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However this is not entirely the case for Far South Coast school leavers and mature age students, according to one university.

It was reported that enrolments from regional areas had fallen by over six per cent while enrolments from remote areas dropped by 23 per cent.

But the University of Wollongong, which has campuses in Batemans Bay, Bega and the Shoalhaven, has worked against the decline by offering educational opportunities to students in their local communities.

Batemans Bay centre manager Gayl Vidgen said 23 per cent of the university’s student population were from low socio-economic backgrounds, which is above the 20 per cent target that has been set by Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard.

The centre’s project officer, Tess Snowball, said the new figures were not an issue for the local campus, which has a number of high achieving students from low socio-economic backgrounds.

“It’s not an issue for the University of Wollongong, mostly because of the area that we live in,” she said.

“The student population is 30 per cent low socio-economic, but they have average marks in the 70s.”

Ms Snowball added that the drop in enrolments due to the pressures of leaving home to live at or near a metropolitan campus during tough economic times was a big step for students to take.

“It can be very difficult for a student to go to uni and have to move from home, which can be very expensive,” she said. “It’s a big step.”

The growth of the Batemans Bay campus has averaged 11 per cent each year and there will be 24 graduating students this year, twice the number compared to last year.

“The university has achieved a lot in a small community and doesn’t have the same issues as other universities,” Ms Snowball said.

The pair also said they had received comments from mature age students about the opportunity of attending a regional university campus.

“They said to us that they would never had thought they would get a university degree if we weren’t here,” Ms Vidgen said.