Student Voice

Student Experience Survey (SES)

The national Student Experience Survey (SES) is administered by the Social Research Centre on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment and is part of the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) suite of surveys.  

The survey aims to capture a holistic view of the student experience by asking students about a range of questions, including about teaching on their program, the quality of the learning resources, the assessment tasks they undertook, the structure of their degree, and the support services provided.

The SES gives students the opportunity to reflect on their time at UNSW and is one of the most important surveys students will be asked to complete. As well as informing key strategic decisions within the University, high level outcomes from the SES are available to the public and the outcomes also inform national ratings.

Taking these surveys seriously is a central component of the Listening, Challenging, Supporting strategy and our efforts to improve continually the UNSW student experience.

Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) and Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ)

Students complete both The Graduate Outcomes Questionnaire (GOS) and Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) at the same time as part of the same survey. These surveys focus mainly on graduate destinations such as further study or employment.

Information collected for Graduate Satisfaction is sourced from the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ), information about graduate employment outcomes is sourced from the Graduate Destinations Survey (GDS) and the Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS).

The in-scope population includes undergraduate and postgraduate higher education students:

• who completed their qualification consistent with the cycle of graduation ceremonies (i.e. July graduates are surveyed in November and December graduates are surveyed in the following May)
• as an international or domestic onshore student.

Data collected for CEQ is linked to three indicators:

1. Overall satisfaction
2. Good teaching
3. Generic skills

Data collected for GOS is linked to four indicators:

1. Graduates in full-time employment
2. Graduates in overall employment
3. Graduates in full-time study
4. Median salary of graduates in full-time employment

Graduate Outcomes Survey — Longitudinal (GOS-L)

The Graduate Outcomes Survey – Longitudinal (GOS-L) supplements the Graduate Outcomes Survey by measuring the medium-term employment outcomes of higher education graduates, approximately three years after they have completed their course. The GOS-L is based on a cohort analysis of graduates who responded to the Graduate Destinations Survey.

The GOS-L presents results by level of study including undergraduate, postgraduate coursework and postgraduate research whereas previously the GOS-L presents results analysing undergraduate responses only.

The GOS-L replaced the Beyond Graduation Survey (BGS) in 2016.

Employer Satisfaction Survey (ESS)

The Employer Satisfaction Survey (ESS) represents the largest survey of its kind, reporting the views of over 4,000 employers about the attributes of recent graduates from Australian higher education institutions including universities and non-university higher education institutions (NUHEIs). Employer views of the technical skills, generic skills and work readiness of recent graduates provide assurance about the quality of Australia’s higher education sector. This survey was first run in 2016, with over 3,000 employers responding.

All employment supervisors of GOS graduates are in-scope for the ESS. Contact with employment supervisors takes place after responses are collected from the GOS.