This report focuses on changes in the mode of attendance among Australian domestic undergraduate students over the past four years, with a focus on the 2024 period. It explored whether students were studying on-campus (internal), online (external), or through a mix of both (multi-modal), and how this varied across equity groups.

Key findings

• Enrolment patterns across Australia’s higher education sector have remained remarkably stable since 2021.
• About half of domestic undergraduate students were studying internally and nearly a quarter externally, with the rest opting for a multi-modal approach.
• Among the key equity groups, students from low socio-economic status areas, regional and remote areas, and First Nations Australian students were significantly more likely to study externally than their peers.
• For most of these groups, institutions with higher equity participation also tended to have higher external enrolment shares, suggesting online study plays an important role in widening access.
• The availability and uptake of external study options varied considerably across universities.