Higher Education Statistics Database (uCube)

Title: Higher Education Statistics

Author: The Analysis and Data Division of the Australian Government's Department of Education, Skills and Employment

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About

The Higher Education Statistics website is a repository for data relating to Australian higher education. Managed by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, it provides detailed insights into courses, student demographics, staff profiles, and financial aspects of higher education institutions. The data encompasses a range of variables from enrolment numbers, course completion rates, to research activities within these institutions.

The platform offers a user-friendly data cube called uCube which allows stakeholders to create customised tables for analysis. This is particularly useful for government bodies, educational institutions, and researchers. The data is safeguarded through perturbation techniques to ensure individual privacy, while still granting access to critical information for analysis and decision-making.

Author

The author of the Higher Education Statistics is the Analysis and Data Division of the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment. This division is tasked with the collection, management, and dissemination of data regarding the provision of higher education across all Australian institutions.

Key Takeaways

The database is a valuable tool for tracking educational trends and institutional performance.
uCube allows for the generation of custom data tables, aiding in tailored analysis.
Data perturbation ensures user privacy while providing access to detailed educational statistics.
The statistics can be utilised for policy-making, academic research, and benchmarking.
Accessible data covers a wide range of aspects from student enrolments to staff profiles and institutional finances.

Business Course Enrolments

Enrolment data for Management and Commerce courses show varied student preferences. A total of 44,516 domestic students enrolled in online courses. Another 25,147 chose multi-modal study, combining online and on-campus learning. This adds up to 69,663 students opting for flexible learning options.

In comparison, 113,370 students attended classes on-campus. The total domestic enrolment in these fields reached 183,033. This information comes from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment's Higher Education Statistics Data Cube (uCube), sourced on 4 April 2024.

In terms of external undergraduate courses, such as Bachelor of Business Management online, a total of 24,853 students were enrolled at last count. These consist of 22,292 domestic students and 2,551 international students.

External Student Numbers by University

Charles Sturt University leads Australia in online study, with 21,547 external students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Following closely is the University of New England with 20,021 students. Deakin University, the University of Tasmania, and Swinburne University of Technology complete the top five.

Lesser but significant numbers are noted at the University of Southern Queensland and Curtin University, reflecting a nationwide adoption of distance learning. The list showcases the top 20 institutions facilitating online studies.

MBA Mode of Study

In Australia, the majority of MBA students are selecting online study options. Enrolment data for 2019 shows that 52% of domestic postgraduate Management and Commerce students were studying externally, indicative of online education. An additional 8% were enrolled in multi-modal courses that combine online and face-to-face learning. Therefore, at least 52% of Australian MBA students could have been completing their degree primarily online, with up to 60% engaged in some form of online study.

In 2019, Australian domestic students enrolled in postgraduate coursework within Management and Commerce disciplines totalled 33,214. Of these, 11,523 students chose internal (on-campus) study modes, the majority at 19,338 opted for external (online) learning, and 2,353 students were enrolled in multi-modal courses that combine online and on-campus elements.

This shift towards online learning reflects the need for flexibility in balancing study with professional commitments. The high rate of external enrolment highlights the effectiveness of Australian MBA programs in catering to this demand, allowing students to advance their education while maintaining their careers.

Online Study by International Students

Overseas students predominantly attend campus classes, with only 12% studying off-campus. Just 2% study entirely online, while 10% use a multi-modal approach. In contrast, 38% of Australian students engage in some form of online study: 22% fully online and 16% multi-modal.

**Study Modes by Student Type**
Student Type	Internal	External	Multi-modal
Domestic	62%	22%	16%
Overseas	88%	2%	10%

Updated: 4 February 2024

Most overseas students studying online choose Management and Commerce (42%), followed by Society and Culture (20%), Health (12%), and Education (9%). These areas likely offer more adaptable online courses.

**Field of Study for Overseas Students Studying Online**
Field of Study	Number of Students from Overseas	% of Overseas Students
Management and Commerce	4852	42%
Society and Culture	2310	20%
Health	1393	12%
Education	1005	9%
Information Technology	634	6%
Engineering and Related Technologies	556	5%
Natural and Physical Sciences	423	4%

Updated: 4 February 2024

STEM Enrolments

STEM field	Domestic	Foreign	All	%
Natural and Physical Sciences	104,730	30,091	134,821	8.6%
Engineering and Related Technologies	65,933	56,249	122,182	7.8%
Information Technology	41,469	75,671	117,140	7.5%
Architecture and Building	28,563	13,978	42,541	2.7%
Agriculture Environmental and Related	14,504	4,677	19,181	1.2%
TOTAL STUDENTS	255,199	180,666	435,865	27.9%
(Non-STEM)	795,855	327,929	1,123,784	72.1%

Source: Department of Education, Skills and Employment - Higher Education Statistics Data Cube (uCube), based on student and staff data collections. Updated: 1 May 2024.

Undergraduate Health Enrolments

Lerna Courses used the database to identify the number of bachelor-level students enrolled in health-related courses at each higher education institution in Australia. This revealed that the university with the most undergraduate health students was the Australian Catholic University, with 13,823 students enrolled. In contrast, Griffith University had a total of 5,844 health students.

Enrolment Count by State - Institution by Citizenship Category (Course Level=Undergraduate and Field Of Education=Health)

Institution	Domestic	Overseas	Total
Australian Catholic University	11,865	1,958	13,823
University of Tasmania	10,480	374	10,854
La Trobe University	8,845	653	9,498
Western Sydney University	7,162	1,419	8,581
Deakin University	7,472	1,105	8,577
Monash University	5,709	2,773	8,482
Curtin University	5,943	1,424	7,367
University of South Australia	6,179	681	6,860
Queensland University of Technology	5,202	1,261	6,463
The University of Newcastle	5,496	761	6,257
CQUniversity	5,880	81	5,961
Griffith University	4,896	948	5,844

Note: The table continues on and contains 46 entries. Extracted on 19 December 2023.

The data is interesting in many possible ways and one example is to show which universities likely have the most Bachelor of Nursing students. Since nursing programs make up a significant part of the health field, institutions with higher enrolment numbers in health disciplines suggest a larger nursing student population. For instance, a high figure like the Australian Catholic University's suggests it could be a leading provider of nursing education.