How does your university rank in the Student Experience Survey?
The Student Experience Survey (SES), annually conducted by the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT), is an in-depth study of current higher education students in Australia. The survey focuses on measurable parts of the students' experience, such as student support services, peer engagement and skills development. Information collected from the survey is then used to help inform improvements to universities and other higher education providers around the country.
Below are the key findings from the 2024 QILT Student Experience Survey.
Overall quality of educational experience
76.5% of undergraduate students rated their overall educational experience positively, which was essentially unchanged from the previous year's score of 76.7%. While this result continues the improvement of ratings since 2021/22 (mid-COVID-19), it is still slightly lower than the 78-80% range observed prior to the pandemic. For postgraduate students, ratings were similarly stable and have actually exceeded pre-2020 numbers.
Skills development
This focus area helps gauge how students feel their degree is aiding in their knowledge of their chosen field, as well as how it is helping them to grow their skills in areas such as critical thinking, communication, problem solving and teamwork. The Survey found that students generally continue to register solid positive views in this area, with the 2024 rating being 83.1% for undergrads and 81% for postgrads.
Teaching quality and engagement
This area assesses how students are feeling about their teachers (lecturers, tutors and demonstrators). It asks questions around whether they feel tasks are appropriately challenging, whether they have been consistently provided with clear instructions for coursework and whether they receive helpful commentary on how to improve their work. This year's survey found most students rated their teaching practices positively, with undergrads seeing a rating of 80.3% and postgrads 82.8%.
Peer engagement
An important but often overlooked part of any educational experience is the social aspect. Peer engagement asks students to reflect on things like how often they were able to contribute to class discussions, whether they were able to interact with a diverse range of students, and whether or not they interacted socially outside of a study setting. For undergrads, the rating came in at 60.2% which is in line with the continuous improvement we’ve seen since a drop in 2020. For postgrad students, peer engagement is their strongest focus area, with a rise from 53.8% in 2019 to 62.1% in 2024.
Learning resources
Covering areas such as student spaces and common areas, IT resources, online learning materials and equipment quality, learning resources rated moderate to strong at 85% for undergrads and 82.8% for postgrads, with no major change from previous years in either cohort.
Student support and services
In contrast to other areas, student support and services remain a slightly more controversial spot in the survey results.This area focuses on things such as enrolment processes, orientation activities, career development opportunities, health services and learning support. For undergrads, having been on the downward trend since 2019, the 2023 and 2024 results, both 71.2%, were the lowest since 2015. Conversely, postgrad student results have remained steady with a small improvement since last year of 1.1%.
Other findings
Sense of belonging, which covers feelings of connection, inclusion and acceptance, is on a large upward trend for postgrad students, with ratings now surpassing pre-COVID-19 numbers. For undergrad students, however, while there has been a small yearly increase of 0.3%, the numbers are yet to return to what they were prior to 2020.
Considered leaving showed that 18.3% of undergrads and 16% of postgrads had seriously considered leaving their institution in 2024 – these numbers remain pretty consistent with those in the previous few years. For undergrads, the most commonly cited reason for considering leaving was stress levels, whereas for postgrads it was financial difficulties.
