Background
The Graduate Careers Council of Australia (GCCA) each year organise a survey of graduating students on behalf of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee (AVCC). The purpose of the various surveys conducted by GCCA is to
“provide feedback to institutions, which, in conjunction with other indicators, may assist planning and the development of quality improvement initiatives.” (1)
The surveys are also important
“in providing information for current and prospective students, to university careers services and to others in the education field.” (1)
The 2004 CEQ survey of graduates included those who graduated in either April or October 2004.
The response rate to the survey of graduates from the mining program at UNSW was 55% with 10 out of a total of 18 graduates in 2004. The response rate in other programs and at other institutions is not known as “it is not currently possible for GCCA to provide accurate response rate data by the individual fields of study” (2). With regard to the interpretation of the survey data, the Code of Practice states that “a response rate of at least 70% is desirable” and further that “Caution should be exercised when drawing conclusions from small cells with low response rates.” (3)
- Respondents to CEQ survey
- Number of bachelor degree graduates at UNSW in 2004
- April: Honours degree – 9; Pass degree – 3
- October: Honours – 2; Pass degree – 4
- Total respondents in 2004 from all institutions in Australia that offer mining programs: Honours – 19; Pass – 36; Total – 55
- Due to the low number of survey respondents from UNSW at the Pass degree level (n = 1), only the results for the Honours undergraduate degree have been presented.
- The survey data presented five performance measures or scales at the institutional level. Results for a further six measures were aggregated and reported at the national level.
(1) AV-CC GCCA Code of Practice for Course Experience Questionnaire , January 2001, p2.
(2) ibid, p4
(3) ibid, p4
P Hagan
31 May 2005
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