Student Experience & Graduate Success: Beyond the Metrics

A recent HEPI article by Harvey-Brewin, Is it time for a Graduate Excellence Framework?, questions whether Graduate Outcomes data tells the full story of a university's success.

Graduate Outcomes remains an important measure, but only captures one moment in time. It shows where graduates are 15 months after completing their studies, but says much less about the experiences that helped them get there.

This feels particularly relevant as universities respond to rising student expectations, changing employer needs and continued financial pressures. Students increasingly want a degree that prepares them for life after university, while employers continue to place more importance and value on transferable skills alongside academic achievement.

Student experience is often associated with wellbeing, student satisfaction and support services. These are essential, but are only part of the picture. Equally important are the opportunities students have to develop confidence, build professional networks and apply their learning beyond the classroom.

This is where employability becomes a shared responsibility.

Academic teams, professional services, career services, employers and alumni all contribute to the student journey. Placements, mentoring, industry projects, employer-led teaching and volunteering each add value. The real challenge is ensuring that students feel these opportunities are connected, so they can recognise how each experience contributes to their personal and professional development. 

Many universities are already making progress. Often, the next step is not introducing new initiatives but strengthening those that already exist. Embedding employer engagement across programmes, helping students reflect on the skills they are developing, and creating stronger links between academic learning and professional practice can all have a lasting impact without the need for significant structural change.

The author does not suggest replacing Graduate Outcomes: reliable data remains essential. Instead, it suggests a wider conversation is needed about what sits behind the numbers and how universities can better understand the journey that leads to successful outcomes.

Perhaps that is where the greatest opportunity lies. Graduate success is shaped over the course of a student's university experience, not simply measured afterwards. Looking beyond the metrics allows institutions to focus on the experiences that prepare students to succeed, not only in securing employment, but in building rewarding and sustainable careers.

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