La Trobe has been rated Victoria’s best public university for teaching quality and overall student experience in postgraduate coursework, according to the latest Quality Indicators of Learning and Teaching Student Experience Survey (SES) national report.
The report, based on 2025 student survey results, also indicates La Trobe’s strong national position, placing ninth out of all Australian public universities for overall experience in postgraduate coursework, up from 16th in 2024, and sixth in postgraduate coursework teaching quality, up from 15th.
The postgraduate coursework satisfaction result of 80.8 per cent is the University’s most successful result in five years, with students now more satisfied than they were pre-COVID.
In addition, the overall education experience for undergraduate students has continued to increase since COVID and is now rated at 77 per cent, above the average for all universities at 76.2 per cent and ahead of major Group of Eight universities.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Professor Sue Bennett said the latest SES results reflected La Trobe’s priority focus on ensuring all students enjoyed an exceptional teaching and learning experience.
“This result reflects the commitment and dedication of all our staff engaged in transforming what and how we teach to ensure all our students experience teaching that is relevant, industry-connected and flexible, and that leads to successful careers,” Professor Bennett said.
“We design our postgraduate courses knowing that students are looking to progress their goals – whether that be advancing in their current profession or making a career change – and that they need to fit study into their busy lives.”
La Trobe – key results
- Consistent improvement in all measures over the past five years. From 2024 to 2025, the University improved on a range of measures including Overall Experience Skill Development, Peer Engagement, Teaching Quality, Student Support and Learning Resources.
- There was also strong improvement in work readiness and career development services.
- Overall Satisfaction for postgraduate coursework students increased 4.7 percentage points to 80.8 per cent, now the highest result in the last five years, ranking first in Victoria and ninth in Australia. Improvements were also seen for postgraduate coursework in Skill Development, Teaching Quality, Student Support and Learning Resources.
- Undergraduate students: Peer Engagement, Teaching Quality, Student Support and Skills Development all saw improvement from the previous year. Overall educational experience was 77 per cent – above the all-university average of 76.2 per cent.
About the SES
The SES is conducted by QILT for Universities Australia and is the only comprehensive survey of current higher education students in Australia.
It focuses on aspects of the student experience that are measurable, linked with learning and development outcomes.
The full results can be found here.
