• David Carroll
• Graduate Careers Australia

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30 September 2011Beyond Graduation 2010 is the second annual report into the activities, outcomes and experiences of Australian higher education graduates three years after the completion of their studies. This report is based on the 2010 Beyond Graduation Survey (BGS), which was conducted by Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) in collaboration with 31 Australian higher education institutions (see Table A1). Graduates who completed a course of study at an Australian higher education institution in 2006 and provided a response to the 2007 Australian Graduate Survey (AGS) were invited by email to complete an online survey concerning their experiences since course completion. A total of 10,111 usable responses to the 2010 BGS were received. The sample of secured responses was found to be representative of the 2008 graduate population in terms of sex ratio, age structure and broad field of education studied. As such, the survey data were analysed unweighted.

The BGS questionnaire addressed graduates’ employment and further study activities, and gave them an opportunity to provide a retrospective assessment of their course experience. The main focus of the questionnaire was graduates’ activities on 30 April 2010, although graduates were asked a reduced set of questions about their activities on 30 April in 2009 and 2008. Data on graduates’ personal characteristics and activities in 2007 were imputed into the data file from the 2007 AGS.

The focus of this report is Australian domestic bachelor degree graduates, which represents the largest group of respondents. Summary outcomes figures for Australian domestic postgraduates are presented in the final section of this report.