Australian IT Enrollment Trends and Model of Contributing Factors

Abstract

Australia, like other western nations, is experiencing a downturn in overall enrollments in higher education information technology (IT) degree courses as well as in the proportion of females selecting these courses. The percentage of women enrolled at a university in Australia, as a proportion of all enrolments, has increased steadily over the last decade from 52% of the total student body in 1993, to 54% in 2003 (DEST, 2004). This increasing number of females on campus is not reflected in IT degree course enrollments, where the number of female commencing students is steadily declining.