Student experience getting better but more work to do

Surveys of Australian universities show that student experience is starting to improve but there is more work to be done.

The Student Experience and International Student Experience Surveys for 2021 have been released today.

The surveys are released annually and assess the overall learning experience, student engagement and resources available to students across 139 universities and other higher education providers.

The worst of COVID is hopefully behind us, but its impact on students is still here and you can see it in the data.

Students’ lives have been turned upside down by the pandemic. One day they were in the classroom with friends, the next they were in their bedroom on Zoom.

One of the things the Universities Accord will look at is how the pandemic has changed the way we study and work and what that means for our universities.

Key findings of the surveys include:

• Satisfaction rate is 73 per cent overall – up four per cent from 2021.
• 93 per cent of international students report a positive experience living in Australia and their satisfaction rate is improved on last year.
• Satisfaction with learning resources, which assesses quality and access to resources, increased by four per cent to 80 per cent.
• Accommodation and opportunities for students to improve English language skills each scored a 93 per cent approval rating.
• Student ratings of teaching quality, student support, and skills development remained relatively stable.

The full results from both the 2021 Student Experience Survey and the 2021 International Student Experience Survey can be found at the QILT website: www.qilt.edu.au/surveys/student-experience-survey-(ses).