Your experience shapes Macquarie’s future
The Student Experience Survey (SES) is your chance to tell us what is working at Macquarie – and where we can improve.
The SES is an annual survey run by the Social Research Centre on behalf of the Australian government. It takes 10 – 15 minutes, is confidential, and genuinely helps us understand the impact of the education we provide, as well as improve student life initiatives.
Why should I participate?
* Macquarie gift card giveaway - see terms and conditions in FAQs below.
You said. We did.
Based on what you said was important to you, explore just some of these initiatives delivered through The Macquarie Advantage education strategy.
1. Commitment to student wellbeing
- Increased crisis support, Food Hub initiatives with free Brekkie Bar and food hampers to help with basic living costs
- Thrive Hub for centralised accessibility services and wellbeing-focused events and initiatives
- Providing 24/7 access to wellbeing peer support through TalkCampus
2. Delivering a high-quality, contemporary education
To improve your experience and learning outcomes, we established The Macquarie Academy to equip our educators with the tools, resources and community they need to support you.
3. Increasing access to academic support
Introduced a suite of online resources and free platforms like Writing Feedback+ and Study Assist that support your academic success.
4. Taking the stress out of exams
We switched to fewer, more purposeful assessments and introduced automatic short extensions and special considerations to help you plan when unexpected circumstances occur. Introduced the Study without Stress program to help develop practical skills to manage everyday stress.
5. Making it easier to connect
Enhancing Kickstart activities and the Buddy Program to support your connection with peers, belonging and transition to university life.
6. Experience that counts
Improving our employability services including careers events and workshops.
FAQs about the SES
The SES is an annual survey run by the Social Research Centre on behalf of the Australian Government’s Department of Education as part of the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) initiative. The SES is a comprehensive study of current higher education coursework students in Australia conducted throughout August each year. The survey is confidential and takes 10 – 15 minutes to complete online.
Insights collected on student experiences span across:
- Overall quality of educational experience
- Teaching quality and engagement
- Peer engagement
- Learning resources
- Student support and services
- Skills development
Find out more at QILT - Student Experience Survey.
Your valuable feedback helps on many levels:
- At Macquarie: Identifies the strengths of the education experience we provide and where we can improve.
- Nationally: The Government uses the data to monitor and improve the quality of higher education in Australia
- Inform future students: National summary results are reported on the QILT and ComparEd websites where prospective students can explore and compare Australian higher education institutions and study areas based on the real-life experiences of current students and recent graduates.
Participation is by invitation only. Invitations are sent to our domestic and international undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students, from their second session of study. While the majority of our coursework students will be invited to participate, a small number may not be included based on eligibility criteria set by the Social Research Centre. For details about eligibility, visit the Social Research Centre FAQ page.
Your unique survey link will be sent to your student email from ses@srcentre.com.au. Alternatively you can click the SES tile in iLearn.
By completing the survey, not only does your experience guide leadership decision-making, you’ll also be entered into a weekly SRC prize draw for the chance to win either a $1000 or $250 e-gift card*.
The earlier you complete the survey, the more chances you have to win. Terms and conditions apply. As a gesture of appreciation, Macquarie students can also claim their free coffee voucher at our SES campus activations (1 voucher per person).
Yes. All responses are confidential - only aggregated data is reported.
Visit the QILT: Student Experience Survey (SES) Privacy Notice for more details.
No. Participation in the SES is voluntary. We do however encourage you to participate in this survey to ensure your experience shapes improvement at Macquarie.
Method of entry
Entry is open to all Macquarie University students who have completed the 2026 Student Experience Survey using the personalised survey link emailed to them by the Social Research Centre (SRC).
Duration of entry period
The total entry period for inclusion in the prize draw is from survey launch on 28 July to 30 August 2026, 11.59pm AEST.
Prize
1 x $50 GiftPay egift card. A cash alternative cannot be substituted (10 cards to be won).
Conditions of entry
- Only Macquarie University participants confirmed by the Social Research Centre as having completed the survey as at 30 August 2026 11.59pm AEST are eligible.
- Macquarie University, the survey administrator, will directly notify the winner of their prize draw via student email. The first name of the winner will be published on MQ Students Facebook page and in the student newsletter, ‘Macquarie Feed’. (Please note: The survey administrator will extract the student number and the email address of the students who completed the survey to complete the draw. No other survey data will be used for this purpose).
- The prize draw will be administered by Macquarie University, who will endeavour to ensure that the winner will be notified no more than one week after the closing date.
- Winners in the prize draw will be selected by Macquarie University in a manner that ensures fair application of the laws of chance. The process by which winners will be selected involves a clear audit trail and an independent draw. (This process can be explained to individual respondents if requested.)
- Failure to redeem the e-gift card by 29 November 2026 will result in the prize being deemed as unclaimed. It will then be at the discretion of the prize administrator at the institution as to whether another winner will be selected, or the prize will not be reallocated.