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Australia needs to address the education gap between metropolitan and rural students. Rural students are less likely to go to university; when they do go they are more likely to be older and studying part-time or externally; and they are more likely to leave university without gaining a degree. In this submission to an independent review of regional, rural and remote education, Grattan Institute Higher Education Program Director Andrew Norton and Fellow Ittima Cherastidtham call for government policy that encourages rural students to study full-time and on-campus soon after leaving school, to enhance their chances of completing a degree.