Student progress: a study of the experience in Victorian tertiary institutions

Abstract

The release of Professor Linke's report on performance indicators in Australia refocussed the attention of institutional researchers on an analysis of student inputs/outputs in tertiary institutions. Data files routinely despatched to the Department of Employment, Education and Training by all institutions were used in this study. The study examines the student progress unit (SPU), defined as the ratio of load successfully completed by the student to the total assessed student load by the student. The study examines the determinants of student progress units for bachelor courses in Victorian higher education institutions in 1990, as reported in 1991. Variables examined include discipline group, sex, age, tertiary entrance score, attendance type and other social indicators. It explores the implications of findings of the study to student admission policies and identifies possible areas of future research. The results of this study were first reported at the 3rd Australasian Association for Institutional Re...