Charles Sturt University

History

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

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

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

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

Between 2005 and 2015, CSU had expand an offshore campus in Burlington, Ontario in Canada. On July 2015, CSU regretfully ceased to operate its Ontario campus due to the legislative and regulatory environment in Ontario.

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

On 1 May 2012, a milestone was reached as CSU open a new campus in Port Macquarie, CSU's first coastal, regional campus. This made Higher Education accessible to the Port Macquarie and the Hastings region. It provides opportunities for students with the desire to study close to the beach, as well as options for local students to access the resources of a world-class university close to home.

On 18 April 2016, staff and students moved into Stage One of their purpose built campus. Two more stages are expected to be complete over the coming years with an expected student intake of 5000 by the year 2030.

On 28 July 2016, CSU has been declared Australia's First Official Carbon Neutral University.

Faculties and Academic Departments

CSU has Three Main Faculties, each offering a range of courses and discipline opportunities. Each Faculty comprises a number of Schools and centres for specific areas of study and research:

Faculty of Arts and Education

The Faculty of Arts and Education covers a broad range courses between the Arts and Education Disciplines.

The Arts Discipline cover subject segments of visual arts, performing arts, communications, history, human services, literature, philosophy, sociology, and theology. Schools & Centres include:

The Education side of the Faculty offers a range of courses in teacher education, and information and library studies. Schools include:

Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences

The Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences brings together a range of courses, focusing on real-world challenges in areas of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences disciplines.

The Business Discipline has garner attention by employers for producing graduates excelling in today's business world challenges. Their distance education postgraduate PhD/DBA and Masters programs are eagerly sought-after, both nationally and internationally. The Business Schools and centres facilitated include:

The Justice side of the Faculty covers policing, security, law, customs, excise and border management. Schools and centres include:

Finally, the Behavioural Science discipline offers courses by the School of Psychology.

Faculty of Science

CSU's Faculty of Science is one of the most broadly based scientific academic concentrations in Australasia. Schools include:

Distance Education

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

NSW HSC Online

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

Speech Pathology Masters

Speech Pathology master's degree (offered by the School of Community Health) claims to provide academic qualifications in Speech Pathology (SP) by distance learning through the SP Masters programme. This degree was not accredited by Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) in 2016. Graduates of the SP Master's degree in 2016, are not able to practice as Speech Pathologists until further study or practical experience is provided by Charles Sturt University and SPA.

Awards

On 28 July 2016, the Australian Government's Carbon Neutral Program have certified Charles Sturt University as Carbon Neutral. The institution was certified as Carbon Neutral by the National Carbon Offset Standard – Carbon Neutral Program, administered by the Federal Department of the Environment and Energy.

IT Masters

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

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

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

Student life

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

A Canberra Student Representative Committee known as St Mark's Canberra was previously formed but disbanded as of 2016.

Sport

The Charles Sturt University Football Club at Bathurst was formed under the name of Bathurst Teachers College in 1963, making it one of the oldest football clubs within Bathurst. The club changed its name multiple times to match the educational institute, gaining its current name when Mitchell College was rebranded to Charles Sturt University.

Radio

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

Notable People

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