Bond University is the No.1 Australian university for student experience, according to the latest edition of The Good Universities Guide released today, Monday 24 September 2018.
This is the thirteenth consecutive year Bond has received five-star ratings for student experience and overall experience.
The Gold Coast university scored the maximum five stars in each of the six categories the Guide uses to measure Student Experience.
It topped the nation in Skills Development, Student Support, Teaching Quality, Learning Resources and Learner Engagement and was best in Queensland for Overall Experience.
Additionally, the university was rated best in Australia for Student-Teacher Ratio and Student Retention.
The five-star ratings come ahead of Bond’s 30th anniversary celebrations next year.
Bond University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Tim Brailsford, said he was proud of the winning streak.
“We’ve received this accolade consistently for more than a decade because we put our students at the heart of everything we do,” Professor Brailsford said.
“As Bond approaches a significant milestone next year of our 30th anniversary, we have developed an international reputation that our founders envisioned.”
Professor Brailsford said small class sizes, practical learning opportunities, links to industry, an embedded approach to entrepreneurship and a focus on outcomes had driven Bond’s five-star performance in The Good Universities Guide 2019.
“We are constantly investing in our people and our educational facilities,” he said.
“This year we re-developed facilities in the Faculty of Law, and construction has begun on a major extension to the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine.”
Bachelor of Journalism student Tatiana Carter said the university’s industry links had secured her a job.
“I’ve had networking opportunities and met industry professionals,” she said.
“I even scored an internship at the Gold Coast Bulletin which has turned into a job, so I couldn’t be happier.”
Sophia Azzopardi is studying for a Bachelor of International Relations/ Bachelor of Laws and said living on campus had eased the pain of separation from family.
“I’ve loved my experience at Bond,” she said.
“I’m from Perth so I’ve been able to meet a whole bunch of new people who have basically become my new family rather than just my friends, which is an amazing thing to have. A separate family, a home away from home.”
Bachelor of International Relations/Bachelor of Laws student, Declan Roe said the staff of Bond University were without a doubt the most supportive factor in his first year of university.
“The number of services that were on offer to students, such as Student Learning Support, which helped me figure out what to research in an essay and how to structure, allowed me to embrace the academic style of writing that is expected at university,” he said.
“The lecturers at Bond ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the content and then the amount of attention and care you receive from the tutors is second to none. The small lecture and tutorial sizes ensure that when you are struggling or not understanding content, that you are looked after.”
Bond University was Australia’s first private, not-for-profit university.
In the latest undergraduate Student Experience Survey released by the federal Department of Education, 90.7 percent of students rated their educational experience at Bond University as positive, well above the national average of 79.3 per cent.
It was also named at No.17 on the Times Higher Education ranking of the world’s top small universities, up from No.20 last year, and was the only university in the Southern Hemisphere to make the list.
Bond’s picturesque sandstone campus sits on the shores of Lake Orr at Robina, a short distance from some of Australia’s finest beaches.
The Good Universities Guide is produced by Good Education Group, Australia’s leading provider of independent education ratings and information. The Guide is available online via the Good Education Bookshop and through selected newsagents. For more information visit www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au