Australian students take ‘try-before-you-buy’ approach to degrees

Australian universities’ new recruits are taking advantage of online education by “sampling” degrees before committing to them, in a trend that complicates planning and pressures universities to deliver good experiences from the outset.

Charles Sturt University’s acting vice-chancellor, John Germov, said that incoming students were becoming “a bit more savvy” by trying out multiple courses before the “census date cut-off” when tuition fee debts started accruing.

Professor Germov said that the Covid-induced shift to online education was “tailor-made” for the practice that had emerged in recent years but accelerated during the pandemic, with students now able to sample courses interstate as well as in nearby campuses.

“You’re starting to see an increase in that sort of mobility [where] students accept an offer but don’t necessarily commit to it until they’ve dipped their toe in the water,” he said. “[They let] their initial experiences sway them one way or the other. It’s an interesting change of behaviour.”

Professor Germov said that students deserved credit for their selectivity. “You don’t want people committing to something that they’re not happy with, and you don’t want high rates of attrition. So perhaps we’re just going to have to find better ways to give people an inkling of the experience they’re likely to have.”

The limited available data on applications for undergraduate study this year reflect modest increases spurred by recession-fuelled demand for tertiary education. Sydney’s Universities Admissions Centre had recorded roughly 77,000 applicants for 2021 courses by December – 7 per cent more than the previous December – with people applying for up to five courses each.

By mid-January, the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre had fielded 3 per cent more applications for university undergraduate courses than at the same point last year. Professor Germov said that such figures understated the true situation, because most universities accepted enrolments directly from students as well as through admissions centres.

In total, Charles Sturt had attracted about 20 per cent more applications than for last year’s cycle. “It’s a positive thing that applications are up, but it’s not a guarantee that you’re going to get some sort of bonanza of students.”

Outgoing Australian Catholic University vice-chancellor Greg Craven reported a “massive increase in applications”, with increases of 20 per cent not uncommon across universities and demand for some degrees doubling.

“A course that ordinarily has 100 applications [may] have 200 applications…from students [with] applications to five other institutions,” he said. “It looks like three-dimensional chess.

“When we look at our applications, the question we’re asking at the back of our minds is, who else have you applied to?”

Perth’s Tertiary Institutions Service Centre has attracted almost 13,000 undergraduate applicants this year, with many bidding for a number of institutions and most for multiple degrees. Forty-four per cent have applied for four courses and 20 per cent for six.

Former University of Adelaide vice-chancellor Warren Bebbington said that the issue was bedevilling admissions staff as they juggled course offerings for the new academic year. A difficult task at the best of times, it was further complicated this year by federal funding changes, increased domestic demand and complete uncertainty around international enrolments.

Professor Bebbington said that some faculty budgets normally finalised in December were not expected to be confirmed until late February. “I’m pleased that I’m not involved. It’s a great year to be a retired vice-chancellor.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com