It gives me great pleasure to see that Australian Catholic University (ACU National) has achieved a number of coveted 'five-star' performance ratings in the 2010 edition of The Good Universities Guide.

The University performed particularly well in the area of Indigenous participation, with four out of the six campuses receiving the highest ratings in their individual states for this category. Similarly, the University performed strongly in the areas of access and equity and proportion given credit for TAFE studies.

While we strive to excel in all areas, I am especially delighted to see the University perform so well in categories highlighted by the Bradley Review into Higher Education – namely that 40 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds be university-educated by 2025.

A significant, if not the main factor towards achieving this goal, will be ensuring that all students have equitable access to higher education and several programs at ACU National have been designed specifically with this in mind.

One of these initiatives is the Early Achievers’ Program, which considers the achievements and community contributions of prospective students as part of the application process. Taking into account a student’s character and individuality is integral to the social justice and service obligations of a Catholic university.

The program was an instant success with over 1000 applicants in its first year.  It is open to both school leavers and non-school leavers and we already have over 1200 applicants for 2010.

As these wonderful young people progress through their first year of university, they continue to demonstrate the qualities that we aspire to witness in all our students – they are independent and articulate thinkers, with an enthusiasm to succeed, and the desire to make the less fortunate a priority in their lives. Applications for the Program closed on Friday, 9 October 2009 but some extensions may be granted.

Another program, in its inaugural year, is accessACU – an entry scheme that grants bonus points to current Year 12 students based on a number of factors outside their admission score. The first of these is subject bonus, for students who excelled in a particular subject at school and wish to further their study in this area at university.

The second is geographical bonus, where extra points are awarded for students who live near one of our campuses. The third and final is special access scheme, for students who have experienced some kind of educational disadvantage in Years 11 and 12.

Providing the opportunity for higher education, regardless of background or beliefs, is strongly aligned with the University’s Mission to foster and advance knowledge, and make a specific contribution to its local, national and international communities.

It is only by encouraging all students to strive for higher education that we can hope to achieve the Rudd Government’s ambitious target of 40 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds be university-educated by 2025.
 

It’s ‘decision’ time again, when higher education students get the chance to reconsider the choices they’ve made when applying for university, and look at other new and exciting opportunities.

Australian Catholic University (ACU National) will be holding information sessions throughout December to assist students with the application process. These sessions provide an opportunity for potential students and parents to speak directly with current students, lecturers and course coordinators about their particular area of interest.

ACU National Vice-Chancellor, Professor Greg Craven, said change of preference was the perfect time for future students to assess their choices, get further advice, and even look at different ways to get into a course.

“University will be a huge change in your life that combines hard work with a lot of fun,” he said. “With most degree courses being either three of four years, it’s essential to make sure you have picked the right degree.”

“And if you didn’t get in, don’t panic - contact the University and ask about pathway options, or to learn about other courses that you hadn’t even thought of yet,” he added.

The information sessions are designed to support and inform students on how they can reassess their preferences for university as they go through the application process.

Once the initial application is submitted through the relevant Tertiary Admissions Centres, students have until Wednesday 6 January 2010 to finalise their choices.

University Information Sessions will be held at the Brisbane Campus on Monday 21 December at 6pm.

For further information, call us on 1300 ASK ACU (1300 275 228) or contact your local Marketing Officer.
 
 

Australian Catholic University (ACU National) has appointed Professor John Devereux to the position of Associate Vice-Chancellor (Brisbane).

A former Rhodes scholar, Professor Devereux is a Barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland and Professor of Law at the University of Queensland. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Law from Oxford University and degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Queensland.

Professor Devereux has held a variety of academic appointments around the world and been a Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore, Marquette University in Wisconsin and Boston University.

He has previously served as a Law Reform Commissioner for Queensland and Defence Force Magistrate and is currently a member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal.

Professor Devereux’s research interests include the law of torts and health law in particular and he is the author of more than 90 articles, books and reports.
Professor Devereux served with the Australian Defence Force in Iraq and was awarded a Bronze Star by the United States Armed Forces for his efforts.

Vice-Chancellor of ACU National, Professor Greg Craven, said he was delighted to welcome Professor Devereux to the University.

"John is a dynamic, forward thinking individual with a wealth of experience,” he said. “His commitment to education and learning will be a great asset in leading and nurturing the University’s Brisbane Campus.”

Professor Devereux will be based at the Brisbane Campus and begins his appointment in January 2010.

The Brisbane Campus opened its doors last week to give high school students and non-recent school leavers the opportunity to sample university life at the ‘Be a Student Nurse for a Day’ and ‘Arts Industries’ programs.

More than 150 students from across Brisbane and surrounding areas attended the programs to help them decide on their future career direction.

Those attending the ‘Be a Student Nurse for a Day’ program took part in tutorials, interactive lectures and nursing lab practicals, where they learnt how to carry out real nursing and paramedic procedures.

The students attending the ‘Arts Industries’ day had a chance to participate in a sculpting lesson, a drama class and music workshops.

Both days were a great opportunity to talk with current nursing, paramedicine and arts students as well as teaching staff and discover what attending university at ACU National is all about.
 
 

 ACU National launched its newest health science degree, Bachelor of Physiotherapy, with an event at the Brisbane Campus recently.

The University welcomed over 100 guests including health care providers, careers advisers and principals from local high schools.

The four-year full-time degree will meet a growing need for workers in the healthcare industry and will be offered by the University’s Faculty of Health Sciences in 2010.

The Brisbane Campus will have an intake of 60 physiotherapy students next year, with the group being the first to experience the new high-tech anatomy labs.

Professor Pauline Nugent, Dean of Health Sciences, said the course would produce graduates who excel in applying the principles of physiotherapy, who are ethical in their practice and who are independent learners.

“ACU National chooses to focus on areas of teaching and research that are closely connected with its particular character as a university that is Catholic, and that is public and national,” she said. “One of these is health, with a particular emphasis on the value of care, especially of the weak and vulnerable.”

Named after the University’s former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter W Sheehan AO, the new building will accommodate students of physiotherapy, health sciences, exercise science, midwifery, paramedicine and nursing.

To apply for the Bachelor of Physiotherapy course go to QTAC, www.qtac.edu.au
 

 The Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) recently announced six ACU National recipients for the 2009 Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, including two from the Brisbane Campus.  They were:

Dr Lindsay Farrell (Brisbane Campus)
For sustained commitment to inspirational visual arts education through gallery-based programs and arts activities for equity groups.

Dr Anne Drabble, Dr Pam Hanifin, Dr Barbara Odgers, Mr Vince Geiger, Ms Rachael Jacobs (Brisbane Campus)
For sustained excellence in the development of an innovative online facility that supports professional experience for teacher education practice.

Brisbane School of Distance Education student, Christine Conlon, was the overall Queensland winner of The Pixel Prize, a photography competition run by Australian Catholic University (ACU National) and open to high school students in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

A ceremony was held at the University’s Brisbane Campus to announce the winners and open an exhibition of the finalists’ work.

Competition runners-up were Malcolm Hewitt in the Digital Darkroom category, Bridie O’Donnell in the Place category and Jazmin Mansell in the People category.

Dr Tracey Sanders, Acting Head of Arts and Sciences and competition judge said the quality of the photographs was outstanding.

“The winners of the competition each possessed a keen aesthetic eye, use of light and balance, a photo that tells a story, a unique personal ‘lens’, unexpected vantage points and technical proficiency,” she said.

“In photography, we make magic. A split moment of immortality is captured– frozen moments in time or place passed down through the ages, telling visual stories from our past and present. Some of the best photographs are random, snapshots of our lives unplanned and unrepeatable.”

Nationally, there were more than 380 entries, with successful students sharing in a prize pool of over $5000.

The Pixel Prize coordinator, Alex Brisbane, said he was impressed with the large amount of entries.

“Getting your work seen by other photographers, the public and people in the industry is a very important step in pursuing photography as a career or serious hobby,” he said.

“The competition aimed to encourage the use of photography as a means of expressing thoughts, feelings and opinions through a vastly dynamic and artistic medium.”
 

 Australian Catholic University has launched its newest postgraduate degree, the Master of Social Work.

The Master of Social Work focuses on the professional values and practices of the social work profession, with a strong commitment to ethical practice, human rights and social justice. It will be available from 2010 at the University’s Brisbane, Canberra and Strathfield campuses.

The course prepares students to practice in a wide range of social work roles in both direct and indirect practice including counselling casework and case management, social policy and planning, research and evaluation, community development and administration.

Dr Patricia Hansen, Head of the School of Social Work, commented on the need for a Masters program.

“There is a growing trend in the social work industry for universities to offer a Master of Social Work as a qualification to enter the profession and become members of the Australian Association of Social Workers,” she said. “Some students will come into the course with more life and work experience before being exposed to the sometimes confronting circumstances a career in social work can bring.”

The two-year program includes 1000 hours of practical experience in the form of two block placements.  Through supervised practice, students will be introduced to agency work and procedures, effective practice and the dilemmas facing social workers.

ACU National will continue to offer undergraduate courses in social work including a Bachelor of Social Work (Strathfield, Brisbane and Canberra), Bachelor of Social Work/Bachelor of Theology (Strathfield, Brisbane and Canberra) and the Bachelor of Social Work/Bachelor of Arts (Strathfield and Brisbane).

Graduates of ACU National’s Master of Social Work will be eligible for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).

Australian Catholic University’s (ACU National) men’s AFL team won gold this month at the 2009 Australian University Games.

ACU National Campus Life coordinator, Mark Young, said the gold medal match against Western Australia’s Edith Cowan University was a tough encounter.

“We were down by three goals at half time, yet the boys managed to fight back and run away with a convincing four goal win,” he said.

Meanwhile, ACU National’s men’s touch football team placed second in the competition following a gruelling final match against New Zealand’s Auckland University of Technology.

Australian University Games, held at the Gold Coast last week, is an annual event with thousands of students attending from universities across Australia and New Zealand. ACU National had a record attendance this year with over 180 students from all six campuses participating.

Teams competed in sports such as athletics, AFL, beach volleyball, netball, rugby 7s, soccer, swimming, taekwondo, touch football and ultimate frisbee.

Captain of the ACU National AFL team, Chris Dunne, along with men’s touch football players Michael Daher and Luke Eisenhuth, were selected for the national team.

“The boys were hand-picked from all of the universities competing at the Games to be part of the prestigious green and gold team and they are all well deserving of this recognition,” said Mark. 

 “All of our ACU National students pulled on the uniform and wore it with pride, remaining defiant against strong opposition and displaying empathy in their victories,” he said. “There is something very special and unique about the ACU team, we are not the largest university team, but we share in a spirit that drives our teams towards strong performances.” 

 Executive Manager of the Office of Student Success, Maria Hegerty, said involvement in Australian University Games provides students with an opportunity to meet other ACU students.

“AUG allows students from across the campuses to come together as one, in a positive, healthy and fun filled event,” she said.
 

A postgraduate Certificate in Educational Career Development will be offered at ACU National’s Melbourne, Brisbane, and Strathfield Campus from Semester 1, 2010. 

The Certificate in Educational Career Development is aimed at secondary school teachers and individuals in the community who the have responsibility of providing information, guidance, and counselling on careers and work-related issues. 

The course will also equip participants with counselling skills for use in a career development role.

The one-year course will consist of four units, with two covered each semester. Some units will be offered on campus over two weekends and others offered over one weekend with an additional online component.

Normal entry for admission requires a Bachelor Degree in Education or a Bachelor Degree in an area other than Education and a postgraduate qualification in Education. Candidates who do not meet normal entry requirements can be considered for admission via special entry. The on-time closing date for semester 1, 2010 intake is 11 December and for 28 June 2010 for semester 2, 2010. 

For further information, please contact Mick Ryan, Course Coordinator, on (02) 9701 4134 or Mick.Ryan@acu.edu.au.