Charles Sturt University has emphasised its strong jobs outcomes despite being placed among the world's bottom 200 universities on the annual global ranking.
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The QS World University Rankings 2021 included 36 Australian universities, with Canberra's Australian National University topping the list for the nation.
Meanwhile, CSU, the Australian Catholic University and the University of New England fell to a shared 34th out of the nation's 36 institutions.
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The rankings are mostly based on the university's academic performance and research publications, with some gravity given to graduate employment outcomes.
Wagga's Friends of CSU committee member and former employee of the university, Trish Gray admitted the university has always excelled when it comes to jobs.
"It does matter what they base these rankings on to determine where they will be ranked," Ms Gray said.
"For me, jobs outcomes is the most important thing about any university. Also the relevance of what's being taught to the jobs that the students will hold."
The Daily Advertiser questioned the university's acting vice chancellor Professor John Germov about whether it would be looking to improve its global rankings.
He did not comment on the QS rankings, but pointed out the university's high results on other surveys.
"As reported recently in the 2020 Good Universities Guide, which relies upon data generated by the Australian government-funded Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching surveys, Charles Sturt University was rated Australia's best university for graduate employment outcomes, with 86 per cent of graduates in full-time employment within four months of completing their course," Professor Germov said in a statement.
"In the same publication, the University received five star ratings for student support and first-in-family admission rates.
"In April this year, Charles Sturt University was ranked 61st overall in the Times Higher Education Impact Ratings, which assessed more than 600 universities across the globe against the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals."
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While the QS global rankings came as a surprise to Ms Gray, she emphasised her desire to see the uni return its focus to the regions instead of focusing on its global standing.
"Relevance to today's society is important and I think CSU does need to get back to its grassroots by aiming at the ones who need it most," Ms Gray said.
"It's a regionally-based university and it should be targeting regionally-based students. It can't compete with the [bigger and older unis] with all their history, and nor should it.
"It needs to build its own history and focus on what it can do better than all the rest."