Regional students making big city move

Regional students throughout Australia are moving at unprecedented levels to the big smoke to study.

A study funded by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education at Curtin University shows the number of students shifting from regional towns to city universities has increased by more than 75 per cent between 2008 and 2014.

That's a rise from roughly 29,000 students to more than 50,000.

La Trobe University Associate Professor Buly Cardak, who co-authored the report, said financial restraints were no longer an inhibitor for students moving to the city.

He added the government should reassess education funding models in light of the trend.

"How might the government prioritise funding allocations now that we know an increasing number of regional students are instead choosing metropolitan campuses," he said.

"Do they invest more in the city, providing infrastructure and support for migrating students? Or do they increase incentives for students to stay in, or return to, regional locations?"

The report, which looked at students' home addresses when they first started university, also found a growing proportion of mature age students, students with disabilities and indigenous students were making a city move.