Avondale College of Higher Education student studying in Avondale Libraries (Lake Macquarie campus)

It’s official! Quality education at Avondale

Friday, October 21, 2016
Students give their experience a big tick in national survey

Students are overwhelmingly happy with the quality of their higher education experience, results from a national survey administered for the first time at Avondale show.

Of the 489 undergraduate students who responded to questions in the Student Experience Survey about the overall quality of their educational experience, almost 90 per cent expressed satisfaction with the experience. While slightly fewer responded to questions about teacher quality and skills development, the levels of satisfaction were higher. Satisfaction with learner engagement, learning resources and student support (all between about 75 and 80 per cent) were marginally lower.

For the first time, the survey included feedback from students enrolled at non-university higher education institutions such as Avondale. More than 145,000 students from 40 universities and 39 non-university higher education institutions participated.

“The survey demonstrates Avondale can hold its own when benchmarked against other higher education institutions,” says Vice-President (Quality and Strategy) Professor Jane Fernandez. “We take great pride in the quality of our academic staff and in their research and scholarship, which informs the quality of our teaching.”

Avondale student Lindsey Birch completed the survey this past year and in previous years. The Bachelor of Arts chaplaincy major says the results “more or less” reflect her own thoughts.

Birch and other students completing the survey had the opportunity to answer 46 questions and two open-response items. The response rate at Avondale—more than 42 per cent—compares favourably with the rate (39 per cent) at other non-university higher education institutions.

However, Fernandez commissioned a campaign to encourage more students to complete the survey this year. “Avondale is focused on validation and continuous improvement and this is largely evident through our responsiveness to external input such as this survey, to the consistent overhaul of our policy and processes and to our investment in quality systems and the professional development.”

The Social Research Centre administered the Student Experience Survey on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education and Training as part of the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching initiative. The results are important because the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching website allows users to compare up to six institutions in six different categories.

Fernandez is pleased with Avondale’s ratings. “Students can come to the college with confidence and look forward to a dynamic experience of growth and development in a spiritually enhanced, nurturing and academically-driven environment.”

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Jefferson Shaw
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Jefferson Shaw

Jefferson Shaw is a Bachelor of Arts student majoring in communication and in English at Avondale College of Higher Education.