UNIVERSITY of Canberra graduates are ranked among the most employable in Australia according to the Good Universities Guide published today.

The guide gave UC a maximum five-star rating for graduates ‘getting a job’ and ‘positive graduate outcomes’. UC also ranked well in new categories for the quality of the educational experience according to domestic graduates, with a four-star rating in teaching quality and generic skills.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker said employability of University of Canberra graduates reflected the professional focus of its degree programs.

“Employers know University of Canberra graduates can hit the ground running in the workplace and that is why they are among the most sought after and highest paid graduates in the country,” Professor Parker said.

“To be consistently awarded a five-star rating for the employability of our graduates demonstrates we are succeeding in our mission to prepare professionals for their careers.

“Our degree programs have been renewed in close consultation with industry and an increasing number of them now feature ‘work-integrated learning’ where students take their skills out of the classroom and put them into practice in a realistic setting.

“This gives them the edge in what is an increasingly competitive job market.”

Professor Parker said the high scores in new education categories and improvements in existing ones indicated the University was on track to meet the goal in its strategic plan of being among the top third of universities on measures of educational performance.

“It is a credit to the hard work of our staff over the last few years that there has been a marked improvement in our teaching at a time of unprecedented growth,” Professor Parker added.

UC graduates were also named among Australia’s highest paid, with a four-star rating for graduate starting salaries.