2901.0 - Census Dictionary, 2006 (Reissue)  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/08/2007  Reissue
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Contents >> Short Definitions and Classifications - 2006 >> Full/Part-Time Student Status (STUP) - Characteristics 2006

Full/Part-Time Student Status

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Description
Classification
Quality Statement


Description

This variable records the full/part-time status of students. More Detailed Description


Classification

Applicable to: All persons

1 Not attending
2 Full-time student
3 Part-time student
4 Not stated-both institution (TYPP) and full/part-time status (STUP) not stated
& Not stated-institution (TYPP) stated, full/part-time status (STUP) not stated
V Overseas visitor

Total number of categories: 6

More Detailed Description
Quality Statement - Full/Part-Time Student Status (STUP)

There are many aspects which can affect the quality of Census data; the following information should be considered when viewing data on Full/Part-Time Student Status (STUP).

This data was captured automatically from check box responses on the form so the risk of processing error is minimal. Sample checks of the data are undertaken to ensure an acceptable level of quality.

The non-response rate for 2006 was 7.5% compared with 4.2% for 2001. Part of this non-response is attributable to the 3.9% of persons aged over 2 years, applicable to Full/Part-Time Student Status (STUP), who were in dwellings which were occupied on Census Night but did not return a completed form. Persons were imputed into these dwellings together with some demographic characteristics. However the values for STUP remain not stated. Note that all persons aged 2 years and under, including imputed persons, have STUP set to 'No'. In 2001, 2.1% of persons aged over 2 years were imputed into dwellings for which no form was received.

The question for Full/Part-Time Student Status (STUP) followed a series of new questions on the Census form for 2006, and this may have had an impact on response rates.

The non-response rates include a small proportion of people (0.3% in 2006 and 0.2% in 2001) who did not indicate whether they were students at the Full/Part Time Student Status (STUP) question but went on to state the type of educational institution attended at the next question, Type of Educational Institution Attending (TYPP). The majority of these (70.2% in 2006 and 80.1% in 2001) were aged under 20 years of age. Children aged under 15 years comprised 58.3% and 70.9% of the population who did not indicate whether they were students at the Full/Part Time Student Status (STUP) question but went on to state the type of educational institution attended for the 2006 and 2001 Censuses, respectively.

In a small proportion of cases (testing has indicated that this is around 1%), respondents provide an incorrect number of responses (for STUP, respondents are asked to only mark one response). In these cases responses are accepted in the order they appear on the form and the extra responses are rejected.

Additional sources of information regarding student status can be found in other ABS publications and associated collections, including:
  • Education and Work, Australia (ABS Cat. No. 6227.0, various years), which presents information from the Survey of Education and Work about the educational experience of people aged 15-64 years, especially in relation to their labour force status
  • Education and Training Experience, Australia (ABS Cat. No. 6278.0, various years), which presents information from the Survey of Education and Training about the education and training experiences of people aged 15-74 years.
  • Schools, Australia (ABS Cat. No. 4221.0, various years), which presents statistics from the National Schools Statistics Collection (NSSC), covering government and non-government schools.

Note that the Survey of Education and Work and the Survey of Education and Training generally do not have non-response in the Full/Part-Time Student Status question due to using an interviewer based collection methodology.

The ABS aims to produce high quality data from the Census. To achieve this, extensive effort is put into Census form design, collection procedures, and processing procedures. More details regarding these efforts can be found in:

All are available from the ABS Website.

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