Surveys

The Office of Planning and Quality (OPQ) administers a number of national and institutional based surveys targeted to students, staff, employers and the community. The University of Western Sydney’s Tracking and Improvement System for Teaching and Learning outlines the various feedback surveys conducted by the University. The results are used to both prove and improve quality learning, teaching and its support of UWS.

To view details for a particular survey simply select the appropriate link below:

Student Satisfaction Survey (SSS)

The UWS Student Satisfaction Survey gathers feedback from students on their experience of the University. It covers student perceptions of teaching, learning, student administration, student services, the Library, IT services, learning sources, facilities and food. There are a total of 86 items which are ranked on both importance and performance.

The survey targets a representative sample of 7000 undergraduate and postgraduate (coursework) students. Both paper and online versions are used to gather student feedback. This survey is conducted every two years.

This survey was conducted at UWS for the first time in October 2004, and replaces the earlier Through Students Eyes and First Year Experience Surveys. Results of the SSS survey have been analysed by organisational units with responsbilities in the main service provision areas covered by the survey, leading to the targeting of development and improvement strategies.

Surveys, Results and Action Taken	Report
Student Satisfaction Survey - Questionnaire	[PDF - 300KB]
Student Satisfaction Survey - Quantitative Results Report 2006/07	[PDF - 163KB] (requires staff login)
Student Satisfaction Survey - Qualitative Report 2006/07	[PDF - 93KB] (requires staff login)
Student Satisfaction Survey - Results Report 2004/05	[PDF - 69KB] (requires staff login)
Actions taken as a result of Student Survey conducted in 2006/07	[PDF - 125KB]
Actions taken as a result of the Student Satisfaction Survey in 2004	[PDF - 130KB]

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Australian Graduate Survey (AGS)

The Australian Graduate Survey (AGS) is a national survey which includes the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and Graduate Destination Survey (GDS). The AGS is administered by the Graduate Careers Australia.

The CEQ measures student satisfaction of their course experience at the university and the GDS consists of questions about graduates' work or further study and salary.

All graduating student are highly recommended to participate in AGS. The findings of the survey will help the university improve on areas where improvement is needed. The survey data is also used by students and their advisers for career and study choices; by higher education institutions for future planning; and by employers when developing recruitment policies and programs. Results of these previous surveys, as well as information concerning graduate employment and starting salaries, are available on Graduate Careers Australia web site.

All Australian higher education institutions participate in this survey on annual basis. The survey targets all students who have completed an undergraduate or postgraduate course work degree. Institutions use three core and up to three optional scales.

Both hard copy and online versions of the CEQ are used by UWS. The response rate on the CEQ at UWS varies from between 45 per cent - 55 per cent.

Results of the AGS inform the UWS Annual Course Performance Reports, which are accessible from the table below:

Surveys and Results	Report
Australian Graduate Survey (AGS)	[PDF - 62KB]
Annual Course Performance Reports	[UG and PG] (requires staff login)

Links to national data on the CEQ is available on the Universities Australia Web site.

To obtain a copy of the GCA's national report on the CEQ published by Graduate Careers Australia, contact Mahsood Shah.

 

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Student Feedback on Units Survey (SFU)

The UWS Student Feedback on Units Survey (SFU) gathers feedback from students on the individual units of study in which they are enrolled each semester. The SFU comprises 13 items relating to unit quality including content and relevance, assessment, learning environment, learning experience and outcomes, and workload. As well as ranking each item, students are invited to comment on best aspects and aspects needing improvement in the unit.

At UWS, SFU reports are available in July for semester 1 and in December for semester 2.  The university provides three sets of reports to each college, schools and the unit coordinators.  The reports include:

1. School level report - has results for all units surveyed in the school with information such as; survey issues, survey received, response rate and mean score for each item.  The report shows the results on each scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree and it also has the best aspect and needs improvement hits using CEQuery;
2. Traffic light report - comparison of semester 1 and 2 results with trend changes using colour codes;
3. Individual unit report - has results for each unit on each item with overall UWS mean score, school mean score on the same item and finally the mean score for the relevant unit.  The report also shows the rating on each item and details of response rate.  The individual unit report also has cleaned open ended comments on best aspect and needs improvement in a single PDF file.

The following reports for 2006/2007 summarise the results by school and by item:

Surveys and Results	Report
Student Feedback on Units - Results Semester 1, 2006	[PDF - 128KB]
Student Feedback on Units - Results Semester 2, 2006	[PDF - 128KB]
Student Feedback on Units - Results Semester 1, 2007	[PDF - 129KB]
Student Feedback on Units - Results Semester 2, 2007	[PDF - 129KB]
For a copy of the UWS SFU questionnaire	[PDF - 42KB]

More detailed copies of the SFU results can be obtained from College Executive Deans, College Associate Deans (Academic) and Heads of School.

For further information about the SFU survey, please contact Mahsood Shah.

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Student Feedback on Teaching (SFT)

The purpose of the SFT survey is primarily to assist individual teaching staff in reflecting on their own teaching, and in targeting areas for development and improvement.  The survey continues to represent a key source of information in teaching evaluation processes which are amongst the obligations of academic staff mandated in the University's Enterprise Agreement, and comprising an essential element in their own performance and career development.  The survey comprises 31 items grouped into nine dimensions of teaching with 2 open ended questions, and a staff member self-evaluation survey.

At UWS, SFT result is confidential to the teacher only.  The university provides a report to the relevant teaching staff at the end of each semester via email.  The report has mean score for each item with comparison at overall UWS, school and individual teacher.  The report has results using ratings and it also has the details of response rate.  Firnally the SFT report also has cleaned open ended comments on best aspects and needs improvement in a single PDF file.

Obtain a copy of the UWS SFT survey [PDF - 15KB]

Obtain a copy of the UWS Staff Member Self Rating survey [PDF - 92KB]

You can request to order your SFT forms at: http://www.uws.edu.au/staff/adminorg/corpserv/opq/teacheval

For further information about the SFT survey, please contact Mahsood Shah.

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Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire (PREQ)

The PREQ is a national survey administered by the Graduate Careers Australia. All Australian higher education institutions participate in this survey on an annual basis. The survey targets all graduating students who have completed Research degrees.

The current PREQ survey consists of 28 items and is made up of the following six scales:

1. Supervision
2. Intellectual Climate
3. Skills Development
4. Infrastructure
5. Thesis Examination Process
6. Clarity of Goals and Expectation
7. Overall Satifaction

Obtain a copy of the UWS PREQ questionnaire [PDF - 195KB]

The results of PREQ inform the UWS Annual Course Report (requires staff login)

To obtain a copy of the national report on PREQ published by Graduate Careers Australia, contact Mahsood Shah.

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Research Student Satisfaction Survey (RSSS)

The UWS Research Student Satisfaction Survey targets all currently enrolled research students and taps research students' perceptions of their total student experience of the university.  Areas investigated include the quality of supervision, outcomes, administration and access to various student services. The survey items are ranked on both importance and performance.

The survey is distributed in both hard copy and online versions. It is conducted every two years.

This survey was conducted at UWS for the first time in March/April 2005.

Surveys, Results and Action Taken	Report
Research Student Satisfaction Survey (RSSS)	[PDF - 384KB]
Research Student Satisfaction Survey Report - 2007	[PDF - 238KB] (requires staff login)
Research Student Satisfaction Survey Report - 2005	[PDF - 684KB] (requires staff login)
Actions taken as a result of the Research Student Satisfaction Survey - 2005	[PDF - 76KB]

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Employer Survey

The Employer Survey is distributed to the employers of UWS graduates. The survey aims to:

• gather employer perceptions of the key capabilities needed by graduates in the wide range of professions surveyed
• determine the image of UWS from an employer’s perspective
• identify key current and predicted developments in respondents’ professional area(s) which the University needs to take into account in order to ensure that its curriculum remains relevant and 
• identify the relative importance and performance of a range of services provided by the UWS Careers Service.
  

Employer names are gathered from various sources including the UWS GDS, Careers and Employment database, the UWS Cooperative Programs database, Community Engagement database and the extensive contacts of Schools and Colleges. The survey is conducted online with telephone support.

Surveys and Results	Report
Employer Survey	[PDF - 263KB]
Employer Survey Report - 2007	[PDF - 100B] (requires staff login)
Employer Survey Report - 2004/05	[PDF - 73KB] (requires staff login)

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Image Survey

The Image Survey was introduced in early 2004. This survey is conducted in partnership with the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and Macquarie University. The main purpose of the survey is to establish students' image and perception of UWS compared with other universities in NSW and the ACT. The image survey is distributed to all undergraduate students to whom offers are made at the beginning of the year via UAC.

Both hard copy and online versions are used. The response rate is approximately 40 per cent.

Surveys and Results	Report
Image Survey	[PDF - 60KB]
Image Survey Report - 2005	[PDF - 60KB] (requires staff login)
Image Survey Report - 2004	[PDF - 95KB] (requires staff login)

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Student Exit Survey

The Student Exit Survey was introduced at UWS in September 2004. The main purpose of this survey is to establish the reasons why students have withdrawn from the University and to improve the experience for future students in areas where a need for improvement is identified.

The target group for this survey is all students who withdraw from the University in a particular year. The UWS Call Centre provides assistance in conducting telephone survey.

Surveys, Results and Actions Taken	Report
Student Exit Survey	[PDF - 58KB]
Student Exit Survey Report - 2006	[PDF - 53KB] (requires staff login)
Student Exit Survey Report - 2004	[PDF - 52KB] (requires staff login)
UWS Retention Project	[PDF - 35KB]

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Staff Services Survey

The Staff Services Survey was introduced in 2005 and provides all academic and general staff with an opportunity to identify areas of good practice and those requiring further improvement. It builds on the UWS quality of service projects.

The survey also invites staff to identify three most important things the university should do to improve its service to staff and colleges, schools and units and to suggest various ways the university could generate income and reduce cost. The survey is conducted online and the anonymity of responses is assured.

Surveys, Results and Actions Taken	Report
Staff Services Survey	[PDF - 344KB]
Staff Services Survey Report - 2005	[PDF - 377KB] (requires staff login)
Action taken as a result of Staff Services Survey - 2005	[PDF - 32KB] (requires staff login)

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Engagement Survey

The Engagement Survey was introduced in 2005. The survey is targeted to members of the community within Greater Western Sydney (GWS), including key commercial and professional groups, community organisations and groups, not-for-profit groups organisations and other current or potential UWS partners the GWS region.

Those involved have or may wish to get involved in any one or a mix of the following partnership activities with UWS: short courses, accredited courses, joint research or community service.

The survey invites respondents to identify the relative important of various engagement options and current performance in activating them. Its focus is on identifying the most relevant and productive way for the university to work in partnership with its Greater Western Sydney community.

Obtain a copy of the Engagement Survey [PDF - 70KB]

Obtain a copy of the Engagement Survey Report 2005 [PDF - 56KB] (requires staff login)

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Community Engagement Analysis

The UWS 2000-2005 Community Engagement Analysis was based on the data received from the schools and units mainly via the completion of the Self Assessment Guide for Community Engagement Activity in 2005. Other sources were:

• annual reports from across the University
• ARC linkage and similar partnership research grants
• regional engagement grants
• email requests
• search of the UWS website and partner websites.

Obtain a copy of the Self Assessment Guide for Community Engagement Activity [PDF 31KB]

Obtain a copy of the Results [PDF 27KB]

Obtain a copy of the UWS Community Engagement Database [MS Excel 397KB]

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Offshore Student Satisfaction Survey

The Offshore Student Satisfaction Survey is specifically focused on services to undergraduate and postgraduate UWS students studying offshore. This survey is similar to UWS Student Satisfaction Survey which caters for the University’s onshore students. The UWS offshore survey is undertaken in order to ensure that the University is in compliance with the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes 2006. '9. In addition to their own internal quality assurance mechanisms, universities will be subject to regular external quality audit by AUQA. The quality assurance process will include consideration of offshore activities where these are undertaken'.

The offshore SSS was conducted in November 2005.

Obtain a copy of the Offshore Student Satisfaction Survey [PDF - 316KB]

Obtain a copy of the Offshore SSS Report 2005 [PDF - 94KB] (requires staff login)

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The UWS Retention Survey

The UWS Retention Survey was conducted in mid 2005 and also in 2006. Telephone survey was conducted with a representative sample of 1000 first year students. The response rate for the 2006 survey was 70.7 per cent.

Obtain a copy of the UWS Retention Survey [PDF - 123KB]

Obtain a copy of the UWS Retention Report 2005 & 2006 (requires staff login)

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Commencing International Student Survey (CISS)

The Commencing International Student Survey was conducted with all first year international onshore undergraduate and postgraduate by coursework students. The purpose of the survey is to measure student experience with various aspects such as marketing, application and admissions, orientation and other services provided by the UWS International office.

The survey was conducted in May 2006 and 2007 using paper and online method.

Obtain a copy of the UWS Commencing International Student Survey [PDF - 445KB]

Obtain a copy of the UWS Commencing International Student Survey Report 2007 (requires staff login)

Obtain a copy of the UWS Commencing International Student Survey Report 2006 (requires staff login)

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Other Surveys

The Office of Planning & Quality also assists administrative units in designing and conducting surveys. The following surveys were undertaken in 2007 and 2006:

1. Carrick Leadership in Higher Education Survey 2007
2. HR Customer Satisfaction Survey 2007
3. Greater Western Sydney Schools Survey 2007
4. Indigenous Student Satisfaction Survey 2007 (requires staff login)
5. Student Clinical Experience Survey 2007
6. My Student Record (MySR) Survey 2007
7. Survey of Professional / Accrediting Bodies 2007
8. Graduations Guest Speaker Survey 2007
9. Our People Survey 2006
10. Equity and Diversity Survey 2006
11. ITD Client Satisfaction Survey 2006
12. Voluntary Student Unionism Survey 2006
13. Women's Network Survey 2006
14. Community Engagement Survey

To obtain a copy of the survey instrument for any of the above surveys, please contact Mahsood Shah.

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