Universities Australia has released its first annual report on “gains in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation, retention and success in universities.”

UA sets out plenty of positives, for example, Indigenous enrolments “on track to hit one of the key UA targets—enrolments at 50 per cent above the growth rate for non-Indigenous enrolments, or preferably at twice the rate.” But UA also acknowledges its members are not steaming towards all objectives – completion rates after nine years, for example,  are 47 per cent for Indigenous students compared to 74 per cent for others.

This does not impress Braedyn Edwards from the Union of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students.

“Statistics like these can often times paint a poor picture of Indigenous students, but I believe it instead reflects poorly on institutions. People get caught up in the importance of getting our mob enrolled in university, but what are universities doing to help keep them there? …  What remains unclear from reading this report are the complex reasons why Indigenous students are not completing their studies. Financial stress, family and community commitments and unsafe environments are all reasons why Indigenous students are completing their studies at lower rates than non-Indigenous students.”

Other UA conclusions include:

* “universities increasingly reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation, culture and research   as key areas of focus in their strategic documents and business plans – in varying levels of measurability and detail.”

* Indigenous cultural training for senior executives is not mandatory, but “almost all universities” provide on-line or in-person cultural training for staff.

* the Indigenous professional staff workforce is increasing. Bu while the level of senior academics who are Indigenous has doubled since 2005, it is “proportionately below non-Indigenous senior academics.”