Central Queensland University is a leader for positive graduate outcomes, according to the latest Good Universities Guide, released this week.

The Guide gives CQU a top rating (5 stars) for graduate outcomes based on its above-average (4-star) ratings for graduate starting salaries and job success.

No other Queensland university rates higher than CQU for positive graduate outcomes, according to the Guide’s star ratings tables.

CQU also rates highly for its entry flexibility (4 stars), its credit for TAFE studies (5 stars), its Indigenous participation (5 stars), its non-government earnings (5 stars) and its cultural diversity (5 stars).

The Guide says CQU is an “exceptionally diverse, not to mention vast institution” which is “less complacent, more energetic, more flexible and more welcoming than many”.

“It has nine campuses situated along the east coast of Australia and international operations extending into the Pacific and Southeast Asia.” The Guide says CQU is “big” in terms of student numbers and “very big” in terms of students from abroad with a “high” proportion of external and part-time students and a “very high” proportion of students aged over 25.

Mackay and Gladstone campuses have both gained 5-star ratings for their academic services.

In related news, CQU is again ahead of the national median for graduate starting salaries, according to Graduate Careers Australia's newly updated annual report on the earnings of recent university graduates (released this week).

The national median annual starting salary for bachelor degree graduates* commencing full-time work in 2004 was $38,000. The comparable median annual starting salary for CQU graduates was $40,000 for the same period.* These figures are presented in 'Graduate Starting Salaries, 2004' and are based on a group of new Australian graduates who were aged less than 25 and who were entering full-time employment for the first time. ENDS.