Chapter 85 Investigating the Relationship Between Student Characteristics and Progression: An Archive Study Josua Pienaar, Xianbo Zhao and Nadine Adams 85.1 Introduction In Australia, the revised Higher Education Standards Framework focuses attention on Student Participation and Attainment which covers the education-related expe- riences of students from admission through to attainment of a certified qualification (s) (or part thereof). Within Standard 1.3, it is explicit that higher education insti- tutions must focus on aspects of retention, progression and completion: “Trends in rates of retention, progression and completion of student cohorts through subjects of study are monitored to enable review and improvement”, and “Students have equivalent opportunities for successful transition into and progression through their subject of study, irrespective of their educational background, entry pathway, mode or place of study” (Department of Education and Training 2014). To satisfy Australian Government reporting requirements, the Student Progression Unit (SPU) is used to report progression to government departments (McInnis 2000; Dobson and Sharma 1993). Using the SPU as an organisational ef ficiency measure, it is possible to compare institutional performance. However, it is oversimplified to analyse student progression without consideration into student characteristics. This is because different students usually hold different character- istics, which are likely to influence their progression. Therefore, this study attempts J. Pienaar School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Wayville 5034, SA, Australia X. Zhao (&) School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Sydney 2000, NSW, Australia e-mail: b.zhao@cqu.edu.au N. Adams Academic Learning Services Unit, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton 4702, QLD, Australia © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 K.W. Chau et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6190-5_85 945