About the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Australian Graduate Survey (AGS)

The Institute for Teaching and Learning now has responsibility for administering and reporting the Graduate Destination Survey (AGS) and the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) for the University. Together the AGS and CEQ form an annual survey which is used by the Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) to gather information from graduates of Australian Universities. The GCA is a peak body with representatives from employers, universities and government which was formed more than 30 years ago. As well as the Executive Director and corporate sector Directors, the Board has senior representatives from the following organisations:

The Australian Graduate Survey (AGS) collects information about the activities of graduates after the completion of their degrees. The Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) gathers data about graduates perceptions of their higher education experience. For each university the GCA analyses and reports these data to DEST. The Government uses these data to assess and plan for the needs of the higher education sector. All universities in Australia take part in the AGS/CEQ survey.

The AGS has been administered for over 25 years. The CEQ, which has been administered in conjunction with the AGS since 1993, collects information on the graduates' perceptions of their teaching and learning experiences in their courses. The CEQ originated in the early 1980s and there is now over 20 years of research evidence which supports the theoretical and empirical basis of the questionnaire.

Background to the CEQ and AGS surveys is published as part of the national reports prepared by the GCA each year.

In May and October each year, the AGS and CEQ survey is mailed to the previous year's graduating students. Data collection is completed in September and the GCA publishes the results in February the following year. This means that the reports of graduating students' experiences are not available until at least a year after they finish their courses.

Like most Australian universities, The University of Sydney also analyses and reports on its own CEQ and AGS data for internal purposes. The GCA uses a 'generic' mapping in preparing the national reports, however the actual mapping of fields of study to faculties varies between different universities. The Institute for Teaching and Learning analyses and reports the University's AGS and CEQ data using the mapping of field of study to faculties for the University of Sydney. This mapping is determined by the University's Planning Support Office and is published on the Institute for Teaching and Learning's CEQ web site. The Institute for Teaching and Learning publishes these reports on its web site each year.

The University uses the AGS and CEQ results in two main ways. Five of the ten University of Sydney, Teaching Performance Indicators are based on CEQ and AGS data. Faculty results for the CEQ Good Teaching Scale, CEQ Generic Skills Scale, CEQ Overall Satisfaction item, AGS Full-Time Employment rate and AGS Full-Time Further Study rate are used by the Planning Support Office in calculating the Teaching Performance Indicators.

However, the CEQ and AGS results also provide a wealth of data which can inform curriculum development initiatives. Information on the employment and study destinations of graduates and specific information on graduates' perceptions of their teaching and learning experiences can provide university teachers useful insights into the needs of future students. The Institute for Teaching and Learning works with the university community to support staff in this second use of the CEQ and AGS data.

Different faculties use different strategies to support the interpretation of the results. Comparison of CEQ and AGS data across several years, for the same field of study within the University is often helpful. The approach of comparing results with agreed internal benchmarks or standards is also used, for example; "at least 90% of graduates should agree that their lecturers gave them helpful feedback". For these purposes, the percentage of students who (dis)agree or strongly (dis)agree with a statement is often the most useful form of data. In calculating the teaching performance indicators, the Planning Support Office uses a numerical average of responses for the items for each factor scale.

Additional information on the CEQ data reporting conventions is provided in the section "Reading the Report".

If you have any questions about the CEQ or AGS survey please contact the Institute for Teaching and Learning on 9351 3725. Jennifer Ungaro administers the survey, however, if you would like to discuss how your faculty could use the survey results in support of curriculum development initiatives please contact Dr Simon Barrie.