International students give VU English a thumbs up

International students have ranked Victoria University English (VUE) among the world’s best English language schools.

VUE's overall average ranking is number two in Australia and number five globally, in the latest i-Graduate English Language Barometer (ELB) – an independent survey that provides a snapshot of international students’ perceptions of and experiences at English language schools around the world.

Based on four key indicators – learning, living, support and arrival – the i-Graduate ELB surveyed more than 19,000 students from 100 institutions worldwide.

This included more than 15,000 students from 54 Australian institutions and 11,282 students from 32 university-owned-and-operated English language schools.

When benchmarked against other English language centres, VUE scored one or two (the highest result) for teaching quality, assessment and marking criteria, friendly staff, course content, language support, its Independent Learning Centre, safety and campus environment.

VUE's overall average result was second among 32 university-run centres, second of 54 Australia-wide, and fifth of 100 on the global ELB ranking.

VUE General Manager Dianne McKeagney says the ELB results confirm that students are “highly satisfied” with what is often the first stage of their academic journey, with the majority of VUE students going on to further vocational or university-level study at Victoria University (VU).

“We always strive to be a centre of excellence and work extremely hard to ensure our students have a wonderful experience during their introduction to studying at VU," Ms McKeagney says.

As part of the survey, students were invited to write open-ended comments about their experiences. Here are some of their positive affirmations:

“Victoria University is the best place to be. If you want to improve your academic as well as professional skills I would recommend Victoria University. Thank you!”

“Despite the long distance between my country and Australia, I feel like I’m at home here. It has been the best experience in my life.”

Each year, VUE provides pathways for hundreds of international students to enter a vocational education and training course, foundation studies or university-level diploma or degree at VU.

In 2018, more than 300 students will have successfully transitioned from English for Academic Purposes at VUE into more than 70 different courses at VU.