University of Canberra

University of Canberra
Type Public
Established 1967 (CAE)
1990 (University Status)
Chancellor Tom Calma, AO[1]
Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini[2]
Administrative staff
 1,000
Students 13,000
Location Bruce, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Campus Urban 296 acres (1.2 km2) (Bruce campus)
Nickname UC
Affiliations ASAIHL, New Generation Universities
Website www.canberra.edu.au

The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university that is located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

UC offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses covering six main learning areas: Applied Science, Health, Art and Design, Business, Government and Law, Education and Information Sciences and Engineering. As of 2014, the university also offers its degrees at the Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE, Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE and South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE.

UC partners with two local ACT schools: UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra and University of Canberra High School Kaleen. The University of Canberra College provides pathways into university for domestic and international students.[3]

The campus is within 20 minutes walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and 10 minutes by car or 17 minutes by bus to Canberra's Civic Centre.

History

The University of Canberra was first established in 1967 as the Canberra College of Advanced Education. The Canberra CAE became the University of Canberra under sponsorship of Monash University in 1990.

Along the UC concourse, towards the Library

Over 70,000 students have graduated from the university since 1970.[4]

The University of Canberra has grown by seventy-eight percent since 2007, going from 7,300 students to over 13,000 in 2014.[5][6] The median Australian Tertiary Admission Rank of UC students is approximately 71.[7]

Foundation stone and Stone Day

Building 11, Walkway connecting the refectory with the gym

At the end of the year, after classes finish but before exams, Stone Day was once held, a music festival with local bands, which lasted several days. The day before it was known as Stone Eve. It started as a celebration held annually to mark the placing of the foundation stone by Prime Minister John Gorton on 28 October 1968. As of 2012, Stone Day has not been held as an official University event.

The stone is displayed near Building 1 at the University, and an inscription on it reads:

This Stone was unveiled by the right honourable J.G. Gorton, M.P., Prime Minister of Australia, on 28 October 1968, to mark the establishment of the Canberra College of Advanced Education.

Over the years the Stone Day program gradually became larger and larger, taking up a whole week and 'Stonefest' was one of Australia's most popular music festivals.[8] The first foundation celebrations were held in 1971. In 1973 Stone Day celebrations were held over two days, which was expanded to take up a whole week in 1976. In the 1980s and 1990s Stoneweek became a popular Canberra entertainment event, which in 2000 became Stonefest. The Stonefest event was not held for a number of years at the University of Canberra. In 2014, the University decided to create a 'Stonefest' mini music festival where there was a DJ and numerous activities. It wasn't an extremely popular event and has not been held since. Many students who live on Campus still hold unofficial celebrations for Stone Week at the University.

Campus

Futuro House at University of Canberra, Australia

Bruce

The University has one campus, located in the suburb of Bruce, which covers 290 acres of buildings, roads and access routes. Being a small University with a small campus, there are just over 28 buildings, each dedicated to a particular purpose. Most of these buildings are arranged around the main concourse. New students are always advised during orientation week that the buildings are not numbered in order.

Partnership with TAFE Campuses

An announcement was made on 17 September 2012, that The University of Canberra will establish a branch campus in Melbourne from 2013, by partnering with Holmesglen Institute of TAFE.[9] The branch campus, to be situated at Holmesglen’s Chadstone location, will be called University of Canberra Melbourne (UCM). Currently, the courses are offered in the areas of business and design.

On 17 October 2012, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, The University of Canberra have cut a deal by partnering with Holmesglen Institute of TAFE in Victoria, to establish this branch campus in Chadstone, Melbourne.[10] The article also state plans by taking the UC Brand in Queensland through an agreement with Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE in Brisbane.[10] The intention was to create a new higher education model known as a "Polytechnic University". This model was adopted by the UK Government until 1992.[11] This Model was to combine both worlds of TAFE's strong connections to industry, and universities' strong connection to scholarly work and research.[12]

However, on 24 January 2013, UC expansion plans in Melbourne were blocked by the former Education Minister, Chris Evans.[13] The article states that the University had not been granted approval by the federal government for expansion beyond its original campus. This event has already been experienced by UC, as the federal Government rejected another deal from UC to merge with the local Canberra TAFE, the Canberra Institute of Technology.[14]

Despite this setback, it eventually came to a halt on 3 June 2013. Chris Evans successor, Newly appointed education minister, Craig Emerson, has overturned the decision by allowing UC degrees to be taught at four different TAFEs from 2014, therefore reversing an earlier decision to block such arrangements.[15] From 2014, UC degrees will taught at these TAFE Campuses:[12]

The goal is to expand the UC brand outside the Canberra Region due to Canberra’s small and ageing population resulting in fewer school-leavers in the Canberra Region. "(The university) needs to expand and diversify in order to get scale and sustainability" according to UC vice-chancellor, Stephen Parker.[15] The arrangement allows for some 6500 UC students across the four TAFEs by 2018. Parker said he expected just one or two degrees to be offered initially but it was too early to say what they would be. The degrees would be jointly developed by UC and the TAFEs but the students would enrol as UC students receiving UC qualifications.

This deal also formed a new group called the Australian Polytechnic Network between UC and the four TAFEs.[15]

Library

The University of Canberra Library is located in Building 8. The Library 'aims to provide a range of high quality scholarly information resources and services to the University community.'[16]

Facilities

The Refectory is the main food hall located in Building 1, operated by the UC Union.[17] It provides a laid-back area to study or socialise, with cafes, post office, general shop, pool tables, and lounges, and is also concert venue. Upstairs there are study rooms which can be booked by students and staff.

The Hub is located under the main concourse, providing cafes, a hairdressing salon, and a branch of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The University of Canberra’s student radio station 87.8 UCFM studios are also located in The Hub.

A sport and fitness centre is located in Building 29 with gym facilities. Squash courts and sports ovals are also available.[18]

Student accommodation

There are three accommodation options for students - UniLodge (consisting of Cooper Lodge, Weeden Lodge and more recently UC Lodge[19], all run by UniLodge Australia Pty Ltd), University of Canberra Village (run by Campus Living Villages) and University Gardens (located in neighbor suburb of Belconnen, run by UniGardens Pty[20]). All options are provided to all students, including international students.

Organisation and administration

Administration

The current Chancellor of the University since 1 January 2014 is Tom Calma, AO, an Australian Aboriginal elder of the Kungarakan people, and a human rights and social justice campaigner.[1]

The current Vice-Chancellor of the University since 1 September 2016 is Deep Saini, a plant physiologist.[21] The former Vice-Chancellor of the University from 1 March 2007 to 1 July 2016 was Stephen Parker, AO, a legal academic.[22]

Like most Australian universities, University of Canberra derives the majority of its revenue from Australian Government funding and student fees. The ACT Government provides around one percent of the university's operating budget.[23]

Faculties

The five faculties are:

Arts and Design

Arts and design primarily provides students with the skills to be successful in a wide range of careers in the contemporary arts and communication. Arts and design specialises in Graphic Design, Communication Studies, Journalism, Creative Writing and Poetry, International Studies, and Media Arts.


Business, Government and Law

The Business Government and Law Faculty provides students with a choice and flexibility together with real world experience. Students have the option to major in over 70 areas from across the University. Students can venture into Accounting, Applied Economics, Business Administration, Business Informatics, Construction, Finance, Law, Management, Marketing, Politics, Sociology, Public Policy, Tourism, and Urban and Regional Planning.


Education

The Education faculty offers courses designed to cover all stages of teacher development with courses in early childhood, primary and secondary.


Health

The Faculty of Health prepares allied health professionals, including nurses, midwives, occupational therapists, optometrists & vision scientists, psychologists, physiotherapists, pharmacists, dietitians, nutritionists, radiologists, speech pathologists, exercise scientists, and sports management professionals.


Science and Technology

The Faculty of Science and Technology trains students in Environmental Sciences, Biomedical and Forensic as well as Information Technology, Information Systems, Engineering, and Mathematics.


UC also offers a range of double degrees that combine two degrees from different faculties.

Academic profile

Rankings

University rankings
University of Canberra
THE-WUR World[24] 401-500
Australian rankings
THE-WUR National[25] 24
ERA National[26] 33[27]

The university is named among the world’s top 100 young universities in the 2017 Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings[28]. The university has risen to number 91 in THE’s list of the best universities under 50 years of age worldwide.[29][30]

Research centres

The university has a number of research centres relating to its areas of research strength. These are:

  • Institute for Applied Ecology[31]
  • Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis
  • Research Institute for Sport and Exercise
  • Health Research Institute
  • Centre for Creative and Cultural Research
  • News and Media Research Centre
  • Centre for Research and Action in Public Health
  • Centre for Research in Therapeutic Solutions
  • STEM Education Research Centre
  • SYNERGY Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre
  • Nexus Research Centre
  • Canberra Urban and Regional Futures
  • Collaborative Indigenous Research Initiative
  • Murray-Darling Basin Futures Collaborative Research Network
  • Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre

Notable people

Staff

Notable staff members include/have included:

Alumni

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Doman, Claudia (20 February 2014). "New UC Chancellor calls for a fairer Australia" (streaming video) (Press release). University of Canberra. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Martindale, [Marketing] Rhys (20 May 2014). "UC Schools". Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  4. ↑ University of Canberra 2014
  5. ↑ UC intake hits record high Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine., The Canberra Times, 15 March 2011
  6. ↑ Towell 2011
  7. ↑ Item 4.2 Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine., Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, March 2012
  8. ↑ "the AU Review 7 Oct 2011". Archived from the original on 28 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "University of Canberra Melbourne Announcement Sep 2012". Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  10. 1 2 http://www.smh.com.au/national/uc-reinvents-itself-with-partnership-20121016-27pow.html#ixzz2WFPkGADa Archived 18 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  12. 1 2 "Subscribe to The Australian - Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps". www.theaustralian.com.au. Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "Canberra Uni national expansion plan blocked by minister". Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Not the beginning of a beautiful friendship – University of Canberra/Holmesglen TAFE deal off". Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 "Subscribe to The Australian - Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps". www.theaustralian.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  16. ↑ User, Unknown LDAP (11 September 2009). "About the Library". Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "Food & Drink (Refectory)". 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  18. ↑ "Gym and Group Fitness". 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "@ UC - UC Lodge - UniLodge". UniLodge. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  20. ↑ UniGardens Canberra University student accommodation Archived 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine., official website
  21. ↑ Unknown (1 September 2016). "UC welcomes new Vice-Chancellor". Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  22. ↑ "Professor Stephen Parker AO". Advisory Board. Institute of Governance and Policy Analysis, University of Canberra. 2014. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  23. ↑ MacDonald 2011
  24. ↑ "World University Rankings 2019". TSL Education Limited.
  25. ↑ "THE 2019 - Australia". Times Higher Education.
  26. ↑ "Australian University Rankings". Australian Education Network.
  27. ↑ "All unis winners in research audit". The Australian. 4 December 2015. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  28. ↑ "Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings". Times Higher Education. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original on 22 May 2017.
  29. ↑ Staff, Monitor (6 April 2017). "UC breaks into world's top 100 young universities". Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  30. ↑ "Young University Rankings 2017". Times Higher Education. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017.
  31. ↑ University of Canberra 2017

Bibliography

  • Canberra Times (10 March 2011). "UC regional expansion plans closer". Canberra Times. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  • Goulburn Post (13 March 2011). "University bid fails". Goulburn Post. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  • MacDonald, Emma (17 February 2011). "Hawke urges UC, CIT to tie knot". Canberra Times. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  • Towell, Noel (28 February 2011). "Cameron Offices set to house UC students". Canberra Times. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  • University of Canberra (2011). "About the University : The University : University of Canberra". University of Canberra. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  • University of Canberra (2017). "Our Research Focus : The University : University of Canberra". University of Canberra. Retrieved 4 March 2018.

Coordinates: 35°14′20″S 149°05′15″E / 35.23889°S 149.08750°E / -35.23889; 149.08750

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