Longer term employment measures are better

Responding to the release today of the 2014 Good Universities Guide, Deakin Vice-Chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander said longer term measures provided a better guide to graduate employability.

The Good Universities Guide released today asserted that Victoria's weakening economy made it difficult for graduates from Victorian universities to find employment.

But Professor den Hollander said that the guide assessed employment of graduates only four months after graduation.

"Over the longer term, employment outcomes are very good," she said.

"The Beyond Graduation Survey released only last month found that, on average, 95 per cent of Deakin graduates who were available for work were in full-time employment three years after graduation."

Professor den Hollander said that Field of Education also played a large part in graduate employability.

"Employment rates for our graduates from Engineering and related technologies and from Architecture and Building are significantly above the Victorian and National averages," she said.

In terms of graduate salaries, Professor den Hollander said that Deakin graduates commanded similar salaries to those nationally.

"According to the Australian Graduate Survey, in 2012 Deakin bachelor degree graduates earned a median salary of $63,000 compared with a national median of $65,000," she said.

In the 2012 Australian Graduate Survey, Deakin again rated first of all Victorian universities for overall course experience.