From the Chancellery
Anna Ciccarelli
Pro Vice Chancellor & Vice President: International & Development
New research shows that Australian university graduates earn $1.5
million more over the course of their working lives than their
counterparts who stopped studying in Year 12.
Data extracted from a recent AMP NATSEM report - ‘What price the clever country?’- offers young people something significant to consider as they take their first steps beyond high school.
For example a male university graduate will earn an average of $1549 a week, compared with his non-graduate counterpart who can expect an average income of just $811 a week.
With SATAC applications closing at the end of this month (September 30), UniSA is preparing to welcome the next generation of professionals, leaders and decision-makers to our campuses.
UniSA’s successful Open Day last month, our largest community engagement event which this year attracted more than 11,000 people to the City West campus, demonstrated the involvement of parents and families in young people’s decision making about tertiary education.
We also welcomed many professional people seeking opportunities to re-skill and upgrade their qualifications.
What is very clear is that young people are savvy in their deliberations - along with what their parents and peers views and expectations are, they consider factors such as where the jobs of the future will be, which industries promise growth and what fields will be in high demand in the State.
But expediency and pragmatism alone do not necessarily guide the best choices. It is still true that personal interest and passion are vital in determining success and fulfilment in a chosen field.
Choosing an undergraduate degree is just the first of many career decisions students will make over a lifetime.
Universities today understand that more than ever before. We recognise it is important to provide the resources and training necessary to prepare students for the 21st century by offering innovative, flexible, and experiential learning programs.
UniSA’s approach is to educate for the professions and to give students the skills to build life-long careers so they can work anywhere in the world.
Our student mobility programs and the internationalisation of our curriculum along with the teaching and learning initiatives that Professor Lee wrote about in last month’s column, all ensure that our graduates can compete locally, nationally and internationally.
Fresh data from the 2008 Australian Graduate Survey shows 84 per cent of UniSA bachelor graduates were in full-time employment in 2008, a figure which compares well nationally (85 per cent); and with Flinders University (82 per cent); and the University of Adelaide (81 per cent).
This is great news for students choosing to study at UniSA.
But it is important to see what higher education delivers beyond individual prosperity.
When we talk about making a difference, it is an individual potential but it is also the whole potential of higher education to lift the social and economic wellbeing of communities and societies.
The current challenge for the South Australian community is to address recommendations on a range of issues including increased participation in and access to education for equity groups in line with the Review of Australian Higher Education Final Report (the Bradley Review) released in December last year.
The Bradley Review recommendations set significant targets for higher education participation, including a target for 40 per cent of Australians aged between 25 and 34 to have a higher degree by 2020.
Improving SA’s achievement from 22 per cent will be everyone’s concern in the years ahead.
Already UniSA draws 25 per cent of its domestic student population from low socio-economic backgrounds. We are striving to help lift the State’s participation rate and to build educational and career aspirations and opportunities for more and more South Australians.
UniSA will continue to play a major role in preparing individuals for 21st century careers and future employment patterns and in doing so, make a significant contribution to the State’s socio-economic development and a degree of difference in the wider world.