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A low response from Avondale graduates and a change in editorial policy has adversely affected the college's ratings in the 2009 The Good Universities Guide.

Avondale receives only one top five-star rating in the key "The educational experience" area--for staff qualifications--and no star ratings in the key "Graduate outcomes" area. This is despite receiving five-star ratings in both areas in the 2008 edition.

A change in the guide's editorial policy means more than 10 graduates must now respond to the Course Experience Questionnaire and Graduate Destination Survey in each of five different discipline fields for an higher education provider to receive a star rating in these areas. A federal government agency, Graduate Careers Australia, administers this questionnaire and survey and provides the data to the guide.

"The Good Universities Guide changed its editorial policy without telling us beforehand that they were going to do so," says president Dr John Cox. "These changes have affected other institutions besides Avondale and may also affect some universities in the 2009 round."

Avondale does receive ratings--ranging from three stars to one star--in four of the six categories of the "Access and equity" area. The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations provides the data for this area and for the staff qualifications category mentioned earlier.

The guide also lists Avondale as:
. Average for teaching quality and below average for generic skills and overall satisfaction, in creative arts
. Above average for teaching quality, generic skills, overall satisfaction and getting a job, in education and training
. Above average for teaching quality and average for generic skills and overall satisfaction, in humanities and social sciences
. Above average for teaching quality, generic skills and overall satisfaction, and below average for getting a job, in nursing

The 2008 edition of the guide gave Avondale five-star ratings for teaching quality, generic skills, overall satisfaction and staff qualifications. Avondale has consistently received these ratings in the first three of these categories for the past 10 years.

"This is a vital marketing tool and shows how crucial it is for students to participate in this survey," says director of advancement Lorin Bradford.

The guide, on sale from August 25, publishes ratings for Australian universities, Avondale and a small number of other higher education providers.