August 29, 2016

UOW shines in 2017 Good Unis Guide star ratings

Student experience has been highlighted as a key performer for the University of Wollongong (UOW) following the official release of national statistics in the 2017 Good Universities Guide.

In a significantly changed ratings method applied for the first time this year, UOW received a five-star rating across seven of the Guide’s key categories, putting the University in the top 20 per cent of institutions in those categories Australia-wide.

For more than a decade the University of Wollongong (UOW) has proven to be outstanding in the area of student experience. Overall, UOW was recognised nationally across all six student experience categories, scoring an impressive five-stars for its high level outcomes in ‘Student retention’, ‘Skills development’, ‘Teaching quality’, ‘Overall satisfaction’, ‘Learner engagement’, ‘Learning resources’ and ‘Student support’.

Under the independent Guide’s new ratings system, only the top 20 per cent of universities can be awarded a five-star rating in any one category. The guide derives its ratings from several data sources such as the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT), the Student Experience Survey and other Commonwealth data.

The Guide also revealed an increase in the University’s rating for ‘Student-staff ratio’, indicating smaller class sizes and more one- on-one interaction between students and teaching staff.

UOW Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings, CBE, said the five-star ratings given to student experience categories can be attributed to the personalised services students receive and the quality of staff at UOW.

“We are very proud to be recognised for our efforts in delivering an exceptional student experience,” Professor Wellings said.

“The support our students receive through teaching, resources and skills development is a testament to the hard work of our staff at every level.

“The results in this survey are very pleasing, particularly given the students themselves have rated their satisfaction at UOW as very high.”

The results also show that 73% of UOW graduates are employed full time within four months of completing their course.