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In September 2016, following the release of 2015 student data by the Department of Education and Training (the department), media reports suggested that high attrition rates are symptomatic of poor admission standards; the lower a student's Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) the greater the risk of non-completion; and as a result of the demand driven system, higher student numbers are leading to greater numbers of student drop-outs. The Higher Education Standards Panel (the Panel) argued in its November 2016 report, "Improving the Transparency of Higher Education Admissions" (see ED583548), that this media coverage was alarmist. In response to the Panel's report, the Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Honorable Simon Birmingham asked the Panel to examine Australian higher education completion and attrition to ensure that students have the best chance of successfully completing their enrolled units, courses and qualifications. This final report of the Panel explains how the examination of retention, completion and success in higher education came about, discussing what the higher education sector is saying about factors that impact on these issues. In this report, the Panel notes there is no immediate crisis in higher education, although members are concerned about the imbalance of attrition rates between a small number of institutions and between external and internal or mixed modes of educational delivery. The Panel makes six recommendations on how Australia can further build on its efforts to support students to succeed in higher education: (1) Expectations of completion in the current context; (2) Supporting students to make the right choices; (3) Supporting students to complete their studies; (4) Sharing best practices; (5) Clarifying definitions and enhancing transparency; and (6) Accountability and regulation.

This summary highlights the key findings from the report "A preliminary analysis of the outcomes of students assisted by VET FEE-HELP". VET FEE-HELP is an income-contingent loan scheme that assists eligible students undertaking certain vocational education training (VET) courses with an approved provider by paying for all or part of their tuition costs. Between 2012 and 2014, the number of providers approved to offer VET FEE-HELP doubled, with the number of VET FEE-HELP assisted students more than tripling over the same period. This report finds that the students now most likely to access VET FEE-HELP share similar personal and training characteristics to those historically least likely to complete their training. It is important to note that the data relating to the 2014 calendar year were preliminary and had not been validated by the Department of Education and Training, nor did they contain the records of all students who completed their training in 2014. [For the full report, see ED561220.]