Facts and Figures

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Facts and Figures

Student population growth

At the March census date of 2008, the University had a total student population of 5833 - an increase of 11.2 percent on 2007.

Years Student
numbers
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004

2003
2002
2001
2000

1999
1998
1997
1996		    5833
   5246
   4760
   4280
   3862

   3556
   3446
   3050
   2686

   2403
   1946
   1185
     524

Student load

The University’s student load increased in 2007 by 387 EFTSL ^

EFTSL^    2005    2006    2007
Commonwealth Grant Scheme 2576.74 3019.15 3229.99
Research Training Scheme    29.50    35.00    33.63
Fee Paying (includes international, postgraduate and non-award)  659.50  662.00   840.25
Total 3265.74 3716.15 4103.87

^ EFTSL – Equivalent Full-Time Student Load. EFTSL totals exclude inbound exchange students.

Faculty population and gender split

Faculty 2006 2007 2008 % change Female % Male %
Arts and Social Sciences 1283 1426 1615   +13.3%     71%   29%
Business 1717 1678 1544    -8.03%     47%   53%
Science, Health and Education 1337 1674 2101   +25.5%     67%   33%
Non-award  427  469  573   +22.2%     60%   40%
Total * 4760 5246 5833   +11.2%     62%   38%

* Totals may not equal sum of values due to students enrolling concurrently across faculties.

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Age distribution of students

In 2007, 58 percent of the student population was aged 21 years and over. The average age was 26, however the Under-21 age group had the largest number of students, and represented 42 percent of the student population.

Program type <=20  21-24  25-29  30-39  40-49  50+    Total Avg
age  		Median
  age
Bachelors
(%)		  2171
 (52%)		    876
 (21%)		    367
  (9%)		   371
 (9%)		   312
 (7%)		    98
 (2%)		  4195   24     20
Honours
(%)		       5
 (11%)		     13
 (30%)		       6
 (14%)		     11
(25%)		      5
(11%)		      4
 (9%)		      44   30     27
Postgraduate coursework
(%)		       5
  (1%)		    197
 (22%)		    220
(24%)		   269
(30%)		   152
 (17%)		    61
 (7%)		    904   32     31
Higher degrees by research
(%)		       5
  (4%)		       14
 (12%)		    24
(20%)		     40
 (34%)		    35
(30%)		    118   42     43
Non-award
(%)		   275
(48%)		    179
 (31%)		      51
  (9%)		    33
 (6%)		     28
  (5%)		      7
  (1%)		    573   22     21
Total *
(%) 		 2456
(42%) 		  1270
 (22%) 		   658
 (11%) 		  707
 (12%) 		  537
  (9%) 		  205
  (4%) 		 5833
(100%) 		  25     22

First in family to attend university as an undergraduate student

The University continued to achieve its aim of enabling access to university education, with 52 percent of the undergraduate student population (excluding Honours students) the first in their family to attend university.

Permanent home residence of students studying on campus

The Sunshine Coast community continued to show high demand for a regional University with 74.7 percent of on campus students being permanent residents on the Sunshine Coast.

Sunshine Coast Region Students
Caboolture
Caloundra
Cooloola
Kilcoy
Maroochy
Noosa		      295
     951
     111
       15
   2225
     426
Total Sunshine Coast    4023
  (74.7%)

Other Queensland Regions Students
Brisbane
Central West
Darling Downs
Far North
Fitzroy
Mackay
Moreton North
Moreton South
North West
Northern
South West
Wide Bay		      304
        1
      48
      17
      22
      10
        6
      29
        4
        3
      12
      80
Total other Queensland     536
  (10.0%)

Interstate Students
ACT
New South Wales           
Northern Territory
South Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
Western Australia		        8
      73
      12
      10
       5
     29
       3
Total interstate     140
   (2.6%)

Permanent Address Students Percent
Sunshine Coast Region
Other Queensland Regions
Interstate
Overseas		     4023
      536
      140
      684		     74.7%
    10.0%
      2.6%
    12.7%
Total     5383    100.0%

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International students by faculty and mode

In 2008, 977 students from 50 countries were enrolled at the University. The highest number of international students studying on-campus was from Germany. A large number of international students studying on-campus also came from the United States of America, Canada, France and Sweden. International students studying off-campus include those undertaking programs online and programs offered in Fiji, Malaysia and China.

Faculty / mode Students
on campus **		 Students
off campus /
online		 Total
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Faculty of Business
Faculty of Science, Health and Education		           64
        137
        170		            
       303		     64
  440
  170
Non-award (Exchange/Study Abroad)         303   303
Total *         674        303   977

* Totals may not add due to rounding and due to students enrolling concurrently across faculties.

** Students on campus include multi-modal, ie students enrolled in courses undertaken as a combination of both on campus and off campus/online mode.

Graduate numbers

As at the last graduation ceremony in 2008, the University reached a total of 6,113 graduates. Since the first graduation ceremony in 1999, 304 graduates have returned to study at the University of the Sunshine Coast and graduated with another degree.

Year Degrees
conferred
2008*
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999		    1075
     952
     857
     789
     686
     612
     551
     356
     283
     132
Total    6293

* Up to and including awards conferred on 24 April 2008.

Graduate employment outcomes

In 2006 and 2007, 69.0 percent and 79.8 percent of graduates who were Australian citizens or permanent residents responded to the Australian Graduate Survey administered by Graduate Careers Australia. The 2006 response rate was 9.1 percent higher than the 2005 figure of 59.9 percent. The equivalent National response rates for 2006 and 2007 were 62.5 and 62.8 percent respectively.

The survey results showed that in 2007, 88.6 percent of Australian resident undergraduate degree respondents were employed full-time or part-time, or enrolled in full-time study. This was a slight increase of 0.6 percent on the 2006 figure of 88.0 percent.

Of those employed full-time *, 51.0 percent were working on the Sunshine Coast in 2007 compared with 55.5 percent in 2006. In 2007, 23.2 percent were working in Brisbane compared with 21.9 percent in 2006.

In 2006 and 2007 the median salaries for these graduates were A$36,000 and A$38,000 respectively. The median salaries of those for whom it was their first full-time job in 2006 and 2007 were A$35,000 and A$37,500 respectively.

Sources: Graduate Careers Australia GDS and CEQ national data file; the University of the Sunshine Coast Australian Graduate Survey data file.

* Includes Pass Bachelor and Honours degree graduates with permanent Australian residency in full-time employment in Australia and overseas.

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Graduate satisfaction

In 2005, 54.7 percent of USC graduates responded to the Course Experience Questionnaire, an increase of 15.5 percent on the 2004 figure. In 2006, the CEQ response rate rose further by 7.5 percent to 62.2 percent. ^ 

In 2005 and 2006 the equivalent National response rates were 44.8 percent and 46.8 percent respectively.

Respondents gave broad agreement ^^ percentages in relation to the Course Experience Questionnaire scales/index as follows. The number of institutions that used each CEQ scale is also shown.

Course Experience Questionnaire Scale/index Survey Year USC % broad agreement National %agreement Number of institutions
Good teaching scale   2005       88.1       82.1       44
  2006       88.0       82.6       48
  2007       89.2       83.6       45
Generic skills scale   2005       91.2       88.2       44
  2006       89.9       88.0       48
  2007       91.3       88.6       45
Overall satisfaction index   2005       91.5       89.5       43
  2006       92.5       89.2       48
  2007       91.9       89.3       45
Clear goals and standards scale   2005       83.7       80.6       23
  2006       84.8       80.9       28
  2007       83.7       80.5       21
Graduate Qualities Scale   2005       n/a ^^^       90.2       26
  2006       91.6       89.7       29
  2007       91.9       90.1       31
Student support scale   2005       84.5       85.1       13
  2006       85.0       84.3       15
  2007       87.8       86.6       15

Source: Graduate Careers Australia national data files.

^ All respondents that completed valid CEQ responses as a percentage of all in the CEQ survey population.

^^ Broad agreement includes ratings of 3, 4 and 5 on a five point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

^^^ The GQS was first used in the USC CEQ in 2006.

Staff qualifications

USC has the highest proportion of academic staff with Doctoral or Masters qualifications of any university in Queensland - and fifth highest of all Australian universities. *

* Department of Education, Science and Training Staff 2006: Selected Higher Education Statistics, 2006.

Research funding

Funding received from the Department of Education Science and Training (DEST) increased in 2005, to a total of A$953,775.

DEST research funding received      2002      2003     2004     2005
Institutional Grants Scheme A$119,186 A$128,019 A$137,834 A$185,415
Research Training Scheme A$305,954 A$434,959 A$566,925 A$695,971
Research Infrastructure Block Grants    A$3,997    A$5,092   A$41,880   A$72,389
Total A$429,137 A$568,070 A$746,639 A$953,775

Library resources

The Library houses more than 110,000 print volumes and 27,000 digital resources.

The University Library has 13.55 library seats per 100 population members - the second highest of any Australian public university. **

In 2005 the University of the Sunshine Coast was ranked third highest in Australia for proportion of expenditure spent on library resources per population member, according to the Council of Australian University Libraries’ statistics. 

** Council of Australian University Libraries statistics, 2005.

Information technology resources

More than 450 computers are made available to students within the Library's Information Commons and 20 other computer laboratories, or within specialised venues such as scientific wet laboratories. The University received a five-star rating for electronic support for students by the Good Universities Guide. #

# The Good Universities Guide, 2008, Hobsons Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne.

Unless indicated otherwise, figures are based on March 2008 census date data.

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