Student Experience Survey (SES)
The 2026 Student Experience Survey is now open.
The survey will close midnight 11 October 2026.
How to complete the survey:
- Access the survey on the QILT website.
- Select 'The University of New South Wales UNSW' as your institution
- Enter your UNSW student ID number (don't include the 'z')
- Enter your UNSW student email (eg z1234567@unsw.edu.au) or mobile number registered with UNSW
- Once complete, you'll receive a personal survey link straight to your student email or mobile.
Why should I complete the survey?
Unlike the myExperience Survey which asks you to provide thoughts on your individual courses within your program, the Student Experience Survey (SES) is administered by the Social Research Centre on behalf of the Australian government.
As a first, middle or final year student**, it's an opportunity for you to provide thoughts on your whole university experience.
Your response directly influences some major changes at UNSW, and helps future students decide on where they choose to study as results are published on websites such as QILT, CompareED and The Good Universities Guide. These key outcomes also contribute to the AFR Best Universities Ranking.
All responses are entirely confidential.
*Terms and conditions apply.
**Undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate coursework (PGC) students who have completed at least one teaching period.
Within the SES, the term 'course' refers to your degree or program of study rather than your classes. Please keep this in mind as you complete the survey, focusing on your overall degree experience.
Hear from our lecturers about why the SES is important
A chance to win!
When you complete the SES, you go into the draw to win a $1,000 or $250 e-gift card. The earlier you complete it, the more chances you have to win!
Three lucky UNSW students have won a total of $1,500 in SES 2025.
For 2026, 50 UNSW-crested jumpers are also up for grabs! Winners will be drawn and contacted after the survey closes.
See Terms and Conditions.
2026 Impacts
Your feedback on your university experience is valuable. Read on to discover how previous SES findings have shaped the changes UNSW implemented this year based on the five categories below.
- Making study easier to navigate
- Student feedback is driving clearer information and expectations for processes such as onboarding, timetabling, placements and internships. We are actively reducing unnecessary complexity so students can focus on their learning.
- Assessment and Feedback
- You and other students have asked for clearer expectations around assessment, placements and course requirements, along with ease of navigating the university system. We have made considered changes to our assessment and feedback reform, onboarding improvements, clearer guidance around professional practice, and flex-semester alignment.
- Practical, career-relevant learning
- Work Integrated Learning, placements, internships, industry projects and practical learning continue to expand, strengthening your employability and real-world learning.
- Belonging, support and connection
- UNSW has reached its student equity target, with one in four commencing domestic undergraduate students now coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and Gateway partner schools. This milestone demonstrates UNSW's continued focus on improving access, retention and success for equity students. Peer mentoring, clubs and student societies, PASS, events and co-designed activities are being used to strengthen connection and belonging.
- Responsive to student administrative needs
- Scout, UNSW's AI student assistant, has been expanded to support students across multiple faculties with trusted, 24/7 guidance. This helps students find answers more quickly and reduces administrative friction.
How each faculty has implemented your feedback
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Making study easier to navigate
- Co-designed degree-specific onboarding packs and events to help students better understand program structures, pathways, support services and opportunities before commencing their studies.
Assessment and Feedback
- Student feedback informed changes to assessment design, including greater use of authentic assessment, competency-based grading and program level assessment approaches that provide clearer evidence of student progress.
Practical, career-relevant learning
- Improved Work Integrated Learning (WIL) support and placement adjustment resources, by creating a single, faculty-wide resource that maps the adjustments available across all ADA WIL and placement experiences.
Belonging, support and connection
- Expanded Indigenous education workshops, guest lectures and community partnerships to embed Indigenous perspectives, create more inclusive learning experiences and strengthen cultural capability.
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Making study easier to navigate
- Trialled timetable clash flexibility across 15 selected courses in 2026, giving students more flexibility to balance study, work and personal commitments.
Assessment and Feedback
- Implemented the new Assessment and Progression Policy to improve assessment quality, consistency, transparency and feedback practices, while reducing duplication across programs.
Practical, career-relevant learning
- Expanded internships, industry projects, and career development opportunities, with over 4,000 students completing a Work-Integrated Learning experience in 2025.
Belonging, support and connection
- Expanded peer connection opportunities through clubs, mentoring programs and PASS. In 2025 alone, 16 clubs delivered mentoring programs, and more than 4,400 PASS attendances helped students build both academic confidence and meaningful social connection.
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Making study easier to navigate
- Introduced School level Engineering Professional Practice (EPP) Information Nights and dedicated information sessions to help students better understand placement requirements and processes.
Practical, career-relevant learning
- Introduced the Engineering Practice Intensive (EPI), enabling students to work on real industry projects while progressing their professional practice requirements.
Belonging, support and connection
- Introduced the Engineering Outreach Workshop Grant, providing student societies and student project teams with grants of up to $5,000 to design, develop and deliver interactive outreach workshops for high school students.
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Assessment and Feedback
- Developed the Class Participation Project to provide clearer expectations, consistent guidance and progressive skills development across programs.
Practical, career-relevant learning
- Created paid internship opportunities with community legal organisations, including Aboriginal Legal Service and Legal Aid NSW placements, helping more students gain practical legal experience.
Belonging, support and connection
- Embedded student voice through co-designing of Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey to inform future student initiatives to strengthen belonging, wellbeing and peer connection.
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Practical, career-relevant learning
- Established the Work Integrated Learning Equity Fund to reduce financial barriers associated with professional placements and to support low SES students undertaking placements in senior years.
Belonging, support and connection
- Established a Student Wellbeing Action Group (SWAG) and dedicated wellbeing team, creating new mental health support pathways, and wellbeing resources.
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Making study easier to navigate
- Introduced new program structures and core learning experiences, informed by curriculum mapping and student feedback.
- This has helped create clearer degree pathways, strengthening how knowledge and skills develop over time, and helping students better understand how their studies connect to future opportunities.
Assessment and Feedback
- Reviewed assessment practices across Science programs to strengthen alignment between learning outcomes, teaching, assessment and feedback
- Supporting more authentic, well-scaffolded and industry-relevant assessment, all while providing students with clearer expectations and opportunities for improvement.
Practical, career-relevant learning
- The redesigned Science programs are expanding industry, work-integrated learning and career-connected opportunities across selected programs. Students will have more opportunities to build practical skills, work on authentic problems and understand possible career pathways.
Belonging, support and connection
- Strengthened academic support, student partnership activities and connections between programs, Schools and student societies. This creates clearer pathways to support and more opportunities to build academic confidence, relationships and belonging.
- Introduced new program structures and core learning experiences, informed by curriculum mapping and student feedback.
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Making study easier to navigate
- Expanded promotion of academic and wellbeing services to improve awareness and accessibility of support.
Belonging, support and connection
- Refurbished community spaces and introduced events (such as SpringFest, and PG Orientation) and networking opportunities to enhance connections and sense of belonging.
Student services at hand
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The SES is an annual online survey for current higher education students in Australia. Students are invited to participate via an email or SMS. The survey takes around 10–15 minutes to complete and aims to collect insights into students’ experiences around:
- Quality of teaching
- Learning resources and environment
- Student support services
- Engagement with study
- Skills development
- Overall satisfaction
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The SES is an important tool for quality assurance in Australian higher education. Higher education institutions and the government use SES data to monitor performance, inform policies and improve teaching and learning outcomes.
At UNSW, your feedback is used to help us better understand the strengths and areas for improvement in our education and service offerings, resulting in real and lasting change.
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The SES is part of the Australian Government's Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) initiative. It is administered by the Social Research Centre on behalf of the Australian Department of Education.
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Participation in the SES is by invitation only. In-scope students will receive an email or SMS with a survey link.
The survey is aimed at domestic and international undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students currently enrolled in Australian higher education institutions who are either:
- commencing (students in their first year of study who have attended at least one full teaching period of the course),
- middle year, or
- final year (students in their final year of study).
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No, participation in the SES is voluntary. Students are highly encouraged to take part as their feedback directly influences the improvement of their educational institution.
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Yes. All responses are confidential, and your response is not linked to your personal information. The results are reported in aggregate form, meaning individual responses are completely anonymous.
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After the survey period ends, the data is analysed and collated into a series of reports, which are provided to individual institutions and published on the QILT website.
Results are published on websites such as QILT, CompareED and The Good Universities Guide to help future students decide on where to study. These key outcomes also contribute to the AFR Best Universities Ranking.
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Yes! QILT runs a weekly draw prize of $1000 e-gift card and 2nd prize of $250 e-gift card, as a gesture of appreciation for completing the survey. The earlier you complete the survey, the better the chances of winning the draw prize. Terms and conditions apply.
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More information about the SES and the QILT initiative can be found on the QILT website.
Have a question?
Contact us for advice on all things UNSW, including faculty-specific questions, essential services, support and development. We’re here to help.