CQ University ranked third in 41 unis for student satisfaction

CQ University student rankings of teaching quality jumped 23 places to fifth, of 41 public universities nationally.

CQ University students Abraham Arellano, Maria Roshel and Jolibee Blasabas are completing a graduate certificate in nursing to gain international entry into the health sector. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

The global COVID pandemic didn’t dampen the satisfaction of CQ University students last year, with a top three national ranking among public universities.

The 2020 national Student Experience Survey SES results of 41 universities released this week saw CQ University ranked third, or fifth when also compared to smaller private institutions.

Student rankings of teaching quality at CQ University jumped 23 places on 2019 results to fifth, while student support results surged 13 places.

Graduates from CQ University were ranked fourth by employers nationally for their technical skills.

Beauty at CQ University students from left, Rebecca Findall, Mikayla Perrett, Jeranrix Parkhurst and Teyha-Lauren Brooks.

While the SES revealed an overall drop in students satisfaction across all 41 universities, 75.3 per cent of CQ University students remained satisfied across a range of areas, the third lowest drop of across the nation.

In a year when most learning and teaching was done online due to COVID, CQ University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Nick Klomp, said the SES results were pleasing.

Professor Klomp said the results were testament to the University’s smooth transition to online learning at the outset of the pandemic.

“CQ University has long been a national leader in online and distance education, and this allowed us to smoothly pivot to full-online delivery in the early days of COVID-19, when national restrictions were implemented,” Professor Klomp said.

“Despite the daily disruptions caused by the pandemic, it is clear that our students have responded positively to this move, with more than 75 per cent satisfaction among undergraduate students – well above the national average of 69 per cent.

“Notably, our undergraduate students expressed strong satisfaction with our teaching quality (83.1 per cent satisfaction), our learning resources (81.3 per cent) and our student support (79.7 per cent), all of which were above the national average for 2020.

“We’re delighted that, as a university, we’ve been able to not only maintain, but improve upon our delivery of world class teaching and student support during such a challenging year for students, universities and society at large.”

Central Queensland University Vice Chancellor Professor Nick Klomp addressed the launch of the book Colonisation Through Black Eyes. Picture Rodney Stevens

In the Employer Satisfaction Survey (ESS), the results of which were released concurrently with those of the SES, CQ University ranked fifth nationally for overall employer satisfaction.

More than 95 per cent of supervisors said their graduate employees’ qualification from CQ University prepared them well or very well for their role, and more than 85 per cent were likely or very likely to hire another CQ University graduate from the same course in the future.

“We’ve long known that CQ University students are among the most employable in the country, and these latest figures confirm that the pandemic has not put a dampener on employers’ enthusiasm for our graduates,” Professor Klomp said.

“I’d like to thank all students and graduate employers who took part in the SES and ESS in 2020, the feedback we receive via these surveys is an invaluable contributor to our continued success as one of Australia’s leading student-focused universities.”

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