The Students We Don’t See: Characterising Student Experience in Australian Higher Education using Latent Class Analysis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4013

Keywords:

Latent Class Analysis (LCA), student experience, intersectionality, higher education equity , student retention, academic performance

Abstract

Australian higher education equity policy has traditionally relied on demographic indicators to identify students at risk. While these classifications remain essential for addressing structural disadvantage, they may obscure variation in how students experience university. Using a person-centred Latent Class Analysis (LCA), this study examined multidimensional patterns of underlying student experience and their associations with intention to leave and academic performance. Drawing on nationally representative data from the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) Student Experience Survey (SES) from 2019 to 2022 (approximately 230,000 domestic undergraduate students), five latent classes were identified, characterised by distinct configurations of belonging, engagement, institutional support, satisfaction, and external pressures. These classes were stable across survey years and formed a clear hierarchy of risk. Students in the “Disengaged” and “Engaged but under-supported” classes consistently showed the highest likelihood of considering leaving university or reporting a fail grade, whereas those in the “Happy overall” class demonstrated the lowest risk. Each equity group contained a heterogeneous mix of experience classes. Findings suggest that experience-based approaches can complement existing equity frameworks by enabling more nuanced identification of student vulnerability.

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Author Biographies

Dr Novia Minaee, Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success

Dr Novia Minaee is a Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES). She holds a PhD in Biomedical Science from Murdoch University and specialises in statistical modelling, machine learning, and the analysis of complex population datasets. Her research interests include student equity, higher education outcomes, educational data analytics, and the application of quantitative methods to inform policy and practice. Her current work focuses on understanding patterns of participation, success and student experience in Australian higher education using large-scale national survey datasets.

 

 

 

Dr Paul Koshy, Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success

Dr Paul Koshy is a Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES), based at Curtin University. His primary area of research interest is the determinants of higher education participation and outcomes in Australia and the implications for policy.

 

 

Associate Professor Gemma Cadby, Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success

Associate Professor Gemma Cadby is Director of the Data Program at the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES), where she leads a portfolio of data initiatives supporting the higher education sector to better understand and improve student equity outcomes. Her work focuses on enhancing the accessibility, quality, and use of equity-related data to support evidence-informed policy and practice across the sector. She has extensive experience in genetic epidemiology and data linkage, with previous roles at the University of Western Australia and the Western Australian Department of Health.

 

 

Professor Ian Li, Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success

Professor Ian Li is the Director of the Research and Policy program at the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success. Ian’s expertise is in health and labour economics, with current work focusing on topics in higher education equity and policy such as higher education access and participation for students from equity backgrounds, the intersection between employment and university study and determinants of student experience and academic outcomes. Ian has over 100 publications, including articles published in top journals in his field such as Social Science and Medicine, Higher Education, and policy-oriented journals such as the Economic Record and the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. His research has been funded by nationally competitive schemes including the NHMRC, NCVER, and NCSEHE. He is an IZA Fellow at the IZA Network, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, and he has held visiting appointments at Harvard University, Swansea University, and the University of Melbourne. 

 

 

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Published

30-06-2026

How to Cite

Minaee, N., Koshy, P., Cadby, G., & Li, I. (2026). The Students We Don’t See: Characterising Student Experience in Australian Higher Education using Latent Class Analysis. Student Success. https://doi.org/10.63608/ssj.4013

Issue

Online First

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Dr Novia Minaee, Dr Paul Koshy, Associate Professor Gemma Cadby, Professor Ian Li

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International Licence (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.