Higher Education Success Factor Model: A Means to Explore Factors Influencing Indigenous Australian Completion Rates

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled at universities continues to increase; however, completion rates have not. In this study, we sought to understand what contributes to university completion rates by Indigenous Australian students. We employed a mixed-method approach, utilising the higher education success factor (HESF) model to investigate the factors that influence completion. In total, we surveyed 308 Indigenous Australians who had graduated between 2018 to 2022. We found that the social environment, economic conditions, and individual characteristics were identified as three factors influencing the completion of Indigenous university graduates. We report that this model has worked well to provide a means to identify factors influencing Indigenous Australian success in higher education. Academic institutions can now use this model to identify how they can best support Indigenous Australian students by examining the three factors we have identified to see where their weaknesses may lie and where improvement can be made.