Feduni a leader

Anational survey of tertiary graduates has placed Federation University Australia number-one in Victoria for overall employment and median salary outcomes.

The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching, QILT, survey revealed Federation university graduates have an employment rate of 90.6 percent and a median salary of $60,000. This the highest of universities with headquarters in Victoria.

The university, which has a Wimmera campus as well as bases at Ballarat, Gippsland, Berwick and Brisbane, also ranked number-one in Victoria for student support, teaching scale and skill development. Of the 13 indicators, the university ranked above the national average in 10.

The Federal Government’s Department of Education and Training funds the QILT survey program.

Federation university vice-chancellor Professor Helen Bartlett said the consistently high results were further testimony to the quality of Feduni graduates and the programs the university provided students.

“We make it our priority to create job-ready graduates, so it is no surprise these results are outstanding,” she said.

The QILT results follow a Higher Education report by Nous Pty Ltd and the Centre for Policy Studies on behalf of the Regional Universities Network, revealing the important role Federation University Australia and its graduates play in regional economic growth.

“The university contributes more than $230-million in productivity and generates an additional 1000 jobs in our campus regions,” Professor Bartlett said.

“Our students are great assets to their communities. In total, 68 percent of bachelor-level graduates go on to work in a regional area, compared with the national average of 23 percent.

“This fortnight the university is graduating 1400 students who are confidently pursuing their professions in Australia and overseas.

“We congratulate our graduates and know they are entering the workforce with many advantages.”

Conor Lawson, 24, of Horsham, who completed Bachelor of Management in Human Resources and Master of Teaching degrees at the university, said his four years of study in Ballarat had been life changing.

Mr Lawson, a human-resource co-ordinator with Roper Gulf Regional Council in Katherine in the Northern Territory, said the university’s understanding of regional-student needs were a major plus.

“The high levels of student care were second to none. The reality is that it provides a perfect platform for a regional student to pursue a career that might otherwise seem out of reach,” he said.

“It also provided greater affordability than other institutions, which in a nutshell meant it was value for money.

“Critically and depending on circumstance and career path, I’ve also come to realise in a professional working environment that gaining at degree at Feduni is well and truly the equal of and, perhaps in some cases, better than other institutions across Australia.”

Federation University Australia’s Wimmera campus in Baillie Street in Horsham offers bachelor courses in social sciences and business, masters programs, is a base for PHD research and is renowned for its TAFE programs.