Student feedback
Feedback from our students on programs, courses and teaching helps us constantly improve the quality of the university experience. Student feedback enables us to make positive changes to our teaching practices and ensures we deliver programs that meet all students' expectations.
Internal Student Surveys
Students will be asked to provide confidential feedback in the following internal surveys. Further details on these surveys can also be found in the Survey Register.
Enhancing the student experience and student satisfaction through addressing issues raised in student feedback is a key strategic objective for the University of Newcastle. The Strategy, Planning and Performance (SPP) team administers the Course Experience Survey (CES) to gather student perceptions of their experiences in individual courses. This includes onshore and offshore semester, trimester and seasonal (Summer/Winter) courses. Ongoing feedback from students on their course experiences helps highlight what is being done well and further areas for focus.
The CES replaces the Student Feedback on Courses (SFC) and Student Feedback on Teaching (SFT) surveys used prior to 2020. In the CES, students are asked about the course generally, then are prompted to select any teachers in the course that they would like to provide feedback specifically. For each teacher they select, students complete a series of questions comprising the teacher feedback.
RESOURCES:
Course Experience Booklet for Staff
The Orientation survey is administered to all commencing domestic and international onshore students, and gathers student perceptions of their experiences during orientation.The postgraduate orientation survey also seeks information about the decision making process and University selection (Commencing from 2020).
A separate survey is administered for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Undergraduate: each semester
Postgraduate: each semester and trimester
The Course Experience Survey (Unique Delivery) is designed for courses that sit outside of the standard coursework courses; including career-ready placement courses (with 4 or more weeks of placement), Honours/major project courses, overseas/out of area experiences.
The CES (Unique Delivery) is run as an alternative to the Course Experience Survey (CES), as a means of collecting end of term student feedback.
Course Coordinators are required to identify their preference for the CES (Unique Delivery) survey during the CES Course & Teacher Confirmation Survey run each term after the Census date.
The Student Feedback on the University of Newcastle (SFUN) survey is completed by all students every two years and gathers feedback on our University services, systems and facilities. The survey covers everything from getting to campus, safety and security, events, health and wellbeing services, timetabling, food and retail outlets and more.
A total of 9769 students responded to the survey in 2023 - check out the results!
The Commencing Students Survey (CSS) captures feedback from commencing students regarding their experiences at the beginning of their program. The survey has a focus on pre-university decision-making and communication, enrolment, timetabling and awareness of our University services. The CSS is administered every two years and was last conducted in March 2019.
Contact the Student and Staff Insights team at surveys@newcastle.edu.au for more information.
External Student Surveys
Throughout the year, students may also be asked to complete the following external surveys:
The Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) is an annual, national census of newly qualified graduates in Australia. Students graduating from the University of Newcastle are invited to complete this survey approximately four months after completing their program.
The International Student Barometer (ISB) is an International benchmarking survey of international onshore students conducted by I-Graduate.
The Student Experience Survey (SES) is the only comprehensive survey of current higher education students in Australia. The survey is designed to collect information that will help both higher education institutions and the government improve teaching and learning outcomes, and reports on multiple facets of the student experience.
The SES is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.