Monk took over from Michael Laudrup in February and, after a worrying run of one win in nine matches, the club looked in grave danger of dropping back into the Championship.
Three wins from their final four games saw them pull comfortably clear, however, finishing in 12th place, nine points clear of the bottom three.
And Monk, who has installed as permanent boss earlier this month, believes the season should be considered as an overall success, given the circumstances.
"Football's a strange thing," he told The South Wales Evening Post. "You go back a few months and you would say last season was a poor season judging by the standards we've set.
"Then you see we finished up only five points behind our best ever total in the Premier League and four points behind last year, both of which were classed as really good seasons.
"When you consider we had the Europa League and the change of manager and everything on top of that, it's hard not to consider it a decent season.
"But it's a season where we've learned a hell of a lot - everyone has learned a lot.
"Those people who have watched us for a number of years know it's a chance now for us to take stock of what we've done, to make sure we don't make the same mistakes and make sure we move forward properly."
