Dean of Studies

The Australian Graduate Outcomes Survey​

The broad range of options and pathways to university beyond the traditional secondary (ATAR) pathway of direct entry offers greater choice for students in 2018, and the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) website is a useful resource for considering these pathways beyond school. For many of our current students, the future of work and career will be in a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, and so it is to their advantage to do their research as early as possible.

The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching enable comparison of the quality of the higher education institutions and the study areas of interest, with the results based on thousands of surveys completed by students across Australia as part of the annual Australian Graduate Outcomes Survey. The information is generated from surveys about student experience, graduate employment, graduate satisfaction and employer satisfaction. The survey is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Education and Training, and in 2016 and 2017 was administered by the Social Research Centre to provide information on the labour market outcomes and further study activities of graduates. One of the measures of the 2018 study was in regard to the medium-term employment outcomes of higher education graduates, approximately three years after they have completed their course. The 2018 results were based on a cohort analysis of graduates who responded to the 2015 Graduate Destinations Survey.

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has impacted upon graduates with many taking longer to find work, especially those with generalist degrees, however, employment outcomes for higher education graduates improve markedly in the medium-term. When taking the data into account, many students considering pathways beyond school may also consider that their first-choice of undergraduate study may require further (post-graduate) study to increase their employment prospects.

As noted in the survey, in 2015, 67.1 per cent of undergraduates were in full-time employment four months after graduation. Three years later in 2018, 89.2 per cent of the same cohort of undergraduates had found full-time employment. The proportion of undergraduates in employment overall, including full-time, part-time and casual work, also increased, from 89.7 per cent in 2015 to 92.4 per cent in 2018.

And while generalist study areas have relatively low initial rates of full-time employment, they tend to experience particularly strong improvements over the medium-term. For example, in 2015, 48.3 per cent of Creative Arts undergraduates had found full-time work four months after graduation, but three years later 80.4 per cent were in full-time work. Similarly, 48.3 per cent of Science and Mathematics undergraduates were in full-time employment shortly after graduation in 2015, but three years later 85.6 per cent were in full-time work (see Table 1).

The survey acknowledges that the factors that impact upon the course areas include: the quality of teaching, careers advice, course offerings, composition of the student population, study mode, and variations in state/territory and regional labour markets, might also impact on these employment outcomes. For our students at St Norbert College, one approach is to investigate all options available that will assist with achieving their goals both at school and for life beyond. The survey results can be accessed here:

https://www.qilt.edu.au/about-this-site/graduate-employment

University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)

Please note that there will be a change to the current Admissions Test for Medicine/Dentistry/Clinical Sciences applicants that intend to sit the UMAT in 2019, for entry into university in 2020. This year will be the final year for students to sit the UMAT, as this will be replaced by a new test, the UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test).

If you are planning to apply for these courses, you will need to register for and sit the UCAT, as this is a mandatory admissions test for these courses for 2020 entry.

For more information please go to www.ucatofficial.com or contact the College on 9350 5433.

Semester Two Examinations – Year 11 ATAR Courses

Students currently enrolled in Year 11 (ATAR) courses will be required to attend for the Semester Two Examinations for the following dates, times and venues.

Please note that Year 11 ATAR students will attend the College on Thursday 15 November, and all Year 11 students will be required to be at the College on Friday 16 November.

Mr R Dowling (Dean of Studies)