VC - CQUniversity

Off to a flying start

2012-01-13T09:42:00.004+10:00

Even though I haven’t had a chance to fly my plane yet in 2012, we are certainly off to a flying start at CQUniversity.

My holiday started just before Christmas with my wife Anita’s 50th birthday party in Cairns, which was a 1960s-themed party. It was a groovy fun night which we shared with close friends and family. As you can see I got into the 1960s swing of things!

So after a wonderful Christmas break, it’s great to be back in the office with so much happening already this year.

With our QTAC offers up from this time last year, 20 new programs ready to kick off for Term 1 and loads of construction projects in progress across our campuses, I’m very excited about what this year will bring.

Something we will be focusing closely on this year is widening university participation among underrepresented groups of people. CQUniversity recently gained around $3.3 million in Federal Government funding aimed at breaking down barriers to university through outreach to schools and engagement with indigenous communities between now and 2014.

CQUniversity has established a good track record and evidence of success for Widening Participation projects, which are designed to raise educational aspirations without promoting any particular degree or campus.

CQUniversity currently works with 33 high schools and 107 primary schools to build collaborative partnerships, raise aspirations and smooth students’ transition into university and TAFE programs.

I am also very pleased to see staff moving into our newly refurbished research precinct in Rockhampton – the Central Queensland Innovation and Research Precinct (CQIRP). Our IT and Facilities teams have been working hard to have the new space ready for the start of the year and I must say it is looking very impressive.

This week also marks the first official week of operation of the Appleton Institute, our new research facility in Adelaide. Professor Drew Dawson and his team of human factors researchers have now fully migrated to CQUniversity and, by all reports, are settling in nicely to their new home. I look forward to exploring ways of better integrating our Adelaide operations into the University as the year progresses.

CQUniversity Noosa has also had a facelift recently. Head of Campus Kevin Tickle tells me the new library space and collaborative learning areas are absolutely state-of-the-art and I’m sure our students will benefit greatly from these new facilities.

Construction of the Queensland Government’s Trade Training Centre on our Mackay campus continues, which is a significant project for Mackay and will help initiate the commitment we have to CQUniversity becoming Queensland’s first dual-sector education provider. CQUniversity Mackay also had an early Christmas present last month with the finalisation of new clinical nursing facilities.

A number of cutting-edge developments for the Gladstone region are also on the horizon for this year.

Among the proposed developments are a much-needed marine research and rehabilitation facility, an early childhood education and training hub, and a mixed-use affordable accommodation complex for students and the wider community. I look forward to sharing more details on this as things progress.

I hope everyone has had a relaxing and safe holiday break with their loved ones and are feeling refreshed and ready for the new year. I get the feeling 2012 is going to be a big one!

With all this activity to keep us busy, and preparing for our new intake of students, I hope I get the chance soon to fit in a quick flight before the rain sets in.

Thank you and Merry Christmas

2011-12-14T16:20:00.003+10:00

The past couple of weeks have been hectic!

I have been attending graduations at the Metropolitan Campuses. I never tire of meeting with our graduates and their families. It was a special week for me because my son graduated. Here is a picture of him with his Mum Anita. I could really relate to how the families at the CQUniversity ceremonies were feeling.

We are fast approaching the end of the year and what a year it has been.

We have had a great deal of success in our teaching and learning, research and engagement. Our teaching quality was recognised by the Good Universities Guide and with the outcome of our AUQA audit review. We are also seeing an improvement in our student retention which is very pleasing. We are really starting to ramp up our research efforts and I am sure we are going to excel in coming years. It is great to see so many world class researchers choosing CQUniversity as their academic home. We have defined what we mean by engagement - and our efforts are being recognised nationally and internationally.

Many of our new programs have gotten off to a great start in 2011. This year we had the highest percentage increase of first preference applications of all the Queensland universities. Many of our staff have been working very hard to write new programs and to renew programs for next year and we are seeing very strong applications for 2012 – this is all very good news.

We have also received quite a few early Christmas presents this year. The Federal Government has awarded us more than $70m in SAF and EIF funding (see previous blog) and we have also won over $3m in HEPPP funding which will help us to improve university participation in Central Queensland. On top of this we have been given over $2.5m from BMC and BMA for scholarships. Success follows success and we certainly are very successful!

So the year comes to an end on a high note. I want to thank all the staff of CQUniversity, including those employed through our C Management Services subsidiary, for their hard work this year in moving us towards being one of Australia's truly great universities. In this respect I would also like to thank those who do not work directly for the University but who have also contributed greatly over the past year. This includes Council Members, Engagement Committee members, work placement supervisors, volunteers, alumni and community supporters. Thanks to you all.

I get the feeling 2012 is going to be an even bigger year, with more programs being introduced, many exciting new campus developments and a time when we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary since becoming a university.

I am off early this year for a Christmas break. It is Anita’s 50th birthday on Saturday and we are having a party in Cairns so I am really looking forward to that.

I hope you will have time to view a short Christmas video that has been put together by Elizabeth Tansley - http://youtu.be/JVLxJsVxHS0

Have a safe and happy Christmas and I look forward to continuing the great work next year.

Celebrating 20 Years

2011-12-14T12:19:00.003+10:00

One of the things I love most about my job as VC are the opportunities I have to chat with students – whether it’s at a BBQ lunch on campus, celebrating their success at a graduation ceremony or welcoming them to campus at orientation week – it is always refreshing to remind myself of the role we play in helping students reach their full educational potential.

I had the chance to meet Renee, one of our BA Professional Communication students recently, who is currently completing her third and final year at CQUniversity. Over the summer semester, Renee is undertaking a work placement with the CQUniversity Corporate Communications team.

CQUniversity offers one of the best mixes of classroom and workplace-based learning of any Australian university and the Corporate Communications team were very keen to have Renee on board for this opportunity.

Interestingly enough, the project Renee has been tasked with during her placement is CQUniversity’s 20th anniversary celebrations. 2012 is a very special year for CQUniversity – and Renee. Although founded in 1967 as an institute of technology, 1992 was the year we gained full university status. Renee just happens to be holding her own ‘20th celebrations’ next year as she was born the same year we became a university.

You might say 20 years doesn’t seem very long in the world of higher education and you’d be right. I like to think of us as being ’20 years young’. One definition I found for young was “being in the first part or period of growth”. I think this describes CQUniversity’s current period of renewal perfectly – this is only the beginning – there are bigger and better things to come.

We have a unique history and a most interesting story to tell. There are countless achievements and successes to be proud of over the past twenty years and I’m very excited to have CQUniversity’s Professor Denis Cryle compile our history since 1992. You’ll be hearing more about our plans to celebrate our 20th anniversary and I’m sure Renee will do us proud – as one of our students – to help bring this all together.

$73.8m funding boost for CQUniversity

2011-12-12T10:16:00.004+10:00

It’s been a long time coming, but we finally have confirmation!

It was extremely pleasing to receive official word from the Commonwealth Government last week regarding our funding application for higher education investment monies.

CQUniversity has received $73.8m, part of a total pool of $377m from the Structural Adjustment Fund (SAF) and Education Investment Fund (EIF) for 2011.

These funds will allow the University to enter its next phase of development and is a major step forward in the process to revolutionise post-schooling education to better meet the unique skills needs of this region.

At a special briefing event held this morning to mark the funding announcement, it was fantastic to be joined by so many supporters such as Member for Capricornia Kirsten Livermore and Central Queensland Institute of TAFE Director Gary Kinnon. A large crowd of university and TAFE staff joined with community members, Rockhampton region Mayor, Councillors and representatives from Capricorn Enterprise, the CQ NRL Bid and Central Queensland Indigenous Development to hear how the funding would be utilised.

There are several major projects set to benefit from these funds:

• readying the university for our proposed merger with Central Queensland Institute of TAFE, including new interactive teaching and learning spaces across the numerous CQIT and CQUniversity sites in Central Queensland, to allow for better interaction between campuses;
• a new state-of-the-art engineering precinct at CQUniversity Mackay which will feature purpose-built workshops and learning centres; and
• a further stage of the public-access allied health clinic at CQUniversity Rockhampton.

I believe this funding announcement demonstrates just how crucial CQUniversity is to the national higher education sector and to the communities of the booming Central Queensland region.

These funds represent one fifth of the overall SAF/EIF funding pool for 2011, which is a massive vote of confidence from the Government in the CQUniversity, and our plans for dual-sector status and the development of a world-class engineering school in Mackay.

I look forward to sharing more details about these projects as they progress, but for now, I would like to express my thanks to the Commonwealth Government for its foresight in recognising the immense contribution a dual-sector university, offering world-class engineering programs, will make to a region like Central Queensland and to the many staff who helped put this funding application together – it has certainly been worth the effort.

Leading Australian nurse authors

2011-11-22T14:21:00.003+10:00

Earlier this year, CQUniversity was extremely fortunate to appoint one of its senior researchers – Professor Brenda Happell – as an Engaged Research Chair for Mental Health Nursing. We always knew at CQUni that Brenda was an amazing person – an esteemed researcher and Professor with a highly-regarded research track record.

So I was delighted to see a recent Journal of Clinical Nursing (JCN) article confirm what many of us already know – that Brenda is one of Australia’s top nursing academics, based on a detailed analysis of research publications undertaken by the JCN.

The analysis of research citations published in the JCN includes a special index where a score between 10 and 14 indicates an ‘excellent publication record'. Professor Happell's special index of 20 puts her in the top three on the ranking table.

CQUniversity has a strong and proud history in the nursing discipline. From our first offerings on the Rockhampton campus, we have now expanded to be located on another four campuses of CQUniversity – Mackay, Bundaberg, Noosa and Emerald – with both on-campus and distance learning. 2012 will see CQUniversity celebrating not only 20 years as a university, but also celebrating 20 years of graduating nursing students.

As the JCN so aptly put it “despite the many ways that publication outputs can be measured, calculated and ‘crunched’, it is important not to lose sight of the primary aim of nursing research – that is to improve patient care, enhance the health care experiences of patients and families, and strengthen the skills, sustainability and well-being of the nursing workforce.”

Whilst we are extremely proud of Brenda’s ranking in the JCN, it is the dedication and skill of Brenda and her colleagues that we are most proud of.

Representing Queensland on the world stage

2011-11-18T14:37:00.002+10:00

I had a very busy and productive visit to Brisbane earlier this week.

I was very honoured to join the Deputy Premier and Treasurer Andrew Fraser for the launch of a new industry-led peak body the Study Queensland Industry Council (SQIC) on Wednesday. I was invited to be a member of this board – Chaired by Professor Bill Lovegrove, VC of the University of Southern Queensland – which aims to represent Queensland’s international education and training sector on the world stage.

CQUniversity is already one of Australia’s leading providers of international education and I believe this peak body will assist greatly with presenting a cooperative and holistic face for Queensland when we market overseas.

Mr Fraser spoke yesterday at the launch about how the SQIC will expand Queensland’s reputation as a world-class base for education and training services.
Education services are already Queensland’s third largest export industry, generating over $2.8 billion in export revenue in 2009-10 and providing jobs for around 17,000 Queenslanders – and CQUniversity is very proud to play a major part in this.

Internationalisation permeates all aspects of CQUniversity and the concept of international activity is not new to us. Over the past two decades, CQUniversity has grown to be multi-campus, multi-city university focused on preparing highly diverse learners for internationally-engaged and effective professional practice wherever they may be situated.

I think Queensland will have plenty to gain by boosting cooperation among providers, as international students may wish to experience ‘lifestyle’ study locations along the coast as well as city and rural campuses, while moving seamlessly between vocational and tertiary programs.

Speaking of our international students, I had a great evening with a group of CQUniversity Alumni in Brisbane following the launch of SQIC yesterday. Chancellor, Rennie Fritschy and I joined staff from the Brisbane campus and our Office of Development and Graduate Relations to host a reception for graduates and university donors. It was wonderful to hear stories about what our alumni have been up to since graduating and all said it was a nice feeling to be back ‘on campus’.

This was also an opportunity for me to thank our donors and other supporters as we truly value these relationships and love catching up with past students whenever possible.

Dual-sector progress

2011-11-16T16:10:00.003+10:00

Things are progressing at a steady pace with our aim to be Queensland’s first dual-sector university.

Since the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh paid us a visit in August this year to announce her approval for merger talks to proceed between CQUniversity and Central Queensland Institute of TAFE (CQIT) (see previous blog), I am pleased to say I was in Brisbane recently to meet with Julie Grantham, Director-General of the Department of Education and Training (DET) (pictured).

During this visit, Julie and I signed a Heads of Agreement document between the State of Queensland (represented by DET) and CQUniversity that records another significant milestone in the progress of the proposed merger between CQUniversity and CQIT.

This agreement commits CQUniversity and DET to more intensive negotiations leading to a detailed merger agreement down the track. I am looking forward to continuing the work we are undertaking with DET and CQIT to ensure this proposal achieves a positive outcome not only for the Government, CQIT and CQUniversity, but most importantly for the communities in Central Queensland.

Whilst we are waiting to hear from the Federal Government about our application for funding which will assist with this process, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Nik Babovic and his team are working hard to ensure we are ready to proceed to the next level of our journey to dual-sector status.

I’m sure this will pay off in years to come with greater study choices and career pathways for our regional students, helping them tap into our ongoing resources boom.

I look forward to sharing more information with you as progress is made.

Investing in our future

2011-11-15T13:36:00.003+10:00

Figures released recently by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, paint a very bright future for Australia’s universities.

It is pleasing indeed to see operating surpluses on the increase, revenue for the sector up 8.2% and Government funding increased by 8.9% in 2010.

CQUniversity was attributed as having an operating deficit for 2010 in this DEEWR report - Finance 2010: Financial reports of Higher Education Providers – which on the surface, may be cause for concern, but when put into context, comes as no surprise given our current rate of rapid expansion.

These figures are based on information we provided to the government for the 2010 reporting period and if you look closely at other sections of the report, it shows CQUniversity to have a ‘retained surplus’ of $205 million and a ‘total equity’ value of $284 million.

So, what does this all mean exactly? To put it simply, it means we have been using a large portion of ‘our own money’ to fund a rapid expansion of infrastructure, research and academic talent and fresh degree programs over the past two years. The University Council and I made a commitment when I was appointed Vice-Chancellor that we would ‘put our money where our mouth is’ and reinvigorate investment in our future and embark on a path of renewal at CQUniversity.

The first major milestone of CQUniversity’s Renewal Plan was to be financially sustainable by 2011 – and I am very pleased to say that we have achieved this goal. CQUniversity’s finances are in good position which means we have been able to draw largely on our own resources, knowing there is still plenty of ‘money in the bank’ to retain an overall surplus.

Dozens of projects are contributing to the university’s renewal program of upgrading teaching infrastructure and building new teaching and community facilities such as a multi-million dollar relocation of CQUniversity Brisbane; a brand new 72 room student accommodation facility and medical science laboratories in Mackay (pictured above); a $13M allied health clinic and $10.5M redevelopment of our engineering teaching precinct in Rockhampton; construction of sonography laboratories in Sydney and refurbishment of research centres in Adelaide and Rockhampton to name just a few.

It could be argued we are Queensland’s fastest growing university and if anything, the table contained in the DEEWR report reflects our ambitious renewal program – we aren’t sitting on our reserves, we are investing it in our future – our students.

We are looking forward to 2012 and another strong year of enrolments. We are expanding program and course offerings at all campuses and developing fully-fledged university cities, increasing participation in higher education and addressing workforce needs. In fact, I recently found out our new Paramedic Science program is 65% over enrolled for next year and (unfortunately) we will need to turn students away.

So it is all good news – we are not going broke – far from it.

International Engagement

2011-10-19T17:06:00.005+10:00

I was fortunate enough to travel to the Middle East recently as part of a CQUniversity business delegation along with colleagues Ken Hawkins, Geoff Wessling and Jamie Palmer. Whilst overseas, the Chancellor, Rennie Fritschy and I also travelled to India and Singapore.

The Middle East is truly a remarkable part of the world and it was very exciting to explore possibilities such as joint research projects, delivery of training programs for workers in the resource and health sectors and reconnect with CQUniversity alumni who have returned home after completing their studies in Australia.

I believe being a leading provider of international education brings with it a responsibility for ‘giving back’ to the students and countries that chose CQUniversity as their preferred study option.

During my overseas trip, I was very honoured to officiate CQUniversity’s partnership with one of India’s most progressive NGOs, Salaam Baalak Trust, to improve educational opportunities for Indian students and to provide assistance to street children. This is all part of our aim of being Australia’s most engaged university and helping to facilitate access to higher education for all individuals.

My earlier blog on the Salaam Baalak partnership generated some interest from people wanting to know more about how they can be involved with this initiative. Once I have spoken with staff next week, I will post further details about how the wider community can assist CQUniversity with this inspirational programme.

CQUniversity to invest $7m in establishing Adelaide research presence

2011-09-14T08:41:00.003+10:00

I am delighted to announce the appointment of renowned human factors and safety researcher Professor Drew Dawson as CQUniversity’s inaugural Engaged Research Chair.

All year I’ve been saying that 2011 is going to be the year of research at CQUniversity and following the acquisition of the former CSIRO laboratories in Rockhampton (see previous Blog), we will now be establishing a research centre in Adelaide – the Appleton Institute.

The Appleton Institute will be a hub for South Australian research talent including the Human Factors & Safety Research Centre headed up by Professor Dawson which will help to establish a strong, credible and locally relevant presence for CQUniversity in South Australia.

With the ‘power of place’ offered by CQUniversity, Professor Dawson and his team (including lead researchers Associate Professor Sally Ferguson and Associate Professor Greg Roach) will now be able to more effectively apply their cutting edge research to tackling hot-button issues in theresource-rich Central Queensland region as well. The team are considered to be world leaders in the field of sleep research, with expertise in the areas of human sleep, biological rhythms, sleep disorders, workplace fatigue and risk management.

With a physical presence in South Australia and a strategic link to Queensland’s mining heartland, this appointment really is a win-win for academia and industry in both states.

This is not just about expanding CQUniversity’s geographic footprint – it really is about CQUniversity leveraging the best research talent in the nation, to address issues that have a direct impact on the communities we serve.

I am pleased we had the opportunity to acknowledge CQUniversity’s first Vice-Chancellor, the late Dr Arthur Appleton, with the naming of the Appleton Institute. Dr Appleton had strong ties to South Australia through his role as Head of Metallurgy at the South Australian Institute of Technology (now UniSA). The Appleton Institute will occupy the site of the former Royal District Nursing Service headquarters at Wayville and will house a state-of-the-art sleep laboratory and cognitive performance facility.

Plans to recruit up to 10 Engaged Research Chairs across a number of disciplines are underway and I look forward to sharing more exciting news with you as progress is made.

Innovation & Research Precinct for regional Queensland

2011-09-01T10:51:00.003+10:00

I am excited to announce that a new state-of-the-art, CQUniversity research precinct – which is set to put Central Queensland on the world map for scientific innovation – is set to be located in the former CSIRO JM Rendel Laboratory in Rockhampton.

This facility, one of Australia’s premier livestock research facilities in years gone by, will be transformed into a regional research and innovation powerhouse known as the Central Queensland Innovation and Research Precinct (CQIRP).

I cannot overstate how much value CQIRP will generate for this region. Central Queensland – from Mackay to Bundaberg, from Gladstone to Emerald – has limitless untapped potential that is begging to be unlocked through unique research and innovation. We believe CQIRP will provide the key.

CQUniversity is embarking on an ambitious agenda of research and innovation resurgence over the next 10 years, which will revolutionise the University and the way we impact on the communities we service.

We are therefore putting our money where our mouth is, with plans to inject millions into staffing, resourcing and equipping CQIRP into a truly world-class facility over the next few years.

Put simply, this new development will position Central Queensland as the research and innovation capital of regional Australia, with benefits that will continue to flow to the community from today on.

We will now begin refurbishing the existing laboratories, with the first active research projects to start moving in by December this year.

By 2012, projects covering everything from natural resources, to water, to environmental management, to immunology and preventative health, will be brought ‘in house’.

What a week

2011-08-26T12:08:00.007+10:00

What a week it’s been! After travelling back from Sydney earlier in the week, I am delighted to hear of so many CQUniversity ‘success’ stories this week. I am so proud to be VC of such an exciting university – so far this week I’ve heard about:

• Engineers Australia once again accrediting our engineering programs for another five years. Well done to Dean of School, Alan McPhail and all his team for their hard work and commitment in achieving this milestone – it mustn’t have been easy undertaking an accreditation exercise at the same time as managing a major refurbishment of the engineering precinct.

• A group of CQUniversity School of Nursing and Midwifery academics winning a national publishing award, reflecting their contributions to a new Medical-Surgical Nursing Textbook. Congratulations to the CQUniversity contributors - Lorna Moxham, Kerry Reid-Searl, Trudy Dwyer, Judith Applegarth, Sandra Walker, Marc Broadbent and Diane Goldsworthy.

• Anthony Welch, Associate Professor in Mental Health Nursing from our Noosa campus winning a national publishing award for his publication entitled Mental Health Nursing: Dimensions of Praxis. Anthony won the Tertiary Education (wholly Australian) - Teaching and Learning Resource Category in the Australian Educational Publishing Awards.

• ICT Educator of the Year – our very own Steven Pace from CQUniversity Mackay – featured in The Australian this week for his innovative approach to ICT teaching.

• And Lisa Bricknell and Steven Pace receiving their ALTC awards at the Sydney Opera house for their outstanding contributions to student learning.

There are no doubt many more success stories to mention - thank you all for making CQUniversity such a great place to be.

Growth, engagement & grandchildren

2011-08-23T09:30:00.003+10:00

I am typing this at 30,000 feet somewhere between Sydney and Brisbane on my way back to Central Queensland. I have been in Sydney for the Universities Australia Vice-Chancellors Plenary. These meetings are always interesting. About 38 Vice Chancellors in the same room - I will leave it to your imagination as to what that is like.

Before the plenary we discussed a couple of important issues at a workshop: the sector’s response to the demand-led system, and the public profile of universities.

The sector has grown very quickly in the lead up to the uncapping of places next year. Many universities have become over-enrolled in advance of the new system. As reported in The Australian recently, CQUniversity is only about 1% above its student cap. I think that most people in the sector agree that the caps on student numbers will not be ‘off’ forever. I have always thought that caps would be put back on once the Government’s target of 40% participation was met.

What this means for CQUniversity is that if we want to grow the university (as we do), we need to do this in the next couple of years. This is why we have all been working so hard to put in place new programs that our communities want and need. This hard work will continue next year. The uncapping of places has allowed us to offer new programs such as law, accident forensics, aviation and health. Without the extra student places this would not have been possible. So the new system is working very well for us, but we need to work very hard to get all the new programs we need up and running over the next few years.

The other interesting discussion we had was about the public profile of universities. All the research indicates that universities are very well thought of by the public. However it is thought that there is a feeling amongst many politicians that there are not a lot of votes in universities. Other public issues such as health, disabilities and school education seem to be of a higher priority when people are considering how to vote. I think this may be true.

The way we become more influential is not to see universities competing with these other priorities - but demonstrating how universities are contributing to these other important priorities. Where would health care, schooling, and solving problems faced by those with disabilities be without universities? I think we have a stronger case than most because of our great emphasis on engagement. Everything we do is linked with our communities and how we can partner with them to help meet their aspirations. I think there is no better way to develop the profile of universities than pursuing an engagement agenda. This will lead to third party endorsements of our university which are much more powerful than us telling those in power how good we are!

On a personal note, last week was a wonderful one for me and my wife Anita. Our daughter Anneka and our grandson Owen visited for the week. We all had a ball! Here is a picture of him glazing some pots.

I think I had forgotten just how much hard work there is in bringing up a toddler (Owen is 19 months old). I do admire all of our team at the university who are doing such a fantastic job building the university and bringing up a family. I am not sure how you cope - but well done!

5 star ratings for CQUniversity

2011-08-18T10:08:00.001+10:00

The Good Universities Guide for 2012 is due for release this week and I am extremely proud to say that CQUniversity has leapt into the top three universities in Queensland – and top 14 nationally – for ‘teaching quality’, with an improved four-star rating. Four stars means that CQUniversity graduates rated our teaching quality higher than at 60 per cent of universities in Australia.

This outstanding rating – one of a number of four- and five-star ratings for CQUniversity in the Guide – is a vote of confidence in our ability to attract and retain top academic talent nationally, and I believe we will continue to build on this excellent momentum next year and gain even more plaudits for our quality learning and teaching outcomes.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our students who completed the Course Experience Questionnaire (the survey this category is based on) and our dedicated, hard working staff who provide such a quality educational experience.

Elsewhere in the Good Universities Guide for 2012, CQUniversity has attracted a total of seven five-star ratings – up from six in the 2011 edition. Building on last year’s success, the University has maintained its five-star status in the crucial area of ‘graduate starting salary’. This rating places us in the top 20 per cent of universities nationally for domestic students in their first full-time job, and is testament to the depth and breadth of our degree offerings and their ability to turn out top-quality graduates.

However, the ‘power of place’ remains a crucial factor, and CQUniversity – situated in the resource and agricultural heartland of Queensland – offers real opportunities for graduates to capitalise on the growth industries seeking skilled professionals right here in our own backyard.

The University’s strong social charter is also evident in this year’s Guide, with five-star ratings in ‘gender balance’, ‘access by equity groups’, ‘Indigenous participation’ and ‘cultural diversity’.

This is great news for our students, staff and our wider CQUniversity community.

Talking up our successes

2011-08-17T09:01:00.002+10:00

I received an invite to meet with Campbell Newman this week when he was in Yeppoon. I always enjoy any opportunity to talk up our successes with people of influence. And there were quite a few more successes to talk about since my last meeting with Mr Newman in May when he visited our Mackay campus. I was pleased that Mr Newman took a keen interest in the opportunities for the region that a dual-sector university could deliver, and he could see what we were out to achieve with the proposal. It's fantastic to see interest in our dual sector proposal from just about all quarters of government, industry and community. But more importantly it's great that our leaders - whether it be Campbell Newman this week, the Premier last week, or the Minister for Education the week before - are acknowledging the momentum that CQUniversity is building, and are genuinely enthusiastic about our direction. It reassures me that we are on the right path, and our best days are still ahead of us.

Dual-sector approval: a great day for Central Queensland

2011-08-10T12:11:00.010+10:00

Today was a big day for the University, the Central Queensland Insitute of TAFE, and the community. Huge actually. We passed a very important milestone in our journey to becoming Queensland's first dual-sector university, with Queensland Premier Anna Bligh announcing approval for the merger between CQUniversity and CQIT to proceed. Premier Bligh (pictured above with CQIT Director Kirsti Kee and myself) was at our Rockhampton campus this morning to make the announcement.

This doesn't mean we have merged yet - it's just the starting pistol for negotiations to proceed. The real work starts today. We have to make sure any amalgamation of the two institutions works in the best interest of staff and students of both organisations. We also need to ensure that any amalgamation achieves the best possible outcome for skilling this unique region more effectively; local employers, businesses, industry and the community as a whole will be huge beneficiaries of this dynamic new education and training model if it's done right. And I am confident it will be done right; we simply wouldn't be proceeding with it otherwise.

For the duration of our journey to dual-sector status thus far, we have received strong support from the region's schools, industry, employers, local groups like Capricorn Enterprise and GAPDL in Gladstone, local mayors, staff, students, government, and the wider community. This support has helped us get this far, and the continued support of the community will see us reach our goal in the end. Thanks to everyone involved in getting us to this point, I'm looking forward to keeping you updated as we move forward from here. And to our colleagues at CQIT, I'm excited and energised about working with you to build a stronger institution together.

Engagement with India

2011-08-02T21:39:00.001+10:00

I am in India this week. I am here for a number of reasons. On Sunday I took part in the Australian Indian Vice Chancellors Workshop. The senior university executives present discussed ways to better foster engagement between our two countries.

Today (Monday) I was part of the inaugural Australia India Education Council AIEC Our Minister for Tertiary Education Chris Evans attended this meeting along with the Indian Minister for Human resource Development Shri Kapil Sibal. The meeting covered skills development as well as higher education.

The Council discussed how we could work more closely together. One of the projects adopted by the Council was improving student mobility through amongst other things the development of a credit transfer data base. I have been chosen as the Australian lead for this project. I am looking forward to working with colleagues from Australia and India on this project.

I have been looking for ways to further our engagement agenda in India. We have many Indian students and staff and I want to look for ways to engage with Indian communities. On Saturday I think I found a great way of doing this.

I spend the day with an organization called Salaam Baalak .This is an organization that takes street children off the streets of Delhi, gives them a home and an education. I took a tour round the back streets of Delhi with a former street child. I also visited a couple of their children homes.

I am going to meet with the trust later in the week to look at ways in which the University can engage with this fantastic organization. Watch this space!

A comment from the flying VC

2011-07-27T13:54:00.002+10:00

Some of you may have seen the profile piece on me in today’s Higher Education section of The Australian (if you haven’t, here’s a link). I’d like to thank the editor, Julie Hare, for a well-written, fair and honest look at CQUniversity and my time in the Vice-Chancellor role.

Naturally, no journalist can take a fair and balanced look at the history of CQUniversity without mentioning some of the difficulties of the past – and I respect that. However, all universities go through tough times and, like others in the sector, I like to think that we have pushed through those ‘growing pains’ to face a far brighter, far more prosperous future than our past critics could have ever imagined.

To my colleagues, our students, our stakeholders and our friends in the sector, I say this: let’s learn from the past, but let’s not dwell on it. CQUniversity is well on the path towards its aim of being Australia’s most engaged university and, eventually, one of Australia’s truly great universities. There is plenty more ‘good news’ to come.

Industry Engagement

2011-07-27T05:26:00.002+10:00

I have just got back from a couple of days at our Gladstone campus. I am very pleased to report that the campus is going from strength to strength under the leadership of Professor Chad Hewitt (picture below). As with all other parts of the university our challenges in Gladstone are challenges of success. We have have seen record student enrollments on the Gladstone campus along with our highest levels of research activity. All this means that we have many more staff based in Gladstone. This in turn means that office space is just about fully occupied. With the industry boom in Gladstone our students and staff are having problems finding accommodation in the town. These are problems that we are going to have to address over the next few months if we are going to make the most of all the opportunities that Gladstone offers. You can hear Chad talking about Gladstone click here.

There is an interesting story in The Australian today about me and the University. It goes over the past quite a bit but does give a good overview of the potential for the region and how we are moving the University forward.

While in Gladstone I also took the opportunity to tour some of the industries based there. Gladstone has $72 billion worth of projects planed over the next few years - yes billion! I understand there is a similar magnitude of projects planned for Mackay!

CQUniversity really is in the right place at the right time. But to make the most of all of this opportunity we will need to engage more fully with industry. Yes I know we are doing a heck of a lot as evidenced by the CQUniversity News page. But we need to do even more.

This is the reason why I have made industry engagement my number one VC priority for 2012. We will be doing a lot more over the next year to partner with industries to help them meet their aspirations. In doing so we will move closer to our goal of being Australia's most engaged university. It will also contribute to building our region - our home.

The Pro Vice Chancellor Engagement Pierre Viljoen (pictured above) has developed one of the most sophisticated models for university/community engagement in Australia. We are also about to start using a great data base to record our community engagement activity - EDNA. All of this will help us to engage with our industry community. Take a look at what we are doing in the
engagement space.

Becoming a dual sector university will also contribute immeasurably to our goal of better industry engagement. Nik Babovik our Deputy Vice Chancellor (Industry and VET) and the pathways team are already spending a lot of time with industry looking for better ways to work with them.

We all have a part to play in making ours the most engaged university in Australia. To this end I hope all of the CQUniversity team will work with me to make industry engagement a top priority.

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Student BBQ

2011-07-20T16:29:00.002+10:00

It was great to get out this lunch time and meet with some of our students on the Rockhampton campus. The event was organised by the Student Association - many thanks Brendon and team. Also thanks to Sandy and Toni from my office for helping out. We had about 300 students turn up for lunch.

You cannot help but be impressed when you meet our students. All are keen to engage with the University and make their mark on the world. They were full of praise for our programs and staff. It is good to get out and about to hear all this positive feedback - sometimes all I hear in my office is the bad news.

Of course there was some positive critism about how we are operating. This included quite a lot of advice on how we can be more environmentally sustainable. Thanks - this will be taken on board.

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VC's Priorities for 2012

2011-07-18T11:49:00.001+10:00

As part of our strategic planning process I set priorities for the coming year. Here are my priorities for 2012. Over next few days I will talk about each of these on this blog.

§ Engagement with Local, National and International Industry - Engagement and the power of place underpin CQUniversity’s connections with industry in Central Queensland. In 2012, as CQUniversity moves to become Queensland’s first dual-sector University, we will forge closer alliances with key industry partners to better understand and exploit factors around learning and teaching, research and community engagement which contribute toward sustainable Central Queensland cities. Through CQUniversity’s Institute for Resources Industries and Sustainability and our Bundaberg, Mackay, Rockhampton and Gladstone campuses, we will share our physical and intellectual space with stakeholders to explore social, economic and environmental aspects of Central Queensland’s increased industrial development, especially as it pertains to mining, minerals processing, energy, agriculture, tourism, health and education. We will also work with our industry partners to develop new program and course offerings, delivery modes, delivery locations (on-campus and distance education), and decisions about future program areas. Workplace-based learning models – such as our engineering co-op program – are contextualising knowledge, preparing graduates for the workplace, utilising dispersed resources, building on current good practice, and providing excellent outcomes for students. With partners such as Anglo Coal, BHP Billiton and John Holland Group, CQUniversity learning and teaching provides real world context.

§ The First Year Experience with special emphasis on attrition - CQUniversity is committed to enhancing our students’ First Year Experience which is critical to their continued learning success. Students who achieve positive outcomes in their first year of study are more likely to reinforce their commitment to the University, have a positive program experience and complete their program of study. Attrition figures for CQUniversity for first year students have remained above the sector average for the past five years (DEEWR 2010). However, CQUniversity traditionally attracts a larger proportion of students who fall within one or more of the identified equity groups. Studies have shown attrition rates are often higher within these groups. The 2012 priority is to continue to work towards and develop strategies to improve student retention particularly in curriculum development and in connecting to the lives of our students. This signals to our students the importance of their success in their learning journey particularly the First Year Experience. CQUniversity is committed to the gains already made in supporting increased student responses and feedback on programs, courses, teaching and research supervision. The 2012 priority is to focus on the student voice to further enrich curriculum and professional development activities and to close the loop in terms of reflective practice in the quality enhancement process.

§ Building Research Capacity - CQUniversity is committed to research that contributes knowledge and innovation through fundamental and applied research in selected priority areas. Our research activity has been aligned to the relevant State and national priorities and funding and is directed to these priority areas to support development and growth. The 2012 priority is to implement the Engaged Research Chairs program, focus the Faculties, Divisions (through service engagement), Campuses, Institutes, and Centres on research growth not only to participate in external funding ventures, but also to increase our RHD students and completions. Building research capacity is central to our vision and mission as a University.

§ Engaging with our communities and stakeholders - CQUniversity is committed to becoming one of Australia’s most engaged universities. It is at the forefront of providing access to higher education for all individuals. The solution to many of the challenges facing CQUniversity is at its heart – its communities and its “power of place. The “power of place” has not yet been fully realised within the University. It is through engaging with our communities and stakeholders that this priority will be addressed. More specifically, the 2012 priority is to continue to strengthen and build our relationships, promote participation of our students and staff in engagement activities and provide a high level of engaged service to our communities and stakeholders and within the University.

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Weekends

2011-07-16T13:56:00.003+10:00

I know that working at CQUniversity we all have to work on weekends from time to time. However it is always good to spend the weekend doing something completely different.

I have many hobbies. Most of you would know I am into aviation and have plane based at Rocky airport. My other main pastime is pottery.

I have set up a workshop in the shed at the VC residence which includes a wheel and kiln. This weekend I have done a glaze firing. Here is a picture of some of the items that came out of the kiln earlier today - I did not say I was any good at it!

One of my pottery projects at the moment is to use clay from Central Queensland to make pots. There is an old clay pit down by the Rocky airport. It would be good if I could find clay from each of the communities where we are based. Let me know if you know of any clay on or near the other campuses. Here is an example of a small dish made from clay from Rocky.

This is made with the raw clay direct from the ground. I am looking at ways to refine the clay to make it more workable. This pot was fired in the kiln then put into a fire pit in the garden with metal oxides around it. I am hopeful that I will be able to refine this kind of work so that I can give it as presents to university visitors. I like the idea of visitors taking a small part of C Q away with them.

I hope you are having an enjoyable weekend doing whatever you enjoy. If you make pots do send me some pictures of your work.

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1st major renewal goal - achieved

2011-07-14T11:36:00.000+10:00

Two years ago we started on out path of renewal for CQUniversity. We set the 2 year goal to make the university financially sustainable. I am very pleased to say that we have achieved this goal. CQUniversity’s finances are in a good position. I have been very impressed by the stewardship that out CFO David Turner has provided in this area. But this goal has not been reached by the work of David alone. Everyone in the University can be proud of the work they have done to get us into a such a good position. However I have included a picture of David here because of his hard work, because he is with his partner Barbara who also contributes a lot to the University and because he looks so dapper in black tie!

In the past 24 months we have developed over 20 new programs, we have about the same number in the pipeline and we have removed programs that have run their course. All of this has increased our domestic enrolments by over 10% this year. We are over our government enrolment cap for the first time in many years.

Yes we have had a turn down in international numbers – but this could have been much worse without the hard work and dedication of our fantastic people working on the metropolitan campuses. Let us not forget that even with the turn down in international numbers our CMS operation is still contributing massively to the finances of the university.

We have made savings across the board and seen efficiency gains across the board. We also managed to be one of the first universities to settle its EB negotiations – thanks to the hard work of the university negotiating team and the unions.

We have made massive investments for the future including campus expansions, new laboratories and even new campuses.

So I think we can safely say our first goal has been reached. We now need to work toward our 5 year goal of being a really strong regional university meeting the educational and research needs of our communities and which underpins our national operations. And of course we also need to work in parallel towards our 10 year goal of being one of Australia’s great universities by us becoming Australia’s most engaged University.

Well done to all CQUniversity staff in making such a great start to our renewal process.

Move towards a demand led system

2011-07-12T08:31:00.001+10:00

In the past universities such as CQUniversity have had a cap on how many domestic students we can take. This has made it quite difficult to start new programs - we simply did not have the places to assign to those programs. Next year the government will lift these caps and we will be able to take as many students as want to come to the university.

This offers us a great opportunity to grow CQUniversity to a size that best meets the needs of our communities. So our enrollments this year are up about 10% making us one of the fastest growing universities in Queensland. It has also allowed us to start programs such as law and paramedical studies.

Some have worried about the competition that the demand led system would bring. If we can grow so can all the other universities. Would students be attracted away from our region? Personally I do not share these worries. We are offering and developing much needed quality programs and that is why we are growing.

We will all have to work hard over the next few years while the caps are off to make the best use this fantastic opportunity.

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Location:Rockhampton

I have become a twit

2011-07-09T08:18:00.001+10:00

I have decided to take the next step in digital communication and become a twitterer.

Someone asked me yesterday why I bothered to blog and now twitter. Good question. The simple answer is I really want to work in partnership with all the stakeholders in CQUniversity to build a great university. Now there is a terrible word "stakeholder". It really is management speak. What I mean is people - people who I can work with. This includes students, fellow workers and people from our communities.

Without electronic communication I simply could not get to speak to all of you. This blog gets about 2600 views per month. That's a lot of communication. This communication needs to be two way - so please comment on these blogs and feel free to email me.

So the next step in this communication is twitter. You can follow me as CQUniversityVC. I will get a twitter button added to this site - I will need help - that level of technology is way beyond me.

By the way I was really pleased to hear about the work that our Dr Alison Jones has been doing on the reef. She and colleagues have shed light onto how fish use tools. how cool is that? Read more here. Alison is yet another one of our star researchers. She is making quite a name for herself in observing rare marine phenomena. You may remember her video of the giant puffer fish last year. You can view that here.

This is a picture of Alison out on the reef. Anita and I were very privileged last year to spend a day out on the reef with Alison. What a star!

On the way home

2011-07-08T06:34:00.001+10:00

I have spent the past few days in Canberra talking to politicians and their advisors. The main reasons for the visit was to inform people about our renewal plan progress and to talk about our plans to become a dual sector university. I also got the chance to go in the gallery for question time yesterday - it made VCAC and academic board look very tame.

The Decision Makers in Canberra are very supportive of what we are doing and can see that our dual sector plans will really benefit our community in Central Queensland. It was good to have Nik Babovic our Deputy Vice Chancellor (Vocational Education and Training). He has the knowledge and expertise to demonstrate that we really know what we are doing in this new exciting venture. I am still very hopeful that we will merge with Central Queensland Institute of TAFE. The main benefit of a merger will be teaming up with the CQIT staff team. They will have the expertise to to make the new dual sector merger a success, to really take us forward in the VET area. I really believe that there will be a great synergy between the TAFE and the University. Together we can be much more than the sum of our parts.

I am very pleased to hear that there as been a lot of progress back at base since I have been away. I was particularly pleased to hear about the successful professional accreditation of our property degree specializations.
Read more here.

Yesterday I saw a sign at parliament house - danger icy surface. It will be great get back to sunny Queensland at least our warning signs are only about snakes.

Location:Canberra

Letter from the Canberra

2011-07-06T06:26:00.001+10:00

I am writing this in Canberra. I am down here to meet with politicians to let them know how we are going at CQUniversity. All in all I think I have 17 meetings planned! These visits (which I try and do quite often) also give me a chance to hear how people are perceiving how we are progressing. I am sure the dual sector university plans will be close to the top of the list of discussions with most people. They will also be interested to hear about how we are progressing with the renewal plan in general. There is a lot of progress to report.

Yesterday I attended the women's leadership breakfast organized by Barabara Lawrence. The speaker was Mary Carol from Capricorn Enterprise. What a fascinating life story she has! One of eleven children who has gone from success to success. She is a great supporter of the CQUnivsity. If you ever get the chance to her her speak do take that opportunity. The picture in this post is of Mary and Barbara.

Before I caught the plane I sat on the Audit and Risk committee and Planning and Resources committee. The agenda's of these meetings make you realize just how much we have going on at the moment. New programs, new campuses, new buildings, dual sector negotiations and overseas developments. I believe that we have to do all of this at this time. This really is our time. Our time to build an improved university to meet the needs of all our communities. I know this is meaning a lot of hard work for many in the University - and I thank you for the effort you are putting inat the moment. I think you only have to look around the place to see that your effort is paying off!

It is about zero degrees down here at the moment. It is always good to come down here at this time of year. It reminds you why you choose to live in Queensland.

Science Camp

2011-07-02T07:39:00.007+10:00

Last evening I had the pleasure of attending the closing of the CQUniversity Science Camp in Rockhampton. This was a camp we held for local year 12 students who are interested in science. We had a fantastic group of students who came and spent a few days on campus. They did work in our laboratories and had presentations from our scientists and speakers from outside the University. The event ended with them giving presentations on sustainability. It was very clear that they had really enjoyed being part of CQUniversity for a few days.

I really want to thank the staff that were involved in this. You gave up your valuable time in a non-teaching week. You did the University a great service in showing local students and schools what we have to offer at our University. However I think your contribution was even greater than this - you helped to encourage a group of very talented youngsters to seriously consider science and health science!

I am just off to term two student orientation. Our offers for term two are up 40% on last year! If you remember they were also up last year. Yesterday I met with the new International students. What a great bunch they were! All our hard work is really paying off - CQUniversity just gets more and more successful. I am really looking forward to meeting the new students!

Unsung Heroes

2011-07-02T07:33:00.001+10:00

Yesterday I spoke at the Australasian Syllabus Plus Reference Group (ASPRG) conference. Syllabus Plus is a major piece of software that is used to time table in universities. This really got me thinking about time tabling - something that I admit I rarely do. The two major (expensive) resources that we have in our university are people and our facilities. It is interesting that we invest a great deal in the management of people through our People and Culture Directorate - but relatively little on the management of our facilities. Yes I know we have our Facilities Management Directorate - but they are mainly concerned with the maintenance and construction of our buildings. The timetablers are the people that manage the utilization of our facilities. These are the guys who make sure the University gets the best return on it's investment on infrastructure.

Like many people in the University they are the unsung heroes of the place. The people who are often forgotten - unless something goes wrong. There are so many people in the University who have difficult complex jobs who keep the place running.

We are moving to recognize these unsung heroes through events such as the professional show case and the professional staff conference. We need to do more of this.

Can I take this opportunity to thank all the unsung heroes in our University. THANKS.

Noosa Noosa Noosa

2011-06-30T07:38:00.004+10:00

This has been quite a week for our Noosa Campus. On Tuesday we had a wonderful graduation - with 85 students graduating including two with PhDs. We have also more than doubled the space we have on the Noosa campus and announced that Professor Kevin Tickle will be the Head of that campus. Kevin showed me round the new space and outlined his plans for making best use of the new facilities. We will be offering far more programs on the Noosa campus including some in cooperation with the Sunshine Coast Institute of TAFE. We have plans to base more researchers in Noosa and to open more laboratories.

I was very pleased to meet with many people from the Noosa community. They are very supportive of what we are doing and want us to move forward with all possible speed. Our staff in Noosa are as always are VERY enthusiastic and I think that the new commitment to Noosa has given them a shot in the arm. I think that Noosa is another example of how CQUniversity is going from strength to strength.

Taking the car for a wash

2011-06-28T09:17:00.008+10:00

It has now been a week since I got back from holiday. It seems a lot longer! I thought I would post this video of me taking the car for a wash. We travelled the tip of Cape York via the Old Telegraph Track. It was a great trip which was a good chance to learn more about Queensland history. We also took the opportunity to visit Lockhart River and acquire some more fantastic Aboriginal art.

But all that seems a long time ago now. Since then we have had the Senior Leadership Conference and I am off to the Noosa Graduation today. On reflection the challenges we face as a University are even more exciting than those crossing that river!

A University for all

2011-06-27T13:35:00.006+10:00

CQUniversity is Australia’s most inclusive university. The University has more students from low socio economic backgrounds than any other university in Australia. We are proud to have over three times the number of indigenous students than the national average. Students attend the University from 51 countries across the world.

From next year we will be a dual sector university offering opportunities for students undertaking Vocational Education and Training.

We also want to engage with all communities in our region. I think this picture sums up our welcoming approach. It shows Anita and I with one of our fantastic staff Gemma and her partner. Gemma was one of the organisers of the recent Central Queensland Fair Day. This was an event aimed mainly at our Gay and Lesbian Community. You will also see from our shirts that we had just come from the relay for life also held on campus on the same day. CQUniversity welcomes all communities be them cancer survivors, sporting teams or our Gay and Lesbian Community. ALL are welcome at this University.

Ode from Brisbane Airport

2011-05-14T10:11:00.000+10:00

So here I am sitting waiting for a delayed flight back to Rocky. What a great way to spend a Saturday morning!

Still it has been a good week. I have been at graduations in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Next term we are going to start delivering our business program in Geraldton in WA. It really makes you appreciate that we truly are a national university. In fact an international university if you consider our campus in Singapore and our mix of students. We are really exporting our power of place.

As always with the graduations the best part was meeting with our graduates and their families afterwards. We have people traveling to Australia from all over the world to be part of the graduation. I do urge you to try and attend a graduation at one of our Metropolitan campuses - they really are inspirational.

This has been a week of anticipation. Will we manage to secure the CSIRO building in Rocky, will the merger with CQIT happen and how well we go in the budget. Well on the whole I think we did very well in the budget. The University will benefit from the continued commitment to indexation of our funds and the increase in rural loading. There are also many opportunities in terms of funding for infrastructure. We just need to make sure we capitalise on these opportunities. We are putting a team together to work on our next EIF bid.

Let's hope we go as well with CSIRO and CQIT.

I was very honoured to be made a member of REDC the regional economic development board in Mackay. Mackay is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia and it is wonderful that we are university that services this fine city. I am confident that over the next few years we will see Mackay campus grow to be at least as big as the Rocky campus. Having a PVC and Deans based there is really starting to pay dividends.

We really are in the right place at the right time. I can think of no other place that I would want the university to be located!

On a personal level I am looking forward to the relay for life next weekend. I am doing the 3am to 6am walk - thanks Marc. I am also looking forward to going on leave in June. We are going up to the tip of Cape York with Mark and Deb Burton - expect some interesting blogs! If I ever get home I want to see what pots have emerged from a pit firing I did last week.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-05-12T09:33:00.000+10:00

I think that is how most people at the University are feeling at the moment. But I also think there is a real feeling of progress in the air. All indicators are showing that we are really moving forward.

This week we were very privileged to have the Honourable Michael Kirby on campus in Rockhampton to launch our new Law Degree. What a great man he is. He has been compared many times to Lord Denning. I think it is quite fair to say that he is the leading legal mind of our time. It was very interesting to note how he approached the launch of the degree (which he generously did for no cost might I add). It was very obvious that he had read everything there was to read about the degree. He was very complimentary about the innovative nature of the degree - on line, three year duration and very accessible. He also gave us some pointers on how the degree can be made even better and to how we should be looking after our law students. He was very concerned about some recent research that indicates that law students are much more prone to depression than students from any other discipline. This is something we will have to watch out for on our program.

Yesterday we saw the federal budget handed down. On the whole I think it is very good for rural/regional universities. We will do well in our funding due to indexation and regional loading, and there is also funding for regional infrastructure. When we become a Dual Sector University we will also hopefully benefit from the extra funding for training that was announced. On that note it was good to welcome Mr Nik Babovik on board last week as our foundation Deputy Vice Chancellor Vocational Education and Training.

Domestic applications look very good for our mid-year intake; we are up about 40% on this time last year. This is a great result. Both faculties are doing well - but yet again nursing is the stand out program.

International applications and enrolments are not in such a positive position. There is no doubt that our international student numbers are down. Our staff in this area are working very hard under very difficult environmental circumstances. This week I am attending graduations in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne; it is always fantastic to see our international students graduate. We have parents fly in from all over the world to see their children reach their important milestone. Internationalisation is at the heart of our University and we will persevere with it through these hard times.

This week Anita and I have had a visiting paramedic student staying with us. Having a new academic (Anita) and a student in the house helps to keep me very grounded. It has really made me appreciate how hard both groups work. Both are very complimentary about the University - its staff and processes - it is always good to hear this.

On Monday evening I enjoyed meeting applicants for positions we have in our new degrees to come online in Physiotherapy, OT, Speech Pathology and Podiatry. We have already recruited to oral health. Planning for our allied health clinic is going well and we hope to start construction soon. This is just another example of how the University is in change mode. And I think we are going to be in this hectic change mode for at least another two years. It will have to be like this if we are going to make the most of all the opportunities that are available to us.

On a personal level I have had a couple of weekends doing very little - I can strongly recommend it! (I apologise to folks that have been working very hard over recent weekends doing res schools.) I have been having a lot of fun making pots; I took pottery when I was at school and have never really lost the love of it. Recently I found an old clay pit in Rockhampton so I have been digging my own clay. Taking clay from the ground and seeing it a few weeks later as a pot gives me a real kick!

Quality control

2011-04-27T14:59:00.003+10:00

You may have seen the comment regarding ‘quality control’ posted in response to my previous Blog – Leaps and Bounds.

Firstly, CQUniversity is a medium size university and secondly, you ask a very good question – how do we ensure quality control with such a rapid expansion?

These new programs have not just appeared overnight. A huge amount of effort by a large number of staff has gone into making these new programs a reality.

The establishment of positions such as the DVC(Development), PVC(Learning & Teaching) and Deans of School have been introduced over the past 12 months or so to drive the development and quality of these – and indeed all – of our programs. All programs undergo official CQUniversity academic approval processes and in a lot of cases, external professional body accreditation.

Most of our new programs are developed in consultation with peak industry bodies – for example, the Bachelor of Paramedic Science was developed in consultation with Queensland Ambulance and will include clinical placements with the ambulance service. We are not doing this alone – research supports the need for new health and medical science programs in regional Queensland.

The AUQA Audit report released earlier this year acknowledged the actions taken by CQUniversity to improve the quality of teaching by addressing the functioning of academic governance structures, establishing the role of Dean of School with greater accountability, and setting up an Office of Learning and Teaching to centralise and coordinate learning and teaching functions under the leadership of the PVC(L&T).

I am proud to say that following last year’s audit, CQUniversity has been invited to submit four new entries into the AUQA Good Practice Database – which will make 10 entries in total – which is a collection of systems and activities that are relevant to quality assurance and good outcomes in Australasian higher education.

Professor Rob Reed, PVC (L&T) has also been leading a revised approach to student evaluation of courses and work related learning at CQUniversity as part of our on-going reflection and improvement on current practice.

CQUniversity’s new Learning and Teaching Quality policy will be presented at VCAC early next month and I look forward to sharing that will staff in the near future.

I admit there is some work yet to do in fostering a culture of reflective practice and enhancing a culture of continuous quality improvement – but we are definitely getting there.

I make no apology for moving quickly on ambitious reforms and a growth agenda. Today CQUniversity is one of the fastest growing Universities in Queensland. CQUniversity remains one of the top three Australian Universities operating in the International Student market and later this year CQUniversity will become Queensland’s first Dual-Sector University. As I said, I am immensely proud of the progress CQUniversity has made in recent times – I hope you are too.

Scott

Leaps and bounds

2011-04-20T14:32:00.003+10:00

I read the Australian Higher Education Review today and there was a line in an article that got me really fired up. I don’t expect many of you would have seen it – it really was just a throw away line in a story buried deep in the paper – but it reminded me that no matter how hard you try, no matter what you are able to achieve, there is always someone willing to drag you down.

The article was about trends in student numbers across the sector, and the line I took offense to went something like “...but not all universities are as well placed to expand. CQUniversity, X University and Y University lost student load from 2005 to 2009....”
I nearly spilt my Corn Flakes when I read that this morning. It really is an outdated, offensive and grossly mis-informed analysis of where CQUniversity is today.

Not well placed to expand? The truth is there is no University in Australia today that is better placed to expand than CQUniversity – anyone that has witnessed the unstoppable boom of the resource industry in Central Queensland can tell you that. CQUniversity is today benchmarking the way Universities capitalise on “the power of place”; engaging with the industries and communities from which our region derives its strengths. We enjoy a relationship with our stakeholders that is the envy of most Australian Universities.

Losing student load? CQUniversity’s student numbers have risen strongly in the past two years to the point where we are now one of the fastest growing Universities in Queensland. Our Mackay campus alone will be the fastest growing University campus in Australia this decade, with a 12% increase in enrolments this year, and a forecast tripling of student numbers in the next five years. CQUniversity introduced 20 new degrees this year, complimented by a $50 million investment in capital works. We remain one of the top three Australian Universities servicing the International Student market. And later this year CQUniversity will become Queensland’s first Dual-Sector University, with a planned amalgamation with TAFE that would effectively double the size of our operations.

CQUniversity has made some amazing leaps and bounds in recent times, of which I am immensely proud. Our transformation in the past two years has been truly remarkable. And I believe our best days are yet to come. So I’m not ashamed to say I take glib criticisms like the one in today’s paper quite personally. We’ve all worked too hard to turn this University around to attract this sort of “analysis”.

No doubt we will see more unfair media from time to time – all Universities do. But because of our efforts, because of our journey, because of our fight, this University more than any other has earned the right to be annoyed by this kind of media commentary.

A wonderful time

2011-02-23T15:25:00.000+10:00

Andy Williams sang of Christmas-time as the most wonderful time of the year but frankly, I think he got it wrong. It’s this time of year --- the start of Term 1 and Orientation for thousands of CQUniversity students that’s the most special.
I was so very pleased to be at the opening ceremonies for Orientation this week and met lots of new students – all looking extremely, calm, cool and collected. Far more composed than I can recall when I was enrolled…
2011 will be an extraordinary year for approximately 4000 commencing students, especially, and CQUniversity overall. We’re currently the fastest growing University in Queensland and are offering truly innovative and in-demand programs – twenty new and refreshed programs -- in areas such Law, Medical & Health Sciences and Engineering. Ours is the only accredited 3-year On-Line Bachelor of Laws in Australia. And our programs in Sonography and Medical Imaging have been developed by world-class experts in partnership with local and international medical providers including the leader in medical imaging, Philips.
It’s also a period of renewal and rebirth at CQUniversity, with more than $50million invested – in new Learning & Teaching infrastructure, student accommodations and research development. This year and next you will also witness a resurgence in CQUniversity Research as we engage more effectively with our community stakeholders, recruit new lead investigators and experts and establish research teams that will build on our emerging reputation for world-class research in such areas as Engineering and Medical & Health Sciences. We’ll also be growing fields such as Education, Simulation Science, Human Factors Analysis, Environmental Management and Policy, Clean Energy, Sustainable Regions/Communities, Industrial Ecology and more.
At CQUniversity we have a very strong ‘engagement’ agenda. Many of our commencing students will find themselves involved in workplace-related learning in the first months and years of their program.
They’ll also find that we want to hear from them frequently and learn from their experiences. I’ll have my second annual I’m All ears Tour this year when I will hold meetings on campus and host a live e-forum on line with students to hear first-hand what it’s like. And I won’t just listen and shrug my shoulders. The conversations I had last year with students have had a direct impact on the academic and support services we’re providing today.
Commencing students (and all students) will hear me talk a lot about making CQUniversity a ‘great’ University. They are studying with us during a very special and formative period in our history; one of significant advancement which will benefit all of us and our communities for decades to come.
It’s the start of Term 1, so --- as the holiday classic says --- be of good-cheer. After all, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

The Floods

2011-01-11T12:53:00.004+10:00

I walked around Mt Archer this morning and took in the views around Rockhampton and the great “sea” of Rockhampton which wraps around much of the city. I also rescued my plane from the airport on New Year’s day. I have included a picture of what I saw taking off from Rocky airport.

I spoke this morning to our colleagues at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. Amazing and utterly devastating. Tragically, I’ve been informed that some USQ staff are unaccounted for this afternoon – our thoughts and best wishes are with our friends at USQ. We have offered any help we can provide.

These floods, now affecting most of the state, have and will continue to have an impact on our students, staff, stakeholders and communities for months and years to come. In the midst of this, CQUniversity has put some financial measures in place to aid some students in need, and over the next few weeks we’ll be directing research funds into projects directly tied to the Central Queensland Flood and the its social, economic and environmental impacts. I’m very pleased that CQUniversity has been able to provide shelter to hundreds of displaced residents and animals at the CQ Community Sports Centre at Rockhampton and at our facilities at the Ag College in Emerald and am very grateful to our Facilities and Security staff, especially, who have liaised with the Red Cross to ensure enough resources are available to manage the evacuation facilities.

Some of our staff are stuck, unable to return to their campuses, but are working from other CQUniversity facilities or at home. Many here in CQ– students and staff – are hampered by the flood waters which have yet to really recede. I know, too, that this is also a worrisome time for many of us as we have families and friends in flood-stricken and flood-prone areas. I want you to know that your continued safety and well-being is my utmost priority. We can put processes and procedures in place to deal with flood-related administrative and academic issues, but we can’t replace people. The weather is unpredictable and no doubt there will be more harsh storms and flooding in the weeks to come.

Evacuation centres will remain operational for (at least) weeks to come as the communities we serve deal with the aftermath. CQUniversity is and will contribute to the recovery by providing services and expertise. Free mental health care for example is being provided by staff at the CQUniversity Psychology Wellness Centre in Rockhampton. Our experts have been talking with stakeholders about the floods’ impact on the Reef, the long and short-term economic issues we’ll be dealing with, as well as the infrastructure challenges we face across the state. As with other disasters CQUniversity will make donations to causes, in this case to organisations with which we have strong relations through our workplace giving program: the Capricorn Rescue Helicopter, the Royal Flying Doctors, CQUni Cares and more. Alumni and students have approached us wanting to contribute their talent and time as well….

For now, it is business-as-usual best-we-can in most circumstance, as we follow through on our engagement agenda. The construction of new Learning & Teaching and student residences in Mackay is on schedule for completion next month and the ongoing renovations of Rockhampton’s Engineering Precinct and Library are proceeding. Student applications and commencing numbers appear very strong. Some staff will be inconvenienced by the Evacuation Centre operations but I know they will understand under the circumstances.
As we prepare for T3 exams and T1 orientation and try to make some sense of the unfolding tragedies let’s please look out for one another and continue to be considerate of the personal circumstances of our friends, colleagues and neighbours.

Scott

Great times

2010-11-09T08:30:00.000+10:00

I have to apologise for not blogging – a very discreet reader has prompted me to get my act together and post. Indeed it’s been a while and admittedly I’ve been less than great when it comes to sitting down to write even though I am attached to two great devices: my iPad and iPhone…
Great as they are --- and they are --- I’m not convinced that I’m working any better. I’m doing things differently for sure. But better? The jury’s still out.
On a larger scale I’m struggling with that question on an organisational level as we progress through a Renewal Plan and make changes --- are we doing it better? Will the changes we’re making lead to ‘greatness’?
We’re seeing evidence of new ways of working together which has resulted in new programs in Law and Medical Science and so on; we’re employing different mechanisms to engage with our communities; we’re trying to be more consultative and transparent; and perhaps – most importantly – there’s a level of involvement from staff and stakeholders at CQUniversity that I have not experienced in other learning environments.
These, to me, seem to be great things. But I’m not the arbitrator of this. Our students, staff and partners are. They are the ones who will show us/me --- through enrolments and research activity, for example – if our rhetoric is matching up to what we are doing.
In 2011 the University will investigate improving, at all levels, the student learning experience. Our researchers, too, are taking on a challenge to develop new, talented, up-and-coming researchers and build on the quality and quantity of research output that already has CQUniversity operating – in terms of the global impact of our research – in the top 10% among all universities.
The sense I have is that greatness is coming. I am very pleased to be able to acknowledge known greatness later this month when the University presents awards in numerous categories to staff. I know, for a fact, we’re a better University because of their efforts and accomplishments.
Still, I admit that I remain challenged by the idea of defining and measuring greatness in ways that just don’t just tick boxes but are truly inclusive and reflective of other people’s perceptions of success and achievement, not just mine. I think I’ll add that my e-Task List --- in the meantime maybe someone out there can develop a simple Ap I could use?
Scott

Sharing our gratitude

2010-09-21T08:26:00.002+10:00

Well I have been back in Australia for over two weeks. How soon you get over holidays. It has been a hectic couple of weeks. On Sunday Anita and I were invited to the Chinese Association Moon Festival on campus in Rocky. We had fun. Yes fun. We met up with all our Chinese staff, students and their families. Played games and ate Moon Cake - fun!

The first week back was spent on the road attending the Metropolitan Campus graduations. They were fantastic, as always. The best bit for me is meeting with the students and their parents after the graduation. We have so many proud parents traveling from across the globe. It really is quite humbling to meet these parents and hear how they have in many cases trusted us with their children and the future of their family.

Yesterday and today I am in Mackay, tomorrow in Rocky, Thursday in Gladstone and Friday back in Mackay. So hopefully I will be able to catch up with many of you.

Rockhampton graduation was also a great event - one that the Chancellor called the best Rockhampton graduation ever. I was particularly keen to see so many staff on stage and so many helping out in the centre. Well done to you all. We also have lots of back room people working to make the event a success such as the IT and security folk. They also did a great job.

And that brings me on to the point of this blog. We all love recognition. I am very lucky to have a boss - the Chancellor who is very generous with his praise. There is nothing better for me (well maybe one or two things!) than when he makes a positive comment about me or the University. I try and say thanks and well done as much as I can. I try and recognise a job well done or a person that goes beyond the call of duty. I know I don't do it was often as I should but I do.

I would ask you all to say well done to someone who has done a good job in the next week or so. Use the email to do it. Copy in their boss and copy in me. I want to hear about all the great work that is going on. I have heard it said in some parts of the University that we should not be doing this and it is only trying to seek praise. What utter rubbish. Let's all give praise where praise is due and let me know about it.

Let's make this CQUniversity recognition week!

Thoughts of home

2010-09-03T06:42:00.001+10:00

Well it has been a hectic week. I am writing this sitting on a delayed airplane in Xian airport. We were told it had been delayed for an hour but there has just been an announcement that they do not know when it will take off. Oh well, no stress. We are in holiday mode.

A great day was had at the Forbidden City. There was more politics going on in pre-Revolutionary China than in modern day CQUniversity and that is saying something. One evening we went out to one of of Beijing's famous Peking Duck restaurants. We got a little carried away and ate ducks liver with scorpions. I have to say that for the past few days I have felt a little under the weather - I am not sure if this is due to the scorpions or not.

We travelled by China Eastern Airlines to Xian. Our main reason for the visit to this city was to see the Terracotta Warriors. These lived up to all the expectations. Our guide said that there were 8000 warriors that had been made by 720,000 slaves over 2000 years ago. I upset him a little when I pointed out that the slaves were not that productive - about ten thousand slaves to make each warrior!

Until visiting I had not realised that Xian was such an historic city in it's own right. It has an incredible city wall which encloses a fascinating Muslim area. There are enough replica terracotta warriors to form your own army.

Only a couple of days left and then back to work. I am on the road next week traveling to graduations around the country. I do enjoy the international graduations. I love meeting our graduates from overseas and their parents. Many of these graduates want to return to their own country and who can blame them when you look at the economic growth rates in China and India.

Just as many want to stay and make a life for themselves in Australia. What a fantastic resource they are for our country. At the moment we seem to make it very hard for people to come and join us in Australia. I truly believe that in the future with an ageing population countries will be competing to bring young talented people to their shores. If we get it wrong now we are going to find it very hard to compete in the future.

I hear people say that Australia cannot support many more people. Get real - there are cities in China that have more people than the population of Australia. What is driving economic growth in China and India is a large domestic population. I believe that we need to grow the population of Australia. What better way to do this than to bring in clever young people who are willing to pay for their own education, teach them in English and then keep then here to have a great life and to contribute towards Australia and help support it's ageing population?

International education has got a bit of bad name in recent years. To some extent criticism has been focused on the VET sector. I have heard a lot of scorn poured on back street colleges that have set up to train hair dressers and commercial cooks. This has culminated in these disciplines being taken off the migration list. But go to any tourist area or mining town in Australia and you will find a massive shortage of - you have guessed it cooks. I think that regional universities and TAFEs (or a dual sector university!) could play a very productive role in this area. Why not keep commercial cookery and the like on the migration list for students that had trained in regional universities or TAFEs and then require graduates from such programs to have to work in their discipline area for two or three years.

We have got to stop seeing international education and international students as some kind of threat. It is a sector that should be supported and international students should be encouraged to join us as Australians.

Some would argue that that it makes more sense to recruit people from overseas who have already qualified in their own country. But is this morally sustainable. By doing this we are taking talent away from some of the poorest countries in the world after their countries have invested scarce resources in them. With our migration points system we tend to take young people who have not had a chance to give any kind of return on the investment that has been made in them. This may be attractive to us - but does it make us good global citizens?

I guess I have some personal experience in all of this. I came to Australia for a better life about twelve years ago. I do sometimes feel uncomfortable that the UK invested in my education and I then left. I did leave after 15 years of service to the UK health and education sectors - that makes me feel better. I now feel more Australian than British in everything, with the possible exception of cricket!

So over the next week I look forward to meeting all our graduating international students and reflecting on how they will contribute to their own or our country.

We are now off to Shanghai where Anita is threatening to go into a shopping frenzy. I am looking forward to getting back home. I will be really interested to see if we have a government. Strange times!

Off the wall

2010-08-27T10:29:00.001+10:00

We have just got back from the Great Wall of China. Truly awesome. It is one of those places that lives up to all expectations. How could human beings build it? The term wall does not do it justice - it is a series of forts linked by the steepest set of stairs you can imagine.

The experience got me reflecting on walls and CQUniversity. I know I am really very sad and I should not be doing this on holiday - but I can't help it. I think we can truly claim to be a University without walls. We are the most accessible University in Australia.

I am confident that we can become one of Australia's great Universities. We are going to do this through engagement. We are also going to do this through expanding our program offerings. In doing so we will provide some of the more popular programs. Some would call them elite programs. In doing so we are going to have to take care that we do not start to build walls around these programs and hence our University. That is not what we are about. It might be quite appropriate for some universities to have walls - but not ours. I think this is going to be another challenge for us as we move forward. It maybe that we have higher entry requirements for some of our programs but we still need to give people pathways to meet these requirements.

Like most walls the Great Wall was build to keep people out - that is the last thing we want to do.

Tomorrow we are off the the Forbidden City. I have not seen it yet but already it sounds like a few universities that I can all think of!

China on track

2010-08-25T13:31:00.004+10:00

Iam writing this blog on a train somewhere between Shanghai and Beijing after an interesting night on the train. I mentioned in my last blog that half the population of China were at the world expo yesterday. Well, last evening I found out where the other half were. They were at the Shanghai train station waiting for the T104 to Beijing. And that's a lot of people! You will see from the picture that the waiting room was "quite" full.

We seem to be the only non Chinese people on the train. People here are very friendly -- always ready with a kind smile and help when the silly Australians do something else stupid or don't understand some simple request.

We had sleepers in a compartment made up of two triple bunks. I had the top bunk and Anita the bottom one. The middle one was taken by a Father and his rather large son. Anita was the only female in our compartment of seven. She did not seem to mind too much.

My top bunk was interesting. It was about 60cm wide, which would have been good except that I am about 62cm wide. I had another 60cm of head room. That put my ears about 20cm from the speaker which came on full volume at exactly 7am with the sounds of some demented birds singing. This was followed by light classics and the Carpenters. The music was interspersed with a very nice sounding young woman chatting away in Mandarin. I am fairly confident that she was wishing me the best for the day ahead.

Guys come along the train every few minutes offering all manner of food. If I wanted snake chow main for breakfast - no problem. About an hour ago we saw a man with coffee. Anita almost fell out of her bunk trying to catch him but alas she let him get away. Since then we have not seen the coffee man. Obviously the sight of the Westerner crawling after him down the train scared him off. If he comes back we are both going to jump on him.

So we are traveling rather than being transported. Cecilia from CMS helped us to book our travel and accommodation in China. What a star she is. She was, however, worried when we said we wanted to travel on trains rather than fly within China. She really should not have worried. Anita and I have backpacked all over the world. To be honest the trains in China are comfortable and very clean. We have always been of the opinion that we are happy to be transported for work but for pleasure you need to travel.

Travelling in China

2010-08-25T09:05:00.002+10:00

I am away from CQUniversity at the moment on holiday in China. I travelled to China a lot when I was a DVC International but I have never been here on holiday. When you travel with work you tend to see the airport, the hotel and maybe one or two Universities. Anita has never been to China so it is great to be here doing all the touristy "stuff" with her.

We have had a good look round Shanghai which must be one of the most futuristic cities in the world. It is like a scene out of one of those old sci-fi movies from the sixties. On the other hand there are still some very traditional sights. There still seems to be many bicycles on the road. The city is very safe and very clean. Yesterday we walked for miles around Shanghai. This was a bit much even for someone of my extreme fitness.

Today we went to the world expo (pictured). Not the greatest experience of my life. Don't get me wrong the national buildings were nothing short of spectacular. However half of the Chinese population decided to turn up there today - and that's a lot of people. Most of them joined queues for the pavilions we wanted to see. The queue for the China pavilion was 7 hours! It was 6 hours for the German one!

We walked for miles around the site. During this time I was yet again left to reflect on the fact that women seem to buy shoes for what they look like rather than for comfort. Anita's feet got covered in blisters - I rather graciously let her have my socks which helped. This is maybe the first time in recorded history that a pair of my worn socks had been good for anything. When we got back to the hotel however, I found it is almost impossible to remove a pair of RM Williams boots which have been walked in for hours in 45 degrees of heat when you have not worn socks. I now have a pair of boots lined with human skin.

I am writing this in a hotel lobby drinking coke which is about 10 times the cost of the same drink in the local shop across the road. The price is however worth it to sit in the air conditioning. It really is very hot and humid here.

We are catching a train this evening which will take us to Beijing. This will be a 15 hour trip. We have a sleeper so that should be fun. We will get a chance to see a bit of the countryside tomorrow morning before we arrive in the capital at about mid day.

This is an interesting time to be away from the University. When I booked the time off in the new year it looked like a two week window when there wouldn't be much going on. As it turns out we have the dual sector negotiations with the State Government, the compact documentation to write for the federal government, the AUQA visit to prepare for and the SAF bid to write. I know that Professor Kyd will be doing a great job as acting VC but it is a difficult time to be away (or on reflection a good time!). As you can imagine I am checking emails each day.

It is also an interesting time politically in Oz and I am a little sorry to be missing out on the "goings on" back home. This is an important time for us at the moment so I hope we get a government that understands the importance of Regional Universities and CQUniversity in particular. I am keeping up to date on the TV and web.

China is a great country to visit. I would recommend it to everyone. The people are friendly and there is so much history and culture learn about. With that in mind I think I will order a Chinese beer.

The Senior Leadership Conference -- Day 1

2010-08-04T16:26:00.001+10:00

We – about 25 staff and I – rode the bus this morning at 630 from Rockhampton to Gladstone, perhaps a little sleepy-eyed but that wore off quickly as the sky grew brighter and the coffee kicked in. We met up with some 60 of our colleagues at CQUniversity Gladstone for our 2nd Annual Leadership Conference which began with a series of conversations and workshops about our relationships with each other and our stakeholders. They involved participation from ‘outsiders’ as well as those of us inside CQUniversity. Perhaps more than anything, can I say how impressed I was with a very articulate Bachelor of Learning Management student and a local school representative, both of whom made very constructive and thought provoking contributions to our exchange on the ‘student life experience’. I was equally impressed with the response and interaction they generated among staff. We learned a fair amount about what ‘s driving school leavers to University and other education providers, and how we as an organisation, need to respond to the pace at which our communities expect , in fact demand, change. In areas of program development and service provision, time and time again the messages – from our external stakeholders and from our 80 CQUni leaders -- were you (CQUni) have great people working here but you have to listen better and follow up with specific actions. No big decisions were made today, but I can say that I feel very strongly – even only after a few hours into the day --- that CQUni is not a uni that will succeed based on the action of the 80 or 90 people drawn together here in Gladstone for a 48 hour conference. We will succeed because we are --- or will be --- an organisation of 1000 leaders or more. We will reach that point when each of us acknowledge, believe and understand the role each of us have, indeed, in the success of our students.

Scott

What I learned this week

2010-07-24T07:04:00.000+10:00

I relearned that communication – interpersonal and organisational – is tough work…. That good communications can identify, alleviate and address problems before they get out of hand and that poor communications can lead to a downward spiral that – among other things – can damage or end relationships, dishearten otherwise committed people, and simply turn individuals off… Of course there’s more to ‘communications’ than that but what became obvious to me this week as I engaged with at least 175 students face to face on campuses and approximately 500 via a webcast/blogging session (the I’m All Ears Tour) is that there is, generally speaking, a communications problem.
I have a sense from listening and talking to our learners that there could and should be better communications (embedded in our operations) between students and staff, especially those who lecture, teach or otherwise advise them on their courses and programs.
Even though I have the blog and I talk to students during O week, Graduation and when I walkabout, the Tour was really the first time in 10 or 11 months that I really sought after students and asked them to provide me with some feedback. That’s my shortcoming; I should have done it sooner. I count it as among my best CQUni experiences to date. Why? Not because it was all champagne and roses --- not by a long shot --- but because students told me it made them feel valued, listened to and important. And they are.
I’m VERY interested in what students have to say about the University and made a commitment to them this week that I – through our Exec Deans, Deans, Directors and so on – would follow up transparently to the points they raised by posting their issues and our responses to them on the University’s website (available soon at www.cqu.edu.au/studentforum). I know there are other pathways and venues where students can raise issues, but to be frank, it appears to me that some students, at least, feel they are not being listened to and/or some of us are not being timely or consistent in our responses.
I don’t want you to misconstrue what I’m saying here. CQUniversity is doing a great job: enrolments in CQ are stronger than they have been in a long time; new programs are on the way; we are engaging and making a positive difference and we have some of the best teaching staff in the country no question…. I’m more confident than ever that we truly will have that ‘great’ University we all want in 10 years or less.
That being said, though, I end this week believing that each one of us needs to take more responsibility for the student experience; we need to encourage open and honest communication with our students; we need to be as responsive as we can to their queries, suggestions and feedback; and we need to hold each other accountable.
Let me just share with you some of issues, forum after forum, that kept popping up:
• The support staff – in the Library, Communications and Mathematics centre, and student centres especially – are very friendly and helpful
• The Moodle experience is inconsistent – the learning experience in some courses is excellent with lecturers exploiting the medium, adding value and really engaging students; other courses, however, don’t follow through or significantly leverage the technology; Some CQUni lecturers/course coordinators need to be “brought up to speed” on how to best use Moodle
• Why can’t more/all lectures be recorded and downloadable as opposed to streaming? Student said they needed their learning material to be more portable and accessible to them
• More courses need to be available in Term 3, especially in SEH programs
• More complete programs need to be offered on campus, not just 1st and 2nd years
• We aren’t informed enough about the entitlements and benefits of being a student and don’t know enough about how uni works before we start…
Listen, I’m running the risk of sounding negative here. That’s not my intention. We’re going in the right direction. The fact is, however, that only 3.8% of our students responded to the last round of satisfaction surveys. And no matter how you look at that, that’s not good. I think we all want an environment here that engenders communication, debate, continuous learning and a free flow of ideas from which we can all benefit. We want to be told when, how and why things are working and when they aren’t and make real steps to constantly improve our courses, ourselves and the student experience.
One Bundaberg student said it really well and, I think, best represented a sentiment that is likely shared by all of our 20-thousand students:
“I’m a customer too. I expect professional standards and I expect that back from CQUniversity.”
Sounds fair and reasonable to me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Scott

I was all ears

2010-07-21T20:10:00.002+10:00

Hi. I want to thank all the students who took part in the web cast this evening. I had a great time. It was all part of the I'm All Ears tour. It was good to hear what was on your mind. By getting your feedback we can make things better. I am hoping that we can do this again around Christmas. I will get your comments up on a web site and will give you feedback on how we are addressing your comments.

It was a little strange talking away to myself for an hour - but I have to say it was fun to have an interaction with a group of students I do not normally get a chance to engage with prior to graduation.

I wish you all the very best for your studies and look forward to talking to you again soon.

Regards

Scott

Live Video - Student Forum

2010-07-20T13:49:00.012+10:00

Please join me for this webcast to discuss your future and the future of CQuni…. I’ll consider comments/questions that you post to the blog during the webcast or at any stage before or after the event.

Look forward to hearing from you,
Scott

The Student Forum will be broadcast live over the Internet.

When: 7.00pm AEST Wednesday 21 July

Click here to watch/listen

Click here to provide feedback or ask questions during or after the event

Please Note:

If you are connecting via a modem or have a slow Internet Connection, you may only receive audio

Please see our technical help page if you have any difficulties accessing the video/audio

I recommend that you test the link above prior to the event, to ensure that you do not have any technical issues during the event

Educating international students will always be core…

2010-07-09T16:51:00.001+10:00

I’ve done a lot of talking and writing in my first year at CQUniversity (okay, it’s one year officially on 3 August) about prioritising Central Queensland and making our engagement with stakeholders in Central Queensland a top priority. That remains the case – for CQUniversity to be considered a truly ‘great’ university in Australia we must be excellent at servicing the diverse needs of Central Queenslanders, foremost.

That being said, however, we can not overlook the work that CQUniversity does in educating international students. That “side” of our University, for well over a decade, has been responsible for most of our growth and has enabled this University to maintain its Central
Queensland resources.

It will continue to have a central role in our growth a development.

So, as part of our ongoing Renewal Program, we’re looking at the possibility of making CQUniversity accessible to a wider audience by opening up more programs across the University in area such as Mining Engineering, Nursing, Education and Health to students from such countries as Africa, South America, the Mideast and Austral-Asia….

Opportunities abound in this space, but just a hint of caution: it’s going to be a challenging next twelve months.

Visa delays, issues with private colleges and training providers, the value of the Australian dollar and other factors are putting immediate and sector-changing pressure on the international student university environment in Australia. By most accounts universities are going to feel it this year, with expectations for -- as economists like to say – negative growth.

Negative growth will reverberate through and challenge every facet of higher education in Australia, not just Universities. What’s happening in Chennai or Nanjing will influence what’s happening here.

That’s the nature of global higher education and one of the things that intrigues and fascinates me. It’s dynamic, ever-changing and always forces one to look well beyond the next term, the next year even the next decade.

We have a ten year plan to build CQUniversity into one of Australia’s greatest universities. To do that, we will –among other things – have to be able to absorb, shift and effectively respond to external forces, whether those forces are international market variables, local preferences or new government policy.

Are we ready?

It all started here

2010-06-27T17:11:00.002+10:00

I like to think that we inspired Julia Gillard… A month ago, in Mackay, when the now PM graciously opened our new Technology and Information Resources Centre we encouraged her to seize the moment and be what she wanted to be….

The sudden shift in leadership, of course, reminds me of how things can quite literally change overnight… I expect, however, little will differ in policy on the higher education front. Chatter is that Steven Smith – the current Foreign Minister and former Shadow Minister for Education and Training in the last years of the Howard Government – could take over the Education portfolio. We’ll know for sure, I expect in the coming days…

Despite, or perhaps in spite of these and other unknowns, I’m resolved that CQUniversity determine its own future; that we seize the moment, as it were, and go where we want to go and be what we want to be. Clearly – after talking to people all over the uni for the last 10 months and people outside the organisation who have an interest in our development – all of us we want to be of more service to our communities and have more mutually beneficial relationships with individuals and organisations in the places in which we live and work.

I was in Gladstone twice this week interviewing candidates for the Dean of Engineering & Built Environment and the PVC Research/Head of Campus positions, both of whom will be posted in Gladstone. Clearly these two positions are largely about increasing our level of services to industry and building more robust research capability within the organisation. From my estimation, these appointments and all Deans of Schools and Heads of Campus across CQUni have the most crucial leadership and engagement roles in our organisation. Deans and HOCs if you’re reading this blog -- no pressure at all…

I continue to believe that one of the best ways to service our communities and have more mutually beneficial relationships with individuals and organisations is to expand down the Dual Sector path. I’ve spoken again this week with many government officials and representatives, central Queensland industry and community stakeholder, members of the media and university colleagues… There’s seems to be momentum developing and a consensus forming that Dual Sector operations here would be enormously beneficial to Central Queenslanders. It’s reassuring to me that we’re getting support from many corners…

For now, we’ll continue down this path and I’ll keep you posted on our progress. Stay tuned. As we know, thing can develop overnight….

Scott

When you see a fork in the road, take it

2010-06-08T09:37:00.003+10:00

That’s sage advice, I think. There’s no doubt that the higher education road ahead will be pock-marked with “under construction” signs, with more on-and-off ramps being built, increased areas of merging traffic , and more Driver Reviver spots installed as the Australian government moves to increase traffic flow, accommodate different vehicles and enable more “drivers” to access higher education during their education journey.

The fork ahead of which I write, however, is not a fork that diverges and directs traffic in separate ways. My GPS tells me it’s not a bypass or a run-around, but a different pathway that could extend our University beyond its main part; adding, developing and multiplying what we do to enable more Central Queenslanders to get where they want to go and be what they want to be.

The term used in Australia for this structure is dual sector higher education, which I believe, will become more common and desirable among Australian universities. Five universities already operate in this fashion (Charles Darwin, Swinburne, RMIT, Ballarat and Victoria University.) And dual-sector seems, to me, an area in which federal and state governments, given common goals of increased access and participation, would welcome more activity.

Think of it as a cross-over uni – our University could be more flexible, less conventional and better tuned for the evolving work requirements and lifestyle of Central Queenslanders.

Dual sector means we could give more Central Queenslanders manoeuvring in and out of careers more optimism, more options, and more opportunities.

And, if you excuse the continuing automotive analogy, we could put more, better-skilled drivers on the road.

So, what makes a dual sector entity? The five I mentioned here teach and have large numbers of students in each Vocational Education & Training and Uni – some hovering around 50/50 in terms of student load; they conduct research and they offer awards up to PhDs. Other universities, too, have offered vocation-level educational programs for decades including English language preparation, on a smaller scale. There are different models too, here and overseas, in which traditional VET providers and private operators offer degrees.

To some extent we operate in this space around the fringes, through partnerships with other organisations, our own enabling programs and Pathways, the federally funded projects designed to get people into mining careers based at Gladstone and Mackay. Professional Development, an area in which we operated in years ago (Direct Edge) is back on the agenda, too.

Why build-up our dual sector presence? I could write a paper on this (in fact we have commissioned a detailed report and analysis by my office which will be available in the coming months) but some of the short reasons are:

Dual sector broadens accessibility to CQUni (we want uni to be more attainable), which operates in communities which appear to be more active in training and skilling for requirements of local industry
Dual sector maximises ease and opportunities for students to take full advantage of the education /training spectrum
Dual sector fits within our existing Renewal Plan in which CQUniversity will – within 5 years – become a strong regional university meeting the needs of its communities ; and, within 10 years, a university that is well respected and one that is a role model to other universities throughout the world

The Renewal Plan also specifically refers to strategies that fit with the notion of dual sector:

Continue to develop links with local and other TAFEs
Move from being a multi-campus university to a multi-city university. Campuses in Mackay, Bundaberg and Gladstone must be developed. They will move from being feeder campuses to being campuses on an equal footing with Rockhampton – delivering to the needs of their communities.
Promote engagement at all levels – until CQUniversity becomes known as Australia’s most engaged university.
Take a leading role in the development of the HE sector in Australia

I have no doubt that we will be working more in the dual sector space. How we make that transition and what forms a ‘real’ dual sector university in Queensland are unknown factors at this time and areas which we are exploring.

We’ll be looking to our colleagues at other institutions, consulting with government and community stakeholders and learning more from each other as we discuss the challenges and opportunities that dual sector presents.

One option I don’t see is us pulling off the highway and onto the shoulder to watch the traffic go by.

Scott

Future needs

2010-05-31T12:50:00.002+10:00

CQUniversity has been having conversations with stakeholders, internal and external, about the future role of CQUniversity in meeting the educational needs of Central Queenslanders and the organisations that employ them. As you know, we are very active in the ‘enabling’ space, as well as Outreach (we announced this week an expanded program to increase access and participation among low SES locals) and Pathways (specific programs to facilitate seamless and successful career pathways in mining and engineering) --- all of which are designed to break down barriers and make the transition to higher education as seamless as possible. The same could be said for the numerous articulation agreements and partnerships that we have with other education providers.

Some people in the community feel, as do I, that there’s scope for the University to become better integrated with the community and more active and accessible in terms of the growing training and vocational education needs of Central Queensland.

With the Queensland Government’s Community Cabinet, in Emu Park and Rockhampton, yesterday and today, we will have had meetings with the Premier, Treasurer, the Ministers for Education and Trade as well as representatives from Health and Natural Resources portfolios. I’ll be talking to them about a dual VET/Higher Education role CQUniversity could have in Central Queensland, as well as our plans to build Research and Learning & Teaching capacity at each of our regional campuses, and the investments we’re making in our new medical sciences, engineering, and law programs and facilities.

I just wanted to let you know and hear from you about the possibility of CQUniversity becoming more active in the training space, maybe even becoming Queensland’s first dual-sector University. There are pro’s and con’s and many sides on this issue…

Please put your mind to the possibilities…

Scott

Air speed...

2010-05-20T15:38:00.004+10:00

I know, I know… it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Some things have been up in the air lately and, although that can be unsettling, in at least one case it has turned out to be good news. I discovered, on some routine maintenance, that my plane (I fly a small plane and sometimes use it to get around to CQUniversity campuses) which should be flying on 6 cylinders was actually flying on 4. How I stayed in the air and got from A to B, I’m not sure --- an engineering marvel, I expect. In any event I’m back now on-line, firing on all cylinders…

Lots of talk was in the air leading up to the federal budget announcement. And whilst there hasn’t been an injection of funding into Universities, there have been resources freed-up for investment in training and skilling Australians, which is pleasing to see. Central Queensland, especially, should benefit from this as new and existing natural resources projects appear to be picking-up again. CQUniversity, I expect, will benefit as well from some Health funding which will allow for more clinical placements for allied health professionals. That’s good news for us and other Central Queenslanders, as CQUniversity will deliver Medical Imaging and other medical science programs to approximately 150 new students starting Term 1 2011 in Mackay and elsewhere.

Long-term, the government’s investment in skills development (39,000 training places co-funded with industry) and foundation studies (language, literacy and numeracy programs) means more Central Queenslanders will acquire more skills and knowledge and have increased opportunity to advance their careers and fulfil their aspirations here in Central Queensland. And no doubt, CQUniversity will play in role in their lives.

Already we work in that ‘development’ sphere with outreach and enabling programs (like STEPS), Pathways programs and close links with industry, which makes CQUniversity more accessible to Central Queenslanders. Next Tuesday, 25 May, we’ll launch – with Ian Kimber, Executive Director, Queensland’s Office of Higher education – a new and expanded CQUniversity Experience Outreach Program, (assisted by $1.5m from DEEWRs Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program) which will increase the number of school leavers and others – especially students who are Indigenous, who come from a low-SES background, or who have a disability – benefiting from CQUniversity’s programs and services.

These are areas – inclusion and access – where the sector looks to CQUniversity; where other universities and providers learn from our good practice. When the Deputy Prime Minister and Minster for Education, Julia Gillard MP, and I met on Tuesday this week in Mackay (for the opening of our new $8m Technology and Information Resources Centre) she spoke about the positive difference CQUniversity was making in Mackay in terms of partnerships and collaborations that drew community, industry and University much closer together.

Here’s a picture from Tuesday… I handed Ms Gillard one of our bags emblazoned with the edict “Be What You Want to Be.” It happened to be a day after speculation was raised in the media about Labor party leadership…. The Minister quickly responded with a comment about attaining her dream position as full-forward for the Western Bulldogs AFL team….

It was good to have the Minister visit the University and I am pleased to see such involvement by the Queensland Office of Higher Education in what we’re doing…. There’s certainly a growing understanding and valuing of CQUniversity’s contributions to the sustainability, indeed vibrancy, of Central Queensland. And word is spreading too… Over the last few months we’ve attracted scores of academics from North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and across Australia to lead and contribute the University’s developments in the fields of Medical Science, Psychology, Social Work, Engineering and more. In addition, the University is investing $40m over the next two years to build new Engineering labs, renovate the Library at Rockhampton, install new medical equipment and build new student accommodations in Mackay.

Last time I logged-in and blogged I said that change would ramp up over the next few months.

Well, it has.

Please stay in touch and sorry, again, for the blog lag. I’ll be back next week.

Scott

Change happens

2010-03-26T08:41:00.004+10:00

I start this blog with a picture of Professor Ken Hawkins and Mr Mike Donahue at recent VCAC planning day. In the interests of transparency I wanted you to know what we get up to on these days. The Village People were the guest artists over dinner.

The only constant in a university is change. I hope that you would agree that the changes made over the past six months or so are very positive. We are certainly starting to get accolades externally for the work that we are doing. I won’t go over all of these changes – but they have set us on the right course for the future. They have set us up on the path from “good to great”!

I think it is fair to say that the pace of change is going to ramp up over the next few months. We are going to be looking at renewing the Rockhampton Campus – this will involve a lot of disruption for staff. We are going to be placing senior academic leaders on the Bundaberg, Gladstone and Mackay campuses. I am going to propose that the Faculty of Arts, Business, IT and Education change its school structure to bring it more in line with the Faculty of Science Engineering and Health. I am sure that you will have noticed massive changes in the Chancellery team. We are starting many new programs next year. We will be renewing our efforts in Learning & Teaching and Research. We are looking to engage with our communities to deliver major projects on all our campuses. The list goes on and on.

This is all very exciting – but it can also be very tiring and worrying. I am sure we are all wondering where we fit in with the changes being made. I am very keen that your voice is heard with regard to the changes that we are making. We need genuine consultation with all our staff. Changes will be taken to the Staff Consultative Committee where your representatives will have an input. I will keep you informed through email, staff forums, school visits and this blog. But this should not be a one way process – I need to hear what you think. I am in the process of setting up some discussion boards on our web site so that staff can have a role in the changes that we are making.

I view all the changes that we are making as positive responding to our success. By the way our mid year 1^st preferences are up 17%!

Often the idea for a change comes from one person. So we have one brain working on it. If we all apply ourselves to the change then in this organisation we have 1200 brains working on the issue. This must mean that we get a better result. We won’t always agree but we will get better outcomes if we work together.

I know that at times as VC I will get (and have gotten) things wrong. I hope you will feel comfortable in letting me know when you think I am barking up the wrong tree - or barking mad for that matter. I have always said that we need more accountability in the University – this includes accountability from the VC to the CQUniversity Community.

I have managed to get out of the Chancellery quite a lot in the past few weeks. I have visited a number of schools. As always I have been blown away by the calibre of the staff that we have in the University. I am always impressed by the ideas that are forthcoming. It seems that just about everyone has an idea for a new program or research project. If we can work to implement some of these the University will truly advance spectacularly.

I also hear lots about the bureaucracy that staff endure. I think we need work on this. We really need to remove a lot of the “busy” work from our procedures. I will be working with our new DVC University Services Alistair Dawson and the PVC Faculties to address this issue.

I have also taken on board the feedback about academic workloads and the complexity of these workloads. I think that put quite simply we need more academics. Over the next few months and years we will get them – simple as that!

I have also visited our Australian International Campuses and had a board meeting of CMS. We are just so lucky to have the AICs and CMS. You will not find a more dedicated group of staff anywhere in the University.

They are delivering quality higher education in partnership with the folks from the CQ campuses which I think is second to none. I think that all people who visit the campuses are bowled over by the level of student support that our AICs provide. If you have not visited one of our AICs (and I say this to both our staff and others who might be reading this) do so! I think you will be impressed and maybe even learn some lessons on how we should be delivering programs across the University.

The AICs do deliver a very welcome income stream to the University – but I am working very closely with Professor Ken Hawkins to look at ways that we can have better communication between our domestic and international students. This will be a great help with our internationalisation strategy. Ken will be working with all parts of the University to pursue this strategy.

The AUQA preparations are going very well. As we move towards October I think you are going to be hearing a lot form the team over the next few weeks. Remember this is our chance to show off!

I was also very honored this week be the guest of honor at a lunch held by the Syrian Ambassador His Excellency Tammam Sulaiman in Canberra. Also present were Ambassadors from Kuwait, Iraq, Palestine, and the Lebanon. It was a fascinating lunch and helped to develop our links with the Middle east.

I have also been to the Mackay Campus. I have no doubt that over the coming years Mackay will be our fastest growing campus. I am really looking forward to seeing this campus grow and rival the size of the Rockhampton campus. Last week I just missed out on a visit to the Bundaberg campus. I was going to fly myself down their but Cyclone Ului prevented this flight – I will get to Bundaberg very soon. I am not just off to Gladstone to meet with the Campus Advisory Group.

Yet another good week

2010-02-26T07:54:00.004+10:00

“O” week went very well across all our campuses. I really want to thank all of those involved, in particular thanks to Mary and her team from the Student Centres. It was great to catch up with so many new students. We are really very privileged to be able to partner with people who are working so hard for their future.

The highlight of “O” week for me was meeting with parents on Tuesday evening. The evening was a chance for parents to ask questions about their children going to University. I have to admit that I could have answered about 1% of the questions. Thank goodness the staff from the Student Centres were there with all the right answers. I think I learnt more than any of the parents!

This was the week that the medical imaging (radiogrpahy and ultrasound) programs were launched. Cynthia Cowling has done a fantastic job in getting these programs ready. We are getting very positive feedback from the community about these programs. A lot of work has been done with the professional bodies and with the industry. These programs should give us about another 100 students next year in Mackay – this will pipeline up to 300-400 in the longer term. Great news!

Look out for more announcements of new programs in the very near future.

We are now really focusing on the preparation of the AUQA audit. We have already done a lot of work for this. In the next few days I will be announcing the structure and team that will take us on the final part of the journey to the audit. As I have said before we have a lot to be proud of and this is our big chance to show off all that is good in the University. It is also a chance to sort out anything that we could be doing better.

I hope that everyone will have done the Voice staff climate survey. I really want to know what you think of working for the University and how we can make things better – have your say!

Professor Qing-Long Han, Associate Dean of Research in FABIE, has been appointed a prestigious Chair by China’s Ministry of Education, the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) Scholar Chair Professor in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the field of Control Theory and Control Engineering. What fantastic news. There are very few of these appointments in Australia. This is just another example of how we are attracting the best people to our University.

Today I am interviewing for the DVC University Services and PVC Teaching and Learning. These will be very important positions in our team for making the University great.

Have a really great weekend and get ready for the first teaching week.

Scott

Advocacy

2010-02-22T07:15:00.002+10:00

I am not sure if folks picked up on this comment by UQQuestioning to my last blog:

"Hi Scott,
Speaking of 'back to the land of OZ' what is CQUni doing in terms of advocacy for our regional communities. As the most engaged university for Central Queensland, are we advocates for our regional and remote areas? It seems that many communities in regional and remote Queensland are highly disadvantaged and vulnerable communities - for instance, results in AEDI and NAPLAN are demonstrating how at risk and vulnerable regional communities/children are.
How might our regional campuses turn this around? Should the role of CQUni include action and visibility in matters of advocacy?

Anna Bligh's Green Paper 'A Flying Start for Queensland' currently is seeking university responses about various proposals. I understand that people in the Education Faculty are preparing a response, but will this response be highlighting the needs and challenges of our regional communities?

Should we see advocacy as an important feature of 'engagement'? Do we care about the kids, youth, families, parents, learners, communities in our footprint? How are we demonstrating this? How are we commmunicating this? How do we make things better for our regional and remote communities"

I thought this was important and was worthy of re-posting. I would be interested in hearing what people have to say about this.

I worry that advocacy can mean that you are acting as the voice for a weaker party. I think engagement should be more about enabling our communities to become strong so that they have their own voice - rather than having another party "advocating" for them. What do you think?

Scott

A river ran through it!

2010-02-22T07:01:00.003+10:00

“O” week is upon us. This is always a very special week when we see the campuses come back to life after the long Summer break (I know that many of you have been working hard over the break – but there have been few students about). It is great to see all the egger faces waiting to start their programs. They trust us with a great deal of responsibility. They have chosen us over all other universities. About 3000 new students will join us today – I think they have made a good choice. All our campuses are up in the number of students starting today – well done to all those involved in this great success.

Last week saw the graduation in Rockhampton. Over 60 staff were up on stage and many of our professional staff were in the audience. Many thanks to all of you – your presence means a lot to our graduates and their families. I urge all staff to try and attend graduations – it is a chance to see what you have achieved. All staff have made a difference to the lives of those graduating. The stars of the evening were William McInnes and the river running through the marquee. This is a picture of the Director of my office Jenny Roberts with the actor – strange that she has never wanted her picture taken with me!

We are starting to get good response to the Voice climate survey. I am looking forward to hearing how staff feel about working at CQUniversity. I am even more looking forward to working with you to improve the experience of staff. Feedback is important in all aspects of the University’s functioning. I think we need to do a lot of work in embedding feedback and improvement into all our operations. All stake holders need to have a say in what we are doing – and we have to improve based on that feedback. I think this will be another important theme for 2010.

It is a good week for me family wise. My daughter Anneka is here with our seven week old grandson Owen. I had forgotten how much work is involved with a young baby. I really do empathise with all of you who are working for or studying at the University with young children. You are stars!

Back to the land of Oz

2010-02-12T07:24:00.001+10:00

Sunday morning was spent at another private University – Yarmouk Private University (YPU). This is a University which is situated about 40 minutes drive from the Centre of Damascus. It is a new University which has only been operating for about a year. It has 500 students and is growing very rapidly. The University has a very impressive campus and has big plans for expansion.

We met with the President, Professor Dr. Mhd. Fayez Kiwan, the Dean of Informatics and Communication Engineering, the Dean of the faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering and the Manager of Students Affairs.

We discussed a number of ideas for how our two universities can work together. We came away thinking that we would work with the YPU in the future – both within Syria and Australia. I think there is a good chance that we will be seeing academic and professional staff from YPU visiting CQUniversity in the future. I also think that there will be a chance for staff from our University to visit YPU to deliver intensive programs.

After the visit to YPU we travelled to our hotel to pick up our bags and travelled to the airport. Damascus airport has to be one of the most chaotic places on the face of the earth. The airport was a queue free zone – the scrum was the order of the day. There was failure in the airports electricity system – and they had great problems printing out our boarding passes! We left Damascus about three hours late. We arrived back in Dubai at past midnight. We were up early on Monday to get to the airport for our flights.

So on Monday I said goodbye to Ken, Geoff and Ali. It really had been a pleasure travelling with these three colleagues – and I had learnt a lot about the CMS operations.

I spent most of Monday on a flight to Singapore – arriving at about 10.30pm.

Tuesday started with two breakfast meetings (time for a big diet when I get back). The first of these was with a group of our Alumni. The leader of the Alumni group is Dr Vincent Wee. I have known Vincent for a long time – he used to work for JCU Singapore – so it was good to catch up with him. Other Alumni at the meeting included Tina Shum, Valerie Wee and Chris Pan. We discussed ways in which we can interact with Alumni in Singapore. The group were keen to form a proper Chapter. If academic staff are passing through Singapore they should, if possible, meet with the Alumni group and consider giving a lecture. We also discussed the possibility of a group coming out to Rockhampton for the next University Ball. This will be a chance to show off the University. I will be discussing these plans with the Development Unit when I get back to Rocky.

After this meeting I visited the CQUniversity campus in Singapore which is operated by Melior Education Group. I was very impressed with the professionalism of the operation. I was shown around by the Melior CEO Patrick Loke. Along with other members of staff I also met with another Director of Melior – Mr S. K. Cheng. We discussed ways in which we could grow the operation in Singapore. There is potential to do more. I am very keen to see Melior Group and CMS working more closely together in the future – there are great synergies between the operations.

I then had a lunch meeting with the Melior Academic Board. This Board is chaired by Dr Mathew Yap. The other members are Dr Carol Balhetchet and Dr Tan Kok Heng. All members of the Board are Alumni of CQUniversity. Dr Balhetchet is a well known personality in Singapore. It was a very pleasant meeting with the Board members explaining their role and their aspirations for CQUniversity in Singapore.

It was then off to the airport to catch a flight to Brisbane. I arrived at my hotel at about 3am. I was then up after about three hours sleep to attend a meeting with the VC at the University of Queensland. I am writing this at Brisbane airport – waiting for my flight to Rocky. I have a full afternoon of meetings and then an official dinner meeting this evening. If you think I am looking for sympathy – you are right!

So was it worth it? From a financial point of view - probably yes. The outcome from the meeting with the UAE Ministry of Education alone should cover the cost of the trip many times over. But it was also worth it to raise the profile of the University and to form links with other Universities. However this will only have benefit to the University if we follow up on all the opportunities which have been identified. I will be reporting back to you in the coming months regarding outcomes.

But that is only my point of view. I would very much appreciate the CQUniversity community’s response to this trip. I hope you have enjoyed this insight into my travels as the VC. I will endeavour to report back to you in this manner whenever I travel.

Scott

Looking back, then forward

2010-02-08T10:40:00.002+10:00

Friday is our weekend – so we had a day off from visits and meetings. The University of Damascus very kindly provided us with a driver and tour guide to take us out for the morning. We visited Ma’alula. This famous village is some 56 km from Damascus, and is situated at an altitude of more than 1500 metres. Its little houses cling to the face of an enormous rock; they look suspended in mid-air. There are two monasteries here; Saint Sergius and Saint Taqla's.The inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ. If you are interested in Ma’alula you can find out more at: http://www.lingolex.com/maalula/maalula.htm. If you ever get to Syria I would strongly recommend that you visit this fascinating city.

On the way back one of us asked our guide "Where is the Road to Damascus” – he simply said “You are on it”. It is strange to think we were on the road that St Paul travelled so long ago. As we drove through the city we stopped by the old city walls. Our guide pointed out a small window in the wall near one of the gates. He told us that this was the window that St Paul had jumped out of to escape the Romans. This is a city where people describe structures that are a thousand years old as “modern”. There is history everywhere going back 4000 years.

In the afternoon Ali kindly took us to the Umayyad Mosque. You can find out more about the Mosque at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_Mosque. It is one of the largest and oldest Mosques in the world. It was build in 705AD and took 10 years to build. We wandered around inside the Mosque taking in the very special atmosphere.

Syria is a very friendly and safe place to visit. We have walked around the city and at all times have been made to feel welcome. This will come as a surprise to some people – but I can honestly say I have never felt more comfortable or safe in a country. This is in complete contrast to a trip I made to South America a few years ago.

I am sure this visit will generate quite a lot of activity for CQUniversity. If this leads to a chance for you to travel to Syria I would recommend that you take it without hesitation. I know I want to come back here on my “own time” in the near future.

Our one day weekend came to an end and we were back at work on Saturday. On this day we visited one of the largest private universities in Syria – the Arab International University AIU. The University has about 4500 students and five faculties Pharmacy, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Fine Arts and Informatics Engineering. The University is only five years old but is growing very fast.

We visited the University on a very interesting day. They were holding a ceremony to celebrate the start of an intensive workshop entitled “New Challenges in Drug Delivery Systems”. This workshop was being delivered by the Martin Luther University from Germany. So there were a number of German visitors. We attended the ceremony and the Deputy Minister for Higher Education was present. We had a chance to meet him after the ceremony.

During the day we had meetings with the President of the University Professor Dr. rer. Nat. Abdul Ghani Maa Bared. He was very generous with his time and we discussed ways in which our two universities can work together. During the day we also met the Vice President Professor Dr. Faek Diko, Professor Dr. Abdul Razak Cheikh Issa the Vice President for Quality & Academic Accreditation, the Dean of University Requirements Dr T. (Jack) S. Toumajian and the Head of International Office Dr. Dr. h. c. Thomas Teuscher. We asked why Dr Dr – he told us that one PhD was in Arabic and the other was in English.

We came to the conclusion that there were many ways that our two universities could work together. They would like us to run intensive workshops. They would like our staff to visit their university. They are happy to cover the expenses for these trips. We also want to look at the possibility of joint degrees, joint research, and student and staff exchanges. Once I get back to Australia I will be talking to the PVC Faculties and CMS about how we can pursue this relationship. We will be looking to sign a MOU with this University.

In the evening we were invited out to a dinner by the President of the University. At this event we also had the chance to meet with the Chair of the Board of University Trustees Dr. Mohammad Imady. He is also the Chairman of the Syrian Commission on Financial Markets and Securities. The University was very generous with their time and hospitality. I hope we will be able to work with this University in the future.

The Road to Damascus (University)

2010-02-05T16:54:00.000+10:00

I am writing this entry on my weekend – Friday. Everything is shut here and we have a free day – so we are heading out to the hills. There is some worry that where we are heading will have the roads blocked by snow – we will see. I will report on our day off tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday are working days here and we have appointments booked – so I am going to make the most of my Friday weekend. But before I do let me report on the progress we made yesterday (Thursday).

The day was one of busiest and most important of the trip. We started the day with a meeting with the Minister of Higher Education Dr Ghias Barakat. It was quite exceptional that we managed to get such a high level meeting – it was the equivalent of meeting Minister Julia Gillard in Australia. Our success in getting this meeting was due to the Syrian Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand His Excellency Mr. Tammam Sulaiman. You may remember that he gave a lecturer to the university last year. He has turned out to be a really good friend to the University and has opened many doors here in Syria.

The Minister was very welcoming, giving us a very detailed briefing regarding advances Syria is making in higher education and the part that overseas universities can play. There are certainly a number of opportunities for us to host Syrian students in the future. We also met with the Director of International Cooperation Samer Al Belal and other officials. We came to an agreement with regards to how we can pursue a relationship with the Ministry of Higher Education.

From that meeting we travelled to Damascus University. There are only four State Universities in Syria and Damascus University is the oldest and largest. It has 120,000 students and is over 100 years old. We had a meeting with the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Dr Wael Mualla. Again it was quite rare for a delegation to get access to the Vice Chancellor of such a University.

We had a long discussion with the Vice Chancellor about how we could work together. We discussed a possible memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two universities. To be honest I am not keen to sign lots of MOUs all over the place. I want to keep the number of MOUs that CQUniversity has down to a few select universities. This is so that they are meaningful and lead to action. MOUs for the sake of MOUs are a waste of time. I would however like a MOU with Damascus University.

We decided that later in the year we would arrange a virtual conference between the two universities. Two of our researchers and two of Damascus University’s researchers will present papers that will be transmitted by video conference and internet. I will be working on this when I get back.

I will also be looking to provide a travelling scholarship for a member of staff to travel to Syria to work for a short period of time with a Damascus University member of staff on a joint research project. We will then look at staff and student exchanges. But I think we will only get these activities happening if we have contact and cooperation between academics. We went on to discuss other areas of cooperation. I will be talking with a number of our academics when I get back with regard to how we can interact with this important University. We also met with Noubough Yassin the Director of International and Cultural relations at Damascus University. She will be central to any relationship that develops between the two Universities in the future.

After visiting Damascus University we were off to another Ministerial meeting. This time it was with the Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Dr Kawkab Alsabah Dayeh. Also present at the meeting was Eng. Imad Hassoun the Deputy Minister. This was a very important meeting. We discussed in detail how our University and in particular the Centre for Environmental Management can provide assistance to the Ministry. When I get back to Australia I will be having a long chat with Professor Rolf about how we can interact. The Minister was very interested to hear about our plans for a virtual conference and suggested that we may want one of the topics for the conference to be Environmental Management.

From this meeting we were taken on a tour of old Damascus. This had been very generously arranged by Damascus University. Before going on the trip I put on every piece of clothing I had. It is just so cold over here. We then went on an early evening walk with a guide through the old city. Damascus is the oldest continually habituated city in the world – dating back over 4000 years. It is a fascinating city and I am very hopeful that more of my colleagues from CQUniversity will be able to visit.

Our day was not quite over. We were invited to dinner by Professor Dr Wael Mualla. At the meeting we also met with Professor Dr Hyam N. Bashour who is Professor of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at Damascus University. We spent the evening discussing how our Universities can cooperate. It was also interesting to hear that the issues that I am facing are exactly the same as the ones being faced by the VC of Damascus University. For example I was telling the VC that we needed residential accommodation on some of our campuses that do not have it. He told me that he too needed more accommodation. I asked him how many student beds he had at his university – 13,000. Same issues different scale…..

Syria, Damascus, Snowing??!!

2010-02-04T15:10:00.000+10:00

Yes it really is snowing here.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a travel day. We drove the couple of hours from Abu Dhabi to Dubai and then it was a three hour flight to Damascus in Syria. It was one of those frustrating days you have when you are travelling for work – you get a glance of a place – but have no time to have a really good look. Dubai is somewhere I would really like to spend some time in – but alas it will not be on this trip. Work trips are mainly about airports, hotels and other universities. That is not to say that such trips are not enjoyable – they are!

In terms of holidays and personal travel I think work trips can be helpful “spotting” trips. I get a glance of somewhere and put this on my list of places to go back to on holiday with Anita (my wife). Personally I have never been able to mix business travel with personal travel; hence Anita has very rarely travelled with me on work trips. I know others manage to combine the two – but I never have managed it. I find I cannot concentrate on a meeting knowing that Anita has been left alone. We have always found it better go back to the place that I have spotted – together.
It is really cold here. I have travelled extensively for work over the years. But I never seem to learn the simple fact that not all places have the same climate as the place I live! I have purchased a fleece
jacket – but I am still freezing!

So, yesterday was a travel day. If you are on your own these are wasted days – but not if you are travelling with colleagues. It has been a great pleasure to travel with Ken, Geoff and Ali from the CMS. I feel I have got to know them and to understand the International Campuses much better. This always happens when you travel with people – you have time to talk and get to know the person rather than the position. Just like a personal holiday you have time to dream. So we have been dreaming up lots of ideas of how the University can go forward.

There was also time for Ken to brief me on his recent trip to Saudi Arabia. His feedback was that CQUniversity fared well at the International Exhibition for Higher Education in Riyadh. The CMS team represented the whole of CQUniversity. They put particular emphasis on the Central Queensland campuses as compatible destinations for Saudi students. Significant interest has resulted in applications for engineering, IT, nursing and doctoral programs. I think the University can expect to see these applications coming through in the near future. We all need to work to turn these applications around very quickly. The international market is VERY competitive and the sooner we can get offers out, the better. So I would encourage staff in Faculties and Divisions to work really hard and fast to convert these applications to offers and then on to students. We have a lot to offer – we don’t want these potential students missing out! The great news for and about these students is that they will come with full funding from the Saudi Ministry of Education and /or other sponsors.

It is great to see CMS and the International Office of the University working so closely together. This is leading to some great results.

So why am I so late posting today – well I now have an eight hour time difference between me and home – and only a two hour difference with the UK. That coupled with the snow makes it feel a long way from home.

A University, an Education Council and a Bentley

2010-02-03T05:30:00.002+10:00

Tuesday has been another interesting day. We spent the morning at the Abu Dhabi Men’s College (which also has female students). This is part of the Higher Colleges of Technology. We were shown round by Dr Simon Jones, the Director, and Dr Erik Forsberg, the Associate Dean, Research and Innovation. We were also very pleased to be greeted by Dr Tayeb A. Kamali, the Vice Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology whom I had met the previous evening.

In Australia we would call this College a multi-sector University. It awards diplomas through to masters degrees. It has strong links with some of the great Universities of the world including Stanford, Harvard and London. Many of its degrees are being delivered in conjunction with these universities.

The Abu Dhabi Men’s College is impressive to say the least. It is one of the most technically advanced institutions that I have ever visited. We were made to feel very welcome. It was a little disconcerting to find every screen throughout the College displaying a picture of me and a welcome!

The library was particularly advanced with cutting edge learning technology. The library was the learning heart of the College. We were shown how students are using IT to access learning material. We were impressed to find that they were using this blog site to demonstrate their technology. They really had done their homework.

We were shown their new allied health building. They are delivering programs in nursing, medical imaging, medical laboratory science and paramedics. Many of the areas we are looking to start. There was a willingness on the part of the staff in this part of the College to collaborate with us.

The aviation technology section of the university was of interest to me – for obvious reasons! They had three aircraft in one of their workshop. They deliver programs for aviation technicians. They are now looking to put together a program in aviation management. They were interested to learn that we were already doing this. I think there could be some important links in this area. I hope Ron Bishop will be able to follow up on this.

Dr Erik Forsberg is working to consolidate the research efforts of the College. I have invited him to visit CQUniversity to see what we have done this with our research institutes and centres. He will be contacting Jennelle Kyd about this visit.

The College also has a centre for Excellence for applied Research and Training CERT. It would be well worth taking a look at the CERT web site at http://www.certonline.com/ . CERT is the commercial arm of the College. It was stunning to see the equipment in this centre. They have a super computer that is in the top 400 fastest computers in the world. Our researchers could access some time on this computer to deal with large complex data sets. It also has one of the three most advanced simulation centres in the world. When we were there it was running a simulation of an oil refinery. Just think what we could do with one of these in partnership with industries in Central Queensland!

The College is just starting to get into railway engineering. They were very interested to hear that we were a leader in this field. They are very keen to look at a relationship in this area. I will be following up on this when I get home.

There are many possible links that could be made with this College. In particular I think we should be looking to make links with them in railway engineering, allied health, aviation and through our Professional Doctorate program. We have received a letter of intent from the College to follow up on some of these areas. In many ways this College is very similar to us – even if it is better resourced. I think that a relationship with this institution could be considered to be a peer to peer relationship. This could be very important going into our future. I would urge colleagues to take a look at their web site at http://www.hct.ac.ae/ .

In the afternoon we met with the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC). I had met Professor Jim Mienczakowski and Dr Robert Thompson the evening before. This afternoon they were joined by Mona Majed Al Mansoori and Robert Turner. You can find out more about ADEC at http://www.adec.ac.ae/

We discussed many issues – but the main one was the award of ADEC scholarships to UAE students who are studying at our international campuses. We have had a few issues with this in the past. I was very grateful to Mona Majed Al Mansoori for explaining to me the rules regarding these scholarships. It seems that they are only given to students studying in Australian universities which are ranked in the top 200 universities in the world. We are not quite there yet! There is however a chance to get such students if we can show that we are the best place for them to study in Australia. So there is a chance that we could get some of these students studying in our areas of excellence – such as railway engineering. We will explore this.

There are also opportunities to offer study options to the high school students that ADEC sends to Australia each year. This is particularly about English language studies, which will be worth exploring.

We had a very interesting discussion with Bob Turner about VET opportunities. ADEC is just starting to consider sending students overseas for VET. We are starting to have discussions with CQ TAFE about how we can work more closely together. As this relationship develops there could be great opportunities to work with ADEC.

In the evening we had dinner with a former student – and his brother, who is going to attend CQUniveristy Melbourne later in the year. They were fascinating company – and we had a really stimulating discussion about differences between living in Australia and the UAE.

Driving through the UAE is like being on the set of Top Gear. There is just about every super car driving about the streets. On the way back to the hotel we had a competition to see who could spot the most interesting car – Geoff Wessling won with a Bentley Continental GT Speed.

My computer was not downloading email earlier on. I hope this is still the case – it will give me an excuse not to clear emails. So I am off now - to either do emails – or to go bed!

Greetings from the UAE

2010-02-02T04:29:00.006+10:00

Over the next few days I intend to write a detailed blog about my first trip overseas for CQUniversity. My reasons for this are many and varied. I want colleagues to understand what I do when I am travelling overseas for the University. It is very easy to see these trips as junkets with senior staff giving themselves an excuse for an all expenses paid holiday. I know I used to think this when I was a lecturer killing myself to get ready for a new term or when I was up to my eyes in marking! So, I want to set out exactly what goes on during one of my trips. I want people to have the information they need to make judgements on the value of this activity. It is up to you to judge – junket or valuable University activity. I also want colleagues to see if there any opportunities to get involved with this fascinating part of the world through my visit.

I do hope to show that there is a lot of difference between a work trip and a holiday. That is not to say that work trips are not enjoyable. I know that I am very privileged to be able to travel and see parts of the world that I would never get a chance to – unless I was in this line of work. And of course there are fun parts of trips!

There are a number of downsides to this kind of travel. You are away from family – and you miss valued “weekend time” with them. It is also hard to stay on top of emails and what is going on back at base.

I am writing this entry from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday at about 10.30pm local time. It has been a busy start to the trip. I left Rockhampton late on Saturday afternoon and arrived in Dubai at 5am local time (11am Queensland time) on Sunday morning. I was met by Dr Ali Abusalem a very close friend of CQUniversity. He has been a great help in promoting the University in the Middle East. We drove the 140km to Abu Dhabi.

Much of Sunday was taken up with meetings with Ken Hawkins and Geoff Wessling from CMS. They gave me feedback on their visit to Saudi Arabia to market the University which they had undertaken the previous week. We also took some time to plan our meetings for the rest of the week.

In the evening we met up with a number former and potential students including Talal Fawal and Ahmed Aldarmaki over dinner at Bab Al Shams. This was one of the fun parts of the trip. Great food and entertainment...

After a lost night's sleep on the plane and a 6 hour time difference I was very happy to be heading back to the hotel after dinner at about 10.30pm. Little did I know that I would not see my bed until well after midnight! Earlier in the evening Egypt had won the African Nations soccer cup. This brought the Egyptian ex-pats out onto the streets of Abu Dhabi in force. There were massive traffic jams throughout the city. It was a very happy city! I can honestly say that I have never been happier to get to bed after such a long day!

Monday was a very rewarding day. I visited the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. I met with Dr Saif AL Mazroui the Executive Director for International and Support Services. I briefed him on the direction that CQUniversity was taking and how we could work together. I am very pleased to report that we have been put onto the list of approved Australian Universities for UAE students. This is very important if we are to get more students studying with us from the UAE.

I also met with Professor Dr. Samir Abdalla Eldessouky an advisor to the Ministry. He gave me a briefing on progress being made by the Universities in the UAE. There is no doubt that these Universities are making great progress. I am hopeful that we will be able to work with the UAE Universities in the future.

I also met with senior staff from the scholarship section of the Ministry. We discussed a number of issues. This was important because the UAE sends many of its young people overseas for higher education. I think our university has a lot to offer these students and I hope to be seeing many more of them at CQUniversity as we move forward.

After my visit to the Ministry I went back to the hotel for a meeting with Ms Gabrielle Troon the Manger, Education Services for “Study Melbourne” from the State Government of Victoria. We discussed issues facing higher education providers in the UAE – in particular those providers (like us) who are bringing students into Victoria.

This evening I had a pre-dinner informal meeting with Professor Jim Mienczakowski from the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) and a former CQUniversity staff member. We were joined by Dr Robert Thompson Head of Special Projects at ADEC. He is also a former CQUniversity member of staff. I briefed them on how we are progressing as a university.

I was then very privileged to be a guest of His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan. Sheikh Nahayan is the Minister for Higher Education and a member of the Royal family. It was a fascinating event. We ate camel and other UAE delicacies. There were four nobel laureates at the dinner!

Over dinner I had a chance to discuss issues with Dr Tayeb A. Kamali, the Vice Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology. This is a university with 17 campuses 18,000 students. He was very interested to hear that we have an expertise in railway engineering. His university is just starting to get involved in this field. There is a plan to build a national railway across the UAE.
After dinner it was back to the hotel to write this blog. Once I have put this to bed I will try and clear some emails!

The United Arab Emirates is a fascinating place. It has rich mineral wealth (mainly of the black liquid form) and has challenging training and educational needs – does that sound familiar? There are many similarities between the UAE and Central Queensland. I am convinced there are many opportunities to build links with this part of the world. The people here are gracious and generous. There are many alumni of Australian Universities who have a deep love of Australia. This is a great place to come and see the value of international education.

Year of Big Ideas

2010-01-14T14:00:00.002+10:00

It was with great sadness that I heard Nitin Garg one of our recent graduates was killed in Melbourne. There has been a lot of commentary about how this tragic event will impact on international student numbers. Let’s just put that aside for the moment. Let us remember one of our graduates we have lost. This young man had the bravery to come to Australia to study in a country far away from home, to study in a language that was not his first. He was a young man who had succeeded with his studies. He had become an Australian resident and would have contributed much to his adopted country. So as a University we remember one of our own and express our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Christmas now seems a long time ago! The year has got off to a very busy start. I have been spending a lot of time looking at our applications. I am very pleased to see that we have a good increase in our applications for both domestic and international programs in Central Queensland. I think we are on track to meet our student targets for 2010 – which is great news. It is particularly gratifying to see so many people progressing from our access programs to full degrees.

We now all need to work to make our new students feel welcome, and part of the University. We need to look into ways of engaging our new students. This will improve our retention rates – and more importantly improve the prospects of our communities. We should be thinking of innovative methods to achieve this – maybe by program and course coordinators setting up face book sites for their new students. We cannot afford to loose one student!

The University is also buzzing with activity to develop new programs for introduction later this year and in 2011. Plans for new programs in health and law are well advanced. These new programs should help us to meet our targets as we move forward. They will also help us to develop our reputation as Australia’s most engaged University.

Personally I have had a great start to the year – I have become a grandfather for the first time. My daughter Anneka and her partner Matt had a baby boy (Owen – 8lb 6oz) on the 2nd of January. Anita and I are very proud grandparents. I could not resist including a picture in this blog.

This will be a year when we will see renewal of our campuses, introduction of new programs, more collaboration with other Universities, a new EBA, greater partnership with the VET sector and many new staff joining us. This will be our year of big ideas. I think these ideas should come from all over the University. Ideas for how we can build this into a great University. I wish you all a very happy New Year – and I look forward to hearing your big ideas.

Have a great Christmas

2009-12-22T09:30:00.002+10:00

Well here we are in Christmas week and I guess thoughts are more concerned with family and friends rather than the University – this is just the way it should be! It is also a time to reflect on the past and future.

Well for me this has been a remarkable 6 months. It has been a real privilege to be the Vice Chancellor of CQUniversity. We are really making head way and taking the University forward to being a force to be reckoned with in Higher Education. We have had some great successes in terms of independent assessment of our research and teaching quality. We have our renewal plan in place and we are well set for the future.

It has been a pleasure to work with the staff of the University. I am still finding gems and treasures as I explore the campus. We simply have some of the academics and professional staff in the sector working at CQUniversity.

I am looking forward to looking to see how we can support staff much better in the coming years. Early in the New Year we will be putting the EBA out to staff for consideration. I really hope that staff will be happy with the form of the agreement. I think staff will be pleased with the rewards package. We will have to work hard to afford the agreement – but if I was not confident that we could do it I would not have put it forward. I would like to thank all of our staff involved in negotiating the agreement. I would also like to thank the officials from the unions involved. You have all done a grand job.

We are well on the way to developing a whole range of new programs that should be available for 2011. These will give us the extra student numbers that we need – but more importantly they will serve the needs of our communities.

Our AQUA review will be one of the most important issues facing us in 2010. In the New Year preparation for the review will be the number one priority. This will be a great opportunity for us to be able to show the world just well we are doing. It will also be an opportunity for us to improve some of the ways we are doing our business.

I was very pleased to meet with so many colleagues and their families at the University Ball and Pool Party. The picture is of me and Professor Mark Burton knocking up a snack – you can see we like our food! In fact we were cooking for the kids at the Pool Party – just before a very slim Santa visited!

All the best for Christmas and the New Year

All the very best

Scott

Why we do it

2009-11-09T05:55:00.002+10:00

I recently received the following email. Carolyn gave me permission to post it here.

Dear Professor Bowman,

My name is Carolyn Tappenden, I have just completed your WIST program with Distinction, and would like to sincerely thank you for the opportunity in taking part in the most rewarding academic venture in my life to date. I live in a remote, insular mining town and through a chance meeting with one of your staff members here in Dysart, found out about the WIST course and decided it was perfect to suit my current circumstances and goals. I have now applied to study Bachelor of Nursing at CQU. Previous to undertaking the WIST program I had no academic confidence, and felt my ability to study and learn was severely lacking. Through the support and encouragement offered to me by Nell Salem I found confidence in my abilities, and so discovered a love of the structure and discipline that accompanies learning. I have always revered the academic world and am so proud at having completed the first step into my future. Initially I was going to apply through QTAC, though even if I had of been accepted, I now feel that it would have been a waste of time and money to start university without this course behind me, due to my complete ignorance of the expectations of thesis writing at university level. I have learnt so many valuable lessons, through completion of the course, that I will take with me into the future. I have discovered a renewed resourcefulness and strength of conviction, and will endeavour to always achieve maximum outcomes in my imminent profession. The program being free was just an added bonus, for I feel no monetary value could be placed upon the knowledge and confidence I have gained. Thank you once again for this wonderful opportunity.

Yours sincerely, Carolyn

We do have a real impact on people's lives. We should all be very proud of our reputation as Australia's most Accessible University. Many thanks for the feedback Carolyn and all the very best for your future studies.

Research at CQU

2009-10-30T07:35:00.003+10:00

It’s been a big week for CQUniversity Research with more than $2.2 million dollars in new research funding awarded and the University acknowledged as among the best worldwide research institutions. A global report on research performance, collaboration and impact (by Spanish-based SCIMAGO) puts CQUniversity at 24^th in Australia and 672^nd in the world (or within the top 10% of universities world-wide).

CQUniversity will receive more than $1.8m in new funding for health and medical research. $896 000 from the National Health and Medical Research Council, announced today by Minister for Health & Aging Nicola Roxson, will enable researchers at the university to contribute to the Government’s health reform agenda to improve the health of all Australians. Lead researcher Professor Kerry Mummery will look at internet based programs that have the potential to reach large numbers of people to promote physical activity, and will assess program effectiveness. I’m told more than half of Australians do not get enough exercise. (I suspect I’m one of them.)

In addition, $949 000 was awarded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) for three other projects led by CQUniversity:

• $479,000 for research on children’s health and mobility

• $250,000 for industrial network-based control systems

• $220,000 for research on internet crime and terrorism and tracing the real source of Internet attacks to enable Australian governments to identify, locate, and punish criminals

The University is also a collaborator with other universities on two projects funded by ARC Linkage grants:

• $159,106 (with Deakin University) to research defences again botnets, devastating malicious software widely utilised by Internet criminals and terrorists to bring down information infrastructure. Control of such attacks is critical to the nation’s security, long-term survival and prosperity.

• $235 000 (with Griffith University) for research on children’s independent mobility, physical activity levels and social interaction especially when they travel to and from school

The ranking and the funding demonstrate that CQUniversity’s applied research has a concentration of excellence in the health sciences and information technology (CQUniversity’ s other key areas are natural resources and international education).

When Senator Kim Carr -- Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research -- and I met and talked last week we discussed CQUniversity’s partnerships with other universities, including research-intensive universities, and CQUniversity’s reputation for engaging with business and industry to conduct research that has an immediate impact on our communities and others around the world.

From rail safety and load bearing, to inner-ear infections and the health of the Great Barrier Reef, to cardiac monitoring and the sweetness of locally-grown fruit, CQUniversity’s applied research is delivering benefits to people on a local (and global) scale from activities undertaken in Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Gladstone and Mackay and throughout Central Queensland.

The impact of Central Queensland-based research is significant, as well, for all of Australia. It is why, for example, we conduct research on sleep deprivation and road safety; the Fitzroy catchment (the second largest in the country); biofuel which can be extracted from plants that thrive in tropical Australia; and projects, like Professor Mummery’s, on children’s health.

Compared to universities such as Melbourne or the ANU, the size and funding of our research is relatively small. Nonetheless, CQUniversity research is recognised among the best. Leading in areas where in which we are excellent and lending our expertise to partnerships with other universities, CQUniversity will continue its contribution to Australia’s target of doubling collaboration between Australian businesses, universities and publicly funded research agencies over the next decade.

The flow of knowledge among industry, researchers, government and the community is crucial to CQUniversity’s development. Increased connectivity and collaboration with partners will boost our research intensity and give us wider access to facilities and experts across the country – and that means better service and results, for Australia and Central Queensland.

Canberra and Christmas

2009-10-26T09:31:00.002+10:00

I had an interesting week last week with a trip to Canberra to meet some of the politicians and senior officials who are in charge of Australia’s higher education system. I’m grateful to Kirsten Livermore, our local Member of Parliament in Rockhampton, who did a fantastic job coordinating and making those meetings happen.

I had the good fortune to meet with Minister Julia Gillard, Senator Kim Carr and also with Minister Warren Snowdon. I also met with senior officials from DEEWR and the Department of Health. Overall these people were very supportive of the direction we are taking the University but also noted the challenges that we face as we move forward.

I think those decision-makers were pleased to hear that we have a clear vision for CQUniversity and a path to get to that vision over the coming years,

On Tuesday I briefed Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, on our operations in Melbourne. The fact that our University runs over three states and has significant operations in three capital cities makes my job incredibly interesting….

Soon after Christmas I hope to have started a staff climate survey at the University. One of my objectives is to make CQUniversity an employer of choice. I really need to know how people are feeling about the institution and how we can do things to improve the lot of our staff. I really hope that we get good participation in the survey. One of the things that I am sure the surveys will highlight is concerns about recognition of staff achievements. I know that this is an issue in most Universities and it is one which people have raised with me at CQUniversity. I think all of us in the University have a responsibility to recognise the achievements of others. Those of us in leadership positions have a responsibility to recognise the hard work that people are doing and particularly the extra work that people are putting in to make the student experience of the University more positive. But it is not just for those in leadership positions to recognise the work of others. We all need to make it a point to comment on the achievements of others and I think this will go a long way to improving the culture within the University. I am very keen to look at how we can recognise and reward good service to the University.

Christmas is a time that has massive impact on the University. I think all of us now are talking in terms of doing things before Christmas or post Christmas. I think Christmas creates a sense of urgency in the University but this sense of urgency is one that we need to keep up for the next two or three years. It is absolutely imperative that we recruit more students for the University as we are not filling our Commonwealth Funded Load and hence are being paid for students that we do not have in the University. With the introduction of demand led funding in 2012 this situation will cease and we will lose significant income to the University. Hence by 2012 we must have another 500 full time equivalent students in the University. This is not a want it is a need!
We’ll achieve this together by recruiting more students and retaining the students that we have and I am looking forward to working with you all over the next couple of years to make these numbers reality.

Christmas is also a time to celebrate and I am very grateful to staff who have decided to organise a Christmas Ball this year and also a Children’s Christmas Party, I think these will be great events which will celebrate the end of a very challenging year. You would have received a short email about this last week, with more details to follow. I hope you will be able to attend these events.

Scott

Staff recognition

2009-10-23T09:30:00.004+10:00

I recently received an email and had a conversation with staff member Sue Praed about staff recognition and thought I’d share with you Susan’s remarks. Staff recognition is a subject that I’ve been discussing with others and I hope that before Christmas we can conduct a CQUniversity staff climate survey which will tell us a lot about they way people feel about the uni. I expect “recognition” will be a factor – it is in just about every other university!
I think Sue’s comments are very worthwhile.
(And Tim [see email below], – sounds like you are getting this right – WELL DONE. I hope you will be able to bring your experience to the CQUniversity Senior Leadership Conference next month.)

Scott

Here are Sue’s remarks:

From: Susan Praed
Sent: Thursday, 22 October 2009 2:59 PM
To: Vice Chancellor - CQUniversitySubject:
Staff Recognition Program

Dear Scott,

Let me briefly introduce myself to you. My name is Sue Praed and I am currently EA to the Head of School, Computing Sciences, Tim Roberts. I have been employed at CQUniversity now for the past 9 years. During this time, I have worked at Bundaberg Campus in Administration, STEPS and Student Services, relieved staff when on leave in Informatics & Communication and Business and Law.

Since commencing in this role in April 2009, I have been wanting to put forward an idea to recognise staff for different reasons. This may have already been suggested to you, my apologies if it has, but I would like to continue just in case it hasn’t.

Prior attempts have always been met with, we don’t have the faculty funds/budget to do such things for our employees because the policy doesn’t allow expenditure for such items. My initial request was for small gifts of appreciation, ie. Christmas cards for the school staff, random free goods, ie. coffee vouchers, book vouchers, free donuts and or other small gifts that can brighten peoples days. Additionally, a recognition email, perhaps once a month recognising long hours, good work or dedication to a particular task/job, either individual or group. In the School of Computing Sciences, I have adopted birthday emails to staff from our school and recognise years of service via email when they occur. Tim sent all school staff a Christmas Card for the first time in 08 and he continually recognises staff in his school and has built great rapport with them. They are very lucky to have him as their supervisor. It sounds simple, but it’s effective, they do say it’s the small things that count. I often reflect back to my days with BHP, where HR was very active in recognising employees for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years service etc, with medallions, engraved pens, party to the value of X and a gold watch.

I have bounced ideas around with a few staff here and our Head of School, but now would like your thoughts on perhaps expanding this suggestion to the next level. I regularly get information emailed to me from Red Balloon, a company that specialises in giving pleasure and ultimately impacting employees of large and small organisations. If you have time, some articles can be found at http://www.redballoondays.com.au/corporate/news. I believe these good news stories currently meet with your goals and visions for the future.

Seeing the damaging and prolonged effects that low morale can have on people saddens me. Over the years, staff have really been hit hard due to numerous restructures/changes etc. It is important to the development of staff that they feel appreciated in their work. This in turn, increases morale, productivity and most importantly, collegial relationships. With you on board, what a perfect time to build on boosting morale by instigating an employee recognition program here at CQUniversity. We’ll have everyone wanting to work at the best regional university in Australia!

Thanks for your time in this Scott,

Kind regards,

Susan Praed
Administrative Officer (School Operations)
School of Computing Sciences
Faculty of Arts, Business, Informatics & Education

AUQA

2009-10-16T13:34:00.006+10:00

Ever been audited? You usually don’t get much advance notice and you’re left with a sinking feeling in your stomach.

Universities all over Australia get audited regularly all the time. We generally do get notified early, but that does little to dispel the butterflies.

A year from now CQUniversity will host auditors from the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) for our second review. We’re told they’ll be interested in discussing two things during their scheduled visit: our Learning & Teaching quality and Internationalisation.

So, why the butterflies? There’s good reason. If an organization doesn’t measure up against standards it risks losing its accreditation. Even if the outcomes are mixed and a University is commended for doing most things well (CQUniversity was invited in 2006 to submit six entries to AUQA’s database of good practice, the second highest number of entries from among all Australian universities), other conclusions and recommendations made in an AUQA report can be damaging to a university’s reputation.

At CQUniversity we are open and transparent about our programs and services. I’m sure we’ll learn a lot from the Audit about how well, or not, we are doing in meeting our goals and servicing our students and other customers.

The upcoming Audit couldn’t come at a better time for CQUniversity, following restructures and the purchase of CMS and ongoing work throughout the organisation that is making us the most engaged university in Australia.

AUQA is not about rankings or ratings and the auditors don’t give out gold stars. They’re interested in establishing just how universities are meeting their goals, how effectively they gather information to measure progress, and how efficiently they are at identifying and addressing the issues that sometimes get in the way of achieving those goals. In addition, auditors verify that all institutions meet relevant legislated requirements and standards. The Audit team defines quality as “fitness for purpose” and they will assess CQUniversity procedures, policies, and processes.

In context of our preparations for upcoming Audit we run the risk, however, of becoming easily distracted. Let’s not lose sight of issues that resonate with our students in our communities: quality and excellence, real choice and diversity, university autonomy and academic integrity. These are the issues at the core of CQUniversity’s Strategic and Renewal Plans.

Over the next 10 to 12 months we are going to work together on the Audit preparations, not a stand-alone separate “get ready” exercise, but as part of our ongoing commitment to improvement and making CQUniversity even better. Remember we’re going to be one of Australia’s ‘great’ universities in ten years!

Whether you are a professional or academic staff member, a domestic or international student or a community stakeholder, your input to the Audit preparations and the Audit itself is vital.

The Corporate Projects Office staff will coordinate many opportunities for you to participate. Please do so.

In the meantime, re-read the Renewal Plan and the Strategic Plan. Familiarise yourself with University policy.

Most importantly, however, remember as you prepare what’s really crucial is that we look at the University’s long-term future, and the journey of renewal on which we’ve embarked. Think of the Audit simply as a useful and powerful tool that we can use to help transform CQUniversity. It is also a chance for us to show off what is great about our University.

By the way this picture is me with the cast of Bumpy Angels – a production put on by the Bachelor of Performing Arts. I really enjoyed their performances this year. This is yet another example of how we engage with our community to help cultural development.

Access and social inclusion

2009-10-02T09:38:00.004+10:00

I mentioned at Academic Board this week that Access is to us what Research is to the ANU. Access and social inclusion is where we excel. About 43% of our students come from low social economic backgrounds. Think about that for a moment 43%! No other university in Australia does better. The Rudd Government has a target of getting 20% of university enrolments from low social economic groups by 2025 – we are already over double that target. It is fantastic that we have a Government that is encouraging the type of higher education that we do so well.

Minister Julia Gillard really seems to understand the importance of social inclusion and the dramatic impact that higher education can have on people’s lives. The Department of Education Employment and Work Relations (DEEWR) are doing a good job in linking higher education, workforce issues and higher education. We will get an opportunity to show how we can contribute to this later in the year when we start to put our Compact document together.

We have just gone through a round of graduations and awards ceremonies. For me these are the best part of the year. I enjoy the ceremonies – which we do very well – but for me the best part is meeting with the students and their families afterwards. Many of the families that I meet have had no contact with a university in the past. The level of pride is incredible. My family background is very similar to many of families that I meet – so I understand the pleasure and impact that graduations have!

This week I also went to an awards ceremony in the local correctional facility. Most of you in Rockhampton will know that this is a maximum security prison. The ceremony was very moving. The students we gave awards to were just so proud to have achieved so much under such difficult circumstances. Some of the students had completed our TEP (Tertiary Entrance Program) course; others where part way through their degree. The TEP program includes first year degree subjects. The only difference between the TEP subjects and the degree subjects is that the TEP students are allowed to re-submit their assignments. One student had re-submitted an assignment 5 times before getting a pass mark! This shows three things: his determination, his achievement to finally pass and our resolve not to lower standards.

It was a little strange to be in a maximum security prison discussing poetry metaphors with one of our graduates – but that is the kind of university that we are. It is also interesting to note that we have students in just about every major correctional facility in Australia. Much of this success is due to the hard work of the staff in Nulloo Yumbah, CQUniversity's Indigenous Learning, Spirituality and Research Centre.

The longer I am at the university, the more impressed I am by our staff. What you achieve is second to none. You know I have an aspiration to make this one of Australia’s “great” universities in ten years – in many areas we are already there!

Leaders in Universities

2009-09-25T15:46:00.001+10:00

Yesterday I met with the Professoriate of the University. What a fantastic bunch of people. It is good to know that we have such academic “grunt” driving CQUniversity. Like all staff that I have met at the University they all have a real passion to drive the University forward. They truly believe in the CQUniversity – and what it can become. All of our professors are academic leaders and are central to our future success.

My meeting with the Professors got me thinking about leadership and management in universities. I think there are two very closely related groups of academic leaders within a university. They are the scholastic leaders and the managerial leaders.

The scholastic leaders are the academic leaders who are exemplified by our professors. They have become leaders through there mastery of their discipline and through research. I think we also have scholastic leaders who have got there through mastery of teaching and learning practice.

The managerial leaders are those who got there through mastery of managerial processes. This group of managers are exemplified by our Directors and Heads of School. The Heads of School also need to have gained academic credibility through scholarship so it could be argued that they are a “blended” leader!

I think that in universities the relationship between managers and leaders is not fully understood. At times I think we sometimes make scholastic leaders managers – just because they are a good scholastic leader. We often take good teachers and researchers and twist their arms to be managers – Heads of School. What we should be doing is finding the people who have a love of management and have academic credibility – the “blended leaders”.

We need to start to track down the “blended” leaders and make them professional academic managers. These should be our Heads of School. They should be given autonomy to become empire builders and be allowed to grow their schools to teach more students and undertake more research. They should be developed so that they can safeguard the welfare of the school staff and develop them into the leaders they want to be. I think they should be seen as senior managers within the university and placed on management contracts.

But what about at the executive management level? Should the PVCs, DVCs and Executive Directors be scholastic managers, managerial leaders or blended leaders? I believe that there is room for each of these types of leaders at the top. In fact you need a mix of all types of leaders to have a successful and balanced university. I think that everyone in a university should able to see a route for them to the top of the university. I will leave it to you to decide what type of leader the VC should be!

By the way a member of staff sent me a really interesting link to a site about motivation in organisations.

http://blogs.atlassian.com/news/2009/08/atlassian_at_ted_daniel_pink_on_motivation_in_the_21st_centu.html

Daniel Pink reflects of motivation in organisations. I am very taken by his ideas – if you have time do have a look.

Blended teaching and mobile learning

2009-09-17T16:36:00.001+10:00

It’s a fact here at CQUniversity, as it is elsewhere: more and more learning material is being put on-line for students to self-select, self-direct and manage their own learning, which is great. It provides flexibility and can overcome the tyranny of distance that so often challenges learners, especially those scattered across Central Queensland’s vastness. The technology provides wider access to the University and enables students, who for many reasons – work, location, personal commitments and otherwise – may not have been able to start, conduct or finish their course or degree without it.

CQUniversity was a pioneer in Australia of this type of learning – then called Distance Education (DE) – decades ago when far-off students would get audio or VHS tapes posted in the mail along with reams of paper-based learning material.

I used to be a DE student (I did my PhD and MBA through DE). It was wonderful in many respects but a downside remains despite all the advancements: limited human interaction or engagement in the learning environment, leaving many students wanting and needing more substance, hands-on learning, and face-to-face encounters with their teachers and peers.
It’s an issue that university administrators and academics struggle with all the time: finding a balance in course delivery that allows us to reach as many students as we can in a format that truly engages, inspires and results in consistently exceptional learning encounters and outcomes.
Over the years DE has taken on different names and nuances, thanks to changes in technology and pedagogy and plain old trial and error. You may have heard of Flex or Dual Mode or Mixed Mode. All over the world today, however, universities are experimenting with and adopting what’s described as Blended Learning.

It’s a methodology or philosophy that’s supposed to increase options for greater quality and quantity of people-to-people interaction in learning. You can read some more about it by Googling the term or reading the wiki entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_learning.

Here’s a relevant paragraph:
Blended learning offers learners the opportunity “to be both together and apart. A community of learners can interact at anytime and anywhere because of the benefits that computer-mediated educational tools provide. Blended learning provides a ‘good’ mix of technologies and interactions, resulting in a socially supported, constructive, learning experience; this is especially significant given the profound affect that it could have on distance learning.

Across CQUniversity we have done and are doing this in most courses and programs, but not all. And not to the extent that I think we need to today to stand out and reclaim our position as a national innovator and leader in the Teaching & Learning space. As part of CQUnversity’s Renewal Plan we’re looking at our current methodologies, technologies and pedagogies so we can provide Learning & Teaching that not only enhances the student’s learning experience but also adds significant value to his/her learning outcomes, whether studies are undertaken on- or off-campus.

“Blend” indeed has numerous meanings: to compound; to coalesce; to merge or combine; to make uniform; etc. Notwithstanding these definitions, in our context I think it most accurately means obtaining a mixture of a particular character, quality, and consistency that is identifiable as uniquely CQUniversity in all of our Learning & Teaching, which adds real value to the course/program and the student experience.

A conversation is already underway presently at the University based on a recently drafted discussion paper. Join us by posting a comment and let me know what you think.

By the way, many thanks for all your participation in my Inaugural Lecture web-cast yesterday. Please continue with your comments and I’ll try to keep-up and respond. If you missed it you can link to it from the CQUniveristy homepage http://www.cqu.edu.au/

Scott

Live Video - Vice Chancellor's Inaugural Address

2009-09-15T09:01:00.001+10:00

My Inaugural Address will be broadcast live over the Internet.

When: 5.30pm AEST Wednesday 16 September

Click here to review the Inaugural address

Click here to provide feedback or ask questions during or after the event

Please Note:

If you are connecting via a modem or have a slow Internet Connection, you may only receive audio
Please see our technical help page if you have any difficulties accessing the video/audio
I recommend that you test the link above prior to the event, to ensure that you do not have any technical issues during the event

Merit, need and engagement: The Role of Scholarships in Strategic Enrolment Management

2009-09-07T16:07:00.000+10:00

Access to higher education is a long-standing priority of CQUniversity. We have at least five major programs in place that engage so-called non-traditional students, significant support services for international and domestic students (like the First Year Experience program), and access to a couple of million of dollars in various scholarships and grants which make university more affordable and attractive for students – some of which comes from generous private donors and others from government grants and community organisations.

Over the coming months, as we explore numerous strategies to increase enrolments and completion rates among domestic and international students I want for us to consider, among other things, the roles Scholarships and Financial Assistance play (and could play) in recruiting and retaining students.

Scholarships and grants can and do make a difference for a significant number of people, not just those from underrepresented backgrounds, when it comes to choosing a University and completing their degrees. And they’re taking on a more central role in universities’ information sharing with prospective and other students. So much so that six months ago another Queensland university established an Office of Prospective Students and Scholarships which brought together numerous university functions and resources under one umbrella.

I’m not suggesting that we take on that structure; what I am stating is that we need to consider the implications, benefits and risks of engaging students in a support structure that exploits more fully the advantages that scholarships and grants, based on merit and financial need, provide (to the student, the community and the University) at each stage of the Student’s Learning Journey – prospect, student and graduate.

With that in mind I want to look at existing programs, marketing initiatives and incentives which may no longer be relevant to our current and future needs and redirect much needed resources.

One of those programs is our Study with Friends and Family program (SWFF), a referral scheme we have successfully run for more than 10 years for international students. Students who referred other students to the University were able to qualify to accumulate ‘rewards points’ which then could be redeemed mostly for discounts on textbooks, phone cards, even airfare back home.

Whilst SWFF is compliant with ESOS legislation and does not compromise academic integrity, research shows it no longer appears to be relevant to most of our students or as a University marketing and recruitment strategy. Since 2005 it accounted for a total of 6.7% of our commencing students; but for the last two years only 11 students out of 1700 students at CQUniversity Melbourne have benefited from the program, only acquiring textbook discounts or international phone cards.

I have therefore decided it is the best interest of our students and the University to wind down this program and redirect resources, as a first step, to reinvigorate merit scholarship and bursary programs that reward academic excellence and make CQUniversity more accessible to qualified students from all backgrounds and countries.

In doing so, CQUniversity will still continue to benefit from good word-of-mouth among its students and graduates. Studying with family and friends, as a practice, will be something we continue to promote because we believe many students perform better surrounded by people they know and trust in an environment that is close-knit and personally supportive.
And we will still encourage students to share their experience. With or without a ‘reward’, like a textbook or a laptop, our students know that there is no one better than themselves to tell prospective students about the quality of CQUniversity’s programs and academic support services.

I believe a university-wide strategy which uses scholarships to reward academic performance and financial aid to make uni more affordable will increase and stabilise our domestic and international student numbers and enhance the profile and reputation of CQUniversity. It’s one way that we can help more people be what they want to be.

Scott

PS. I’m delivering my Inaugural Lecture at CQUniversity on Wednesday 16 September at approximately 545pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). You'll be able to access the live webcast here at the blog and send me comments/questions during the presentation. Hope you can join me.

Building up engagement and trust

2009-09-02T16:15:00.000+10:00

Over the next few months and years I will be working with you on a program of renewal for CQUniversity that is reliant on real, meaningful engagement and focused on building-up our reputation based on demonstrated accountability and transparency throughout the University. Staff, students, alumni, community and government expect accountability and transparency from us and we owe that to them – the people and organisations who support us now and into the future, our stakeholders.

It is my role, and that of all of us really, to do a better job of telling people what we are working on and changing that will help us become more engaged with our communities, more efficient and effective in our use of public funds and more responsive to the teaching and learning requirements of our students.

In the current economic, political and regulatory climate, however, we can become easily preoccupied by the complexities of funding, our ‘compacts’ with government and numerous issues around the provision of higher education in regional and international contexts – all worthy and extremely important issues in their own right. Distracted at that level, though, we risk losing sight of issues of primacy that resonate in our communities such as quality and excellence, real choice and diversity, university autonomy and academic integrity.

These are some of the issues, at the core of CQUniversity’s Strategic and Renewal Plans, which – linked to clear performance indicators and targets – will drive accountability and, by extension, drive the direction in which we go.

Equally, this information will be used as our report-card to ourselves and to the community, providing each of us with clear and consistent information about our purpose and performance. It will also help prospective and existing students, staff and other stakeholders (including government) make better informed choices about CQUniversity.

By being more accountable we will build more trust within the University and among our external audiences. Along the way we will stimulate a lot of dialogue (and probably some diatribe, too). What’s important to me is that accountability is comprehensive across the University and that we are engaging each other in a conversation that will create greater understanding of how and why we operate and what we are doing to manage costs and add value to the student experience.

Let’s not view accountability as a Herculean task but as an opportunity to engage and build trust … and renew CQUniversity.

Scott

The Engaged University

2009-08-21T10:18:00.000+10:00

It’s come to the end of my third week as Vice Chancellor – quite possibly the most unsettling but satisfying three weeks of my professional life as I come to learn new things and discover for myself all the excellent people and projects underway at CQUniversity.

I’ve spoken and met with hundreds of staff and community members – including current students and alumni – and I must say that I’ve found all of these encounters enriching and thought provoking. We’ve talked mostly about CQUniversity’s role in Central Queensland; how the University is perceived and the many things we should and can do together to build-up Central Queensland and make CQUniversity the best regional university and one of Australia’s greatest universities.

I’ve also met with Queensland Minister for Education and Training Geoff Wilson and representatives from DEEWR (the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations) and I have been very encouraged by their interest in our activities.

Much of the conversation has been around access to university, career outcomes for our students, and the relationships that the University has with industry, government and businesses in Central Queensland.

I’ve been listening a lot and talking with people, too, about making CQUniversity the most engaged university in Australia. We’ve been focusing on how CQUniversity engages and will engage and, in turn, how CQ communities will become more learning-orientated. I’ve come away from every one those gatherings believing more firmly that CQUniversity’s transformation can only be achieved when we – with community – define our problems jointly, set common goals, develop measures of success and leverage university, public and private resources.

We must also leverage the “power of place” – the bond that exists between people and Central Queensland; its natural resources, characteristics and geographical location. The role of the University is to make that bond stronger by drawing on the strengths that exist in the communities we serve and our equally giving back to those same communities through research, learning and teaching and other services.

That “power of place” can be applied to how the University approaches its Learning & Teaching, from face-to-face to fully online teaching, as well as our engagement with partners on research projects that involve mutual input and benefit.

We’ll be working closely with State and Federal Governments and consulting widely in Central Queensland, harnessing that “power” to introduce new programs (perhaps in areas such as health, sport and engineering), broaden community access to courses and give our students greater control over their learning environment and outcomes.

Ultimately more Central Queenslanders, who are under-represented in higher education, will become active learners benefiting from their local university. Over the next two-to-three years, more than 10 thousand new students from Central Queensland will come to CQUniversity. Or perhaps more accurately said, we’ll come to them.

Scott