Summary

The population analysed is young adults who left school in the years 2009 to 2018 and who enrolled in a public tertiary institution the following year in programmes at any level.

Key findings, including some regional highlights, are presented below:

• Half of school leavers began their tertiary study less than 20 km from where they went to school. However, the remaining half travelled long distances. A third of students commenced their tertiary study 150 km or more from their school.
• School leavers tended to stay within their respective North or South Island for their tertiary studies. But South Island students travelled greater distances on average.
• Otago was the region with the biggest net inflow of school-leaving tertiary students. It had twice as many school leavers from the North Island as from the South Island. This contrasts with Auckland which had predominantly local school-leaving students, because of the high level of access to a wide range of tertiary study options.
• University students were more likely to travel further for study than students at the former Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics.
• Students travelled further for bachelors study than for qualifications below degree level. Broadly, the higher the tertiary qualification enrolled for, the greater the average distance travelled.
• Students also travelled widely varying distances depending on their field of study.