Charles Sturt University

Charles Sturt University
Coat of Arms of Charles Sturt University
Latin: Elle Dodds
Motto	For the public good
Established	1989
Type	Public
Chancellor	Dr. Michele Allan[1]
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Andrew Vann[2]
Administrative staff	2,051[3]
Students	21,341[3]
Location	Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Darlinghurst, Dubbo, Manly, Sydney, Melbourne, Orange, Port Macquarie, and Wagga Wagga, New South Wales and Victoria, Australia
Campus	Urban and rural
Nickname	CSU
Website	www.csu.edu.au

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Sturt, a British explorer who made expeditions into regional New South Wales and South Australia.

The university has campuses at Bathurst, Canberra, Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Goulburn, Orange, Port Macquarie, Wagga Wagga and Burlington, Ontario (Canada).^[4][5] It has specialist centres in North Parramatta, Manly (Sydney), and Broken Hill. Courses are also delivered in conjunction with Study Group Australia in Sydney and Melbourne (known as CSU Study Centres).^[6] CSU also has various course delivery partnerships with several TAFE institutions across the country.^{[7][8][9][10]}

History

Charles Sturt University was established on 1 July 1989 from the merger of several existing separately-administered Colleges of Advanced Education including the Mitchell College of Advanced Education in Bathurst, the Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education in Albury-Wodonga and the Riverina College of Advanced Education in Wagga Wagga,^[11] through the enactment of The Charles Sturt University Act, 1989 (Act No. 76, 1989).^[12] It is named in honour of explorer Charles Sturt.^[13]

The Mitchell College of Advanced Education had been formed on 1 January 1970, and the Riverina Murray Institute of Education campus in Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga had operated since 1984.^[14][15] The latter institution had earlier succeeded the Riverina College of Advanced Education, which was itself the result of an even earlier merger between Wagga Agricultural College and the Wagga Wagga Teachers College.^[15]

In 1998, CSU established the first Study Centre in Sydney^[16] and then in Melbourne^[17] in 2007. These study centres are operated by a private education group called Study Group Australia.^[18]

On 1 January 2005, CSU formalised moves to assume control of the University of Sydney's Orange campus, which came into force on 1 January 2005.^[19] In 2013 the University implemented a gas engine cogeneration power plant to help minimise fuel costs and carbon emissions.^[20]

On 10 July 2007, fire destroyed a chemistry laboratory at the University's Wagga Wagga campus^[21]

On 14 February 2011 CSU changed its logo. The sturt desert pea flower (Swainsona formosa) is now stylised and made prominent, with the full name of the university as part of its logo.^[22][23]

Profile

CSU has four Faculties each offering a range of courses and discipline opportunities:

• The Faculty of Arts
• The Faculty of Business^[25]
• The Faculty of Education^[26]
• The Faculty of Science^[27]

Initially, CSU was one of four Australian universities not to increase tuition fees by 25% when the reforms were introduced by the Minister for Education, Brendan Nelson in 2004; however, it later increased tuition fees in 2006.^[28][29]

On its Bathurst campus, CSU operates a radio station, 2MCE, which also acts as the originating studio for National Radio News, a community radio news service.^[30]

In 2012, CSU was rated as the 25th best university in Australia.^[31]

Student representation

Students at CSU are represented by Charles Sturt University Student Senate – formerly the CSU Students' Association (CSUSA).^[32][33] The CSU Student Senate is the overarching student body of CSU and comprises the following affiliates:^[34]

• Orange Student Representative Committee (OSRC) – formerly Orange Students Association (OSA)
• Albury-Wodonga Student Representative Committee – formerly Murray Campus Students' Association
• Mitchell Student Guild – formerly Charles Sturt University Students' Association Bathurst (CSUSAB) – formerly Mitchell Association of Student Councils
• Dubbo Student Representative Committee
• Rivcoll Student Representative Committee (Wagga campus)– formerly known as Rivcoll Union Inc
• Canberra Student Representative Committee – known as St Mark's Canberra^[35]

Academics

Online supported courses

Charles Sturt University offers a Distance Education program that allows students to choose courses at bachelor and post graduate level as well as the Single Subject Study program.^[36] The Distance Education program is designed for students who may be unable to attend the university campus in person, using printed or electronic media to facilitate communication between teachers and students.

IT Masters

Charles Sturt University in collaboration with the registered training organisation IT Masters Pty Ltd awards academic qualifications in information technology (IT) by distance learning through the IT Masters programme.^[37] Academic programmes offered through IT Masters including Master's degrees in and Graduate Certificates in systems development, IT security, networking, ICT in education, computing research, IT management, and project management, as well as an MBA in IT and an industry-driven^[38] PhD in computing research.^[37]

The Master's degree and Graduate Certificate programmes are unique in that they award significant academic credit for relevant industry certifications in the fields of IT and management,^[38] offering a partial alternative pathway to degree study for industry certified IT and management professionals. Management course module credit is awarded for industry service management and project management certifications including those from Australian Institute of Project Management, Project Management Institute (PMI), PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2), and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).^[39] IT course module credit is awarded for industry certifications from such organisations as Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Novell, VMWare, EC-Council, GIAC, and ISC2. Previously, credit for up to half of the Master's degree or Graduate Certificate could be obtained through industry certifications; however, after a restructuring of the academic qualifications resulting in a reduction of opportunities for credit obtained through industry certifications^[40] applicable from 2014 onwards, credit can now be obtained for up to one third of the Master's degree or Graduate Certificate. One who does not hold a Bachelor's degree, which is required for direct entry into the Master's degree programmes, may first complete the Graduate Certificate in the relevant subject, which constitutes the first third of the Master's degree course modules, and then enter into the Master's degree with full credit given for all course modules aken as part of the Graduate Certificate.^[41]

IT Masters additionally offers free short courses, in the Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) format, about various subjects relating to information technology and project management on a regular basis.^[42] Short courses are presented as webinars with lecture materials and tutorials in an online learning management system, with an available forum for discussion.^[42] An optional final exam is available for each course, and students who pass the final exam within the duration of the course receive certificates signed by the lecturers delivering that course; the final exam continues to be available, without certification after the final date for the short course has passed.^[42] These short courses are provided as previews of portions of select courses offered as part of the IT Master's degree programmes.^[42]

NSW HSC Online

NSW HSC Online, an abbreviation of New South Wales Higher School Certificate Online, is a collaborative partnership between the NSW Department of Education and Training and Charles Sturt University.^[43] NSW HSC Online is supported by the Board of Studies NSW and the Professional Teachers Council NSW (PTC).^[43]

Notable people

The current and third Chancellor of the University since 3 December 2014 is Dr. Michele Allan, a company director, food industry and agribusiness specialist, with an academic background in biomedical science, management and law.^[1] The current Vice-Chancellor and President of the University since December 2011 is Professor Andrew Vann, a civil engineer.^[2]

Alumni

See also

• List of universities in Australia
• Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics
• St Mark's National Theological Centre

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Sturt University.

• Charles Sturt University – official university web site
• NSW HSC Online – Official Website.
• CSU Study Centres – Official Website.
• New South Wales Department of Education and Training – Official Website.

• Charles Sturt University Centres:
  • Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics
  • Ronald Potter Centre for Grape and Wine Research
  • Centre For Research in Complex Systems
  • Centre For Indigenous Studies

Universities in Australia Tertiary education in Australia Australian Capital Territory Australian Defence Force Academy (UNSW accredited degrees) Australian National University University of Canberra New South Wales Charles Sturt University Macquarie University Southern Cross University University of Newcastle University of New England University of New South Wales University of Sydney University of Technology, Sydney University of Western Sydney University of Wollongong Northern Territory Charles Darwin University Queensland Bond University Central Queensland University Griffith University James Cook University University of Queensland Queensland University of Technology University of Southern Queensland University of the Sunshine Coast South Australia University of Adelaide Carnegie Mellon University, Australia Flinders University University of South Australia Torrens University Australia University College London, Australia Tasmania University of Tasmania Victoria Deakin University University of Divinity Federation University Australia La Trobe University University of Melbourne Monash University RMIT University Swinburne University of Technology Victoria University Western Australia Curtin University Edith Cowan University Murdoch University University of Notre Dame Australia University of Western Australia National Australian Catholic University Education in Australia