equity performance data collected?

The data is drawn from enrolment data reported by universities to the department each year. Some additional categories in enrolment questions are mapped later to this enrolment data e.g., additional demographic data such as ethnicity, indigeneity and disability. 

This information is reported to the Department by every university. There is no set release date each year, but it is generally released once data is verified in the following year. This means there is some considerable lag time.

There are some challenges with this data as:

• many students choose not to disclose information e.g., disability, cultural background
• they are often not updated if status changes
• universities have different ways of updating disability enrolment data with information from disability services

While the numbers may have some inaccuracies, they are large enough to observe trends and changes over time.

How do I find and navigate equity performance data?

ADCET has recently revised data information including these fact sheets to support disability practitioners (see Current HE Data Analysis).

You can also go straight to the source via the Higher Education Statistics - Department of Education, website. Common data sets that people look at include:

• Selected Higher Education student data by year
• Selected Higher Education student data, Section 11: Equity groups which provides current year headcount by equity group, state and institution
• Selected Higher Education student data, Section 16: Equity performance data which looks at access, participation, retention and success for equity groups including time series.

When looking at the data ensure you are:

• looking at the contents and explanatory notes around how the data is collected
• understanding the difference between access, participation, retention and success data
• comparing ‘like for like’ – some data is disaggregated by commencing vs all students, domestic vs overseas, levels of study, table A and B providers, modes of study etc
• checking your own data against the Department’s data
• looking at trends – both in the sector and your own institution
• comparing with other ‘like’ institutions
• utilising the visual analytics as well as downloading Excel and Pivot tables
• asking questions about what you are seeing.

How can planning units assist?

It is worthwhile developing a good relationship with the planning/data area of your university. They can help you to:

• better understand sector and institutional data and how to understand inputs and outputs
• assist you to streamline data requests through reporting processes or dashboards
• create reports and data analysis which is meaningful
• improve your comfort levels with the data
• provide insight into what senior leaders are concerned with
• assist you to streamline or drive service improvements.

Some initial questions to ask your planning/data team might be:

• do you have dashboards set up and can you show me how to access them?
• how can I utilise the student enrolment  information to better inform our service provision?
• what are the trends in the data e.g., types of disability, intersectional considerations, which disciplines students with disability are studying, what is their mode of attendance etc
• how can we benchmark? How does your institution compare with others in your state or nationally, proportion of enrolments, retention and success rates etc?

What is the value of this data, and how it can be used?

These large data sets are utilised by a variety of stakeholders including:

• Federal and State Government Departments for the purposes of funding and service provision. For example, enrolment numbers impact the Higher Education Disability Support Program funding Include link
• Higher education institutions for benchmarking and reporting
• Peak bodies working with people with specific disability 
• Disability Managers and Practitioners
• Researchers
• Individuals in the community

Because this is a large data set and is carried out by the Federal Government there are several benefits to reviewing it:

• Nationally consistent measures recorded over time
• Data is available in multiple formats and additional data can be requested with support from your planning team
• It enables benchmarking and more detailed institutional data to be scrutinised e.g., course, Faculty, or study area level, and intersection with other equity groups
• It provides information for planning and research.

What is being surveyed?

QILT is a Department of Education initiative to manage the quality of teaching and learning delivered across 41 Australian Universities. There are three main surveys which are sent to students across Australia to determine particular outcomes of their journey. These surveys include:                                                          

• Student Experience Survey (SES) - survey of current higher education students. Information collected in the SES helps higher education institutions and the government improve teaching and learning outcomes for students.
• Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) - is completed by graduates of Australian higher education institutions approximately four to six months after finishing their studies. The GOS measures short-term employment outcomes including skills utilisation, further study activities, and graduate satisfaction.
• Graduate Outcomes Survey – Longitudinal (GOS-L) – a repeat of the GOS completed approximately 3 years after completing studies.

How is this data collected?

National survey campaigns are run by the Social Research Centre (SRC) which is contracted by the Federal Government. Awareness campaigns and reminders to complete are run by individual HEIs.

For more information visit https://www.qilt.edu.au   or visit our page Current HE Data Analysis for a snapshot.

What is the value of this data and how it can be used?

Because this is a large data set and is commissioned by the Federal Government there are several benefits to reviewing it:

• Nationally consistent measures recorded over time
• Data is available in multiple formats and additional data can be requested with support from your planning team
• It enables benchmarking and more detailed institutional data to be scrutinised e.g., course, Faculty, or study area level and intersection with other equity groups
• It provides information for planning and research.