Danika Fatnowna and other students on the Lake Macquarie campus.

A top-tier university

Friday, August 11, 2023
Brenton Stacey
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Brenton Stacey

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Brenton is Avondale University’s Public Relations and Philanthropy Officer. He brings to the role experience as a communicator in publishing, media relations, public relations, radio and television, mostly within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific and its entities.

Students rank their experience at Avondale among the best in Australia

Avondale is a top-tier university for domestic and international student experience, according to the latest and only comprehensive national survey of higher education students.

The 2022 Student Experience Survey ranks us first (international students) and second (domestic students) among undergraduates for quality of educational experience compared to the 41 other universities in Australia.

When you include both student cohorts and aggregate data over two years, we are the top-ranked university in Australia for quality of educational experience and quality of teaching practices.

Our Bachelor of Nursing course is number one across all focus areas—skills development, learner engagement, teaching quality, student support, learning resources and quality of the educational experience. This is the best result—for the third consecutive year—of the 37 universities and higher education providers offering the course.

And our teacher education courses are number one for quality of educational experience, quality of teaching practices and learner engagement, compared to the 36 universities and higher education providers offering similar courses.

The results are a “tribute to our students who take the time to share their feedback and make Avondale a vibrant place to learn, live, study and worship,” says Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Kerri-Lee Krause.

She also acknowledges the “commitment and passion” of staff members. “Our students appreciate the personalised experience and the care they receive. They value the sense of belonging that comes from feeling like they’re part of a community—both on campus and online.” Kerri-Lee mentions co- and extra-curricular offerings such as the Avondale Character Experience Laboratory wellbeing program and activities and services—including chaplaincy and service learning—provided by the team from Avondale Student Life as helping create this sense of belonging. “These complement top-quality teaching and the rigour of academic study.”

Almost half of the students enrolled at Avondale in September this past year completed the 2022 Student Experience Survey, well above the national average response rate of 37 per cent.

Avondale is an independent higher education provider, and they typically rank well in the survey. But “when you have a relatively small sample, one or two dissatisfied students can make a big impact on your results,” says Kerri-Lee. “So, feedback from students is key to keeping us on our toes. We take commitment to quality seriously, which means integrating a student voice in our planning and decision-making to ensure we’re listening to and learning from their experience.”

The Student Experience Survey helps higher education institutions and the government improve teaching and learning outcomes for students. It is part of the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching survey program and funded by the Australian Government Department of Education.

Visit www.compared.edu.au to explore and compare higher education institutions and study areas. The website aggregates data over two years and includes domestic and international student and graduate responses for more consistent and accurate results.

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