Returns to education for those returning to education: evidence from Australia

Abstract

There is widespread support for expanding access to universities for under-represented groups, such as students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and older students, because of the higher rates of return to university degrees. This study examines whether this assumption holds true for mature-aged graduates who have received their degrees in an era of mass participation. Using data from Australia, where around a quarter of university students are now over 25 years of age, the returns to higher education of mature-aged and younger graduates between 2001 and 2009 were compared. It was found that mature-aged graduates are more likely to reside in less-advantaged areas and to be the first person in their family to attend university but are less likely to be employed in the year before graduation, compared to younger graduates. However, in the year after graduation, employment status and earnings do not differ significantly for graduates regardless of their age at graduation.

Keywords:

• mature-age students
• Australia
• employment
• earnings
• expansion of higher education

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the SRHE Annual Research Conference 2011, ‘Positive futures for higher education; connections, communities and criticality’, 7–9 December 2011, Celtic Manor Resort.

This article uses unit record data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The HILDA Project was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) and is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (MIAESR). The findings and views reported in this article, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to either FaHCSIA or the MIAESR.

Notes

1. ATAR is a number between 0 and 99.95 with increments of 0.05 and is calculated from an aggregate of scaled marks in 10 units of ATAR eligible courses. Using a common scale overcomes the difficulties of comparing students from different states and territories (UAC 2011).

2. Service class refers to those with parents who have professional or managerial occupations.

3. Manual class refers to those with parents who have low-skilled manual or non-manual occupations.