Regional students face financial, geographic isolation barriers to university dreams

Follow all the action from the AFL Finals clash between Geelong and Collingwood in our live blog

Isabella Smith always knew she wanted to go to university but, growing up in the regional New South Wales town of Griffith, she wasn't sure her dream would become a reality.

Ms Smith said the financial burden of accommodation and university costs was the "big barrier" to moving away from home, with some of her peers unable to choose when they started.

"Some decided to work for a few years to get some money under their belt so they can have that opportunity to eventually move away and be able to afford the costs associated with university," she said.

"I was luckily awarded a scholarship through the Country Education Foundation (CEF) … without their support, I would be lost."

Ms Smith became the first in her family to attend university and said, without financial support and the guidance of teachers and careers advisers, she may never have had the opportunity to study psychology at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.

"I was about 15 when Griffith had a real spike in suicide rates. That really sparked my drive to become a psychologist and work in a remote area," she said.

"It was just heartbreaking to see the impact on the community — it made me want to study psychology and make a difference."

Ms Smith chose to study in Bathurst rather than accept a place at a university in Melbourne. She plans to return to a regional area to work as a psychologist when she graduates.

"Whether it's Griffith or elsewhere I want to stay in regional communities where resources and access to mental health facilities are at an all-time low."

The Country Education Foundation surveyed 968 scholarship applicants and found half did not know they were eligible for government support.

Nicole Wright, manager of impact and communications, says more accessible information is needed.

Eleanor McCormack got the "fresh start" she had long dreamed of on the mainland — until people found out where she came from.

"Government support is amazing but can be quite complex and hard to navigate," she said.

"There is support available like Tertiary Access Payments and Youth Allowance, but a lot of our students initially don't qualify for Youth Allowance … until they've been out at uni and working for 12 months.

"Eligibility criteria could perhaps better support our regional students that have to move and live independently almost immediately."

Education Minister Jason Clare was not available to comment. A spokesperson has said in a statement that initiatives are promoted by several means including targeted social media campaigns and through education providers.

"We continue to work with state and territory education authorities to ensure all students can access a high-quality school education no matter of where they live," the statement said.

The Labor Government last week announced $485.5 million in funding for an additional 20,000 university places for students from under-represented backgrounds. This includes regional students, those from First Nations backgrounds, students living with a disability and those who are the first in their family to attend university.

Applications open this month for higher education providers to compete for the additional places in skills shortage areas like education, health, engineering and technology.

Chris Ronan, president of the Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia, says the initiative is a "welcome and positive step in the right direction" but wants to see it broadened.

"People from regional and rural areas, Indigenous and low-income backgrounds don't necessarily just study education, health, engineering and technology," he said.

"They should be able to study any degree from any university in Australia."

Mr Ronan said research by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education found regional students craved practical advice.

"Students didn't appreciate universities going in and talking about aspiration because those aspirations were there," he said.

"What they desired was pragmatic information like: How do I catch a bus when I'm in the city? How do I budget? What's my rent going to be?

"Finance and distance are the two largest barriers … governments believe providing more access or providing a greater number of places is going to solve that challenge.

"It's a tool but it's not the solution in and of itself." 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.

This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced.

AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)