2022 Student Experience Survey

The Student Experience Survey (SES) provides a national architecture for collecting data on key aspects of the higher education student experience. The SES focuses on aspects of the student experience that are measurable; linked with learning and development outcomes; and potentially able to be influenced by institutions. The SES measures five aspects of the student experience: Skills Development, Learner Engagement, Teaching Quality, Student Support, and Learning Resources.

Originally developed as the University Experience Survey (UES) in 2011, the SES was renamed in 2015 to facilitate the inclusion of students from non-university higher education institutions (NUHEIs). Originally, the scope of the survey was limited to undergraduate students only but in 2017 postgraduate coursework students were included for the first time.

Prior to 2020, other than minor changes in wording to ensure the survey instrument was relevant to all higher education students, the survey questionnaire had remained essentially unchanged from the 2014 SES. In 2020, a new international student module was added to measure broader aspects of the international student experience including living and accommodation experience and reasons for choosing to study in Australia. In 2021, a set of items measuring students' perceptions of freedom of expression on campus was added. A detailed list of all questionnaire items can be found in Appendix 2: Student Experience Questionnaire (SEQ).

In 2020, the scope of the SES was extended to include all higher education institutions, including for the first time, non-Higher Education Support Act (HESA) approved providers. All 42 Australian universities participated in the 2022 SES as well as 99 NUHEIs, for a total of 141 institutions, compared with 139 institutions in 2021 and 133 institutions in 2020. As in previous years, the 2022 SES in-scope survey population consisted of commencing and later year onshore undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students currently enrolled in Australian higher education institutions.

In 2020 the scope of the SES was also extended to include international students who intended to study onshore but were offshore at the time the survey was administered due to government-imposed travel restrictions caused by the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic. This exception was permitted again in 2022 given the ongoing travel restrictions entering Australia.

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