Jun 2012
Phil Aungles
Director, Performance and Analysis Unit
Higher Education Group
DIISRTE
Department perspective on the AQHE
initiative and the AGS Review …
Phil Aungles
DIISRTE
10:00 – 11:00
Review of the AGS and MyUniversity
Phil Aungles Higher Education Division
29 June 2012
Advancing Quality in Higher Education
Policy Background
 Advancing Quality in Higher Education (AQHE) initiative was launched in the
2010-11 Budget.
 A key part of the AQHE is the development of a suite of performance
measurement instruments for learning and teaching.
 Results will be published on the My University website from 2013 to inform
student choice.
Advancing Quality in Higher Education
Process
 AQHE Reference Group established to provide expert advice to the Government.
 Three discussion papers were released in December 2011, and report on the
Development of the University Experience Survey was released in February 2012.
 Extensive feedback, both through written submissions and roundtables.
 The AQHE Reference Group has released its report and recommendations to the
Government. The report and written submissions are available at:
http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Policy/Pages/AdvancingQuality.aspx
 Consultation showed strong support for the centralisation of the AGS, and mixed
opinions regarding the future of the CEQ.
Advancing Quality in Higher Education
Key Reference Group recommendations:
 Centralised administration of the suite of performance measurement
instruments under a single third-party provider.
 The suite of instruments to initially comprise the University Experience Survey
(UES) and a new Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS).
 The GOS to build and improve on the existing Australian Graduate Survey
(AGS).
 The Department to undertake a scoping study on a new instrument to assess
employer needs and satisfaction with graduates.
Advancing Quality in Higher Education
Implementation and transition
 The Australian Government will continue to work with universities to develop
performance measurement instruments.
 A range of funding options are being explored.
 University Experience Survey 2012 is about to go into the field in all Table A
universities. The instrument is being refined to focus on informing student
choice and continuous improvement.
 The AGS will transition to the GOS under centralised administration from 2014.
Advancing Quality in Higher Education
Future of AGS component instruments
 The Reference Group has recommended that:
•
The core of the GOS should be the current GDS, with some revision of the
instrument.
•
The PREQ should continue, again with a review of items and scales.
•
The CEQ should continue until at least 2014-15, to allow comparison with
results from the UES.
 The UES Consortium will investigate the conceptual and empirical relationship
between the UES scales and CEQ scales, and advise on options for
deployment of these scales across the student life cycle.
 A final decision on the continued use of the CEQ will be made after 2014.
MyUniversity website
MyUniversity and the student-centred higher education system
 The MyUniversity website was launched on 3 April 2012.
 The MyUniversity website will support the move to a more studentcentred and transparent higher education system.
 The current AGS indicators on the MyUniversity website are:
 Full-time employment (institution level)
 Full-time study (institution level)
 Satisfaction with generic skills (institution by subject area level)
 Satisfaction with good teaching (institution by subject area level)
 Overall satisfaction (institution by subject area level)
MyUniversity website
Improvements to MyUniversity
 The Department will be working with universities to improve the quality
of data that is reported on the website.
 Further work is being done to improve the quality of information on the
student experience.
 Proposed changes to the AGS data on the website:
 Addition of full-time employment, full-time study and median salary
at the institution by subject area level (2012)
 Addition of confidence intervals (2013)
 Addition of PREQ indicators such as overall satisfaction (2014)
Uses of AGS data in the Department of Innovation
 Portfolio Budget Statements; graduate employment outcomes are key
performance indicators for the Department.
 High level policy and review of the sector, such as the Bradley Review,
particularly international benchmarking.
 Labour market monitoring, including Skills Australia.
 Institutional Portfolio Profiles.
 Ministerial and Senate Estimates briefings.
 PREQ for research training policy.
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION,
SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND TERTIARY EDUCATION
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10 Binara Street
Canberra City, ACT 2601, Australia
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