2011 has been an eventful year for the University of New England.

We brought our ideas and vision for UNE together and what emerged was an ambitious document in the form of the Strategic Plan 2011-2015.

The priorities and strategies of the Plan have been intrinsic to everything the University has delivered  and striven for this year.

The Strategic Plan will take us through a very challenging time in the University sector, a time we are aiming to emerge from stronger and more competitive as a result of our strategic initiatives.

In pursuit of this goal we have formed a commercial arrangement with Pearson Australia to improve and enhance our online offerings, we will introduce Trimesters in a range of courses in  2012, and we have entered into an early entry partnership agreement with the University of Sydney.  We have also entered into an agreement with University of Western Sydney to provide their distance education units in 2012. These units will be given pre-approved standing towards UWS degrees.

We were given a competitive advantage in May with the switching-on of the National Broadband Network in Armidale.

At the official launch in May the Prime Minister said “The NBN will end the tyranny of distance between rural and regional Australia and our capital cities, literally changing the way Australians live and work.”

We have been working hard to exploit this game-changing technology by establishing a partnership with University of California’s  Irvine  Medical School to give UNE Medical students access to state-of-the-art learning technology via broadband connections.  Our Smarter Safer Homes, QuickSmart and Smart Farm initiatives are also utilising this technology to improve learning outcomes for the community.

UNE’s role in creating a strong regional community in New England was also on show at the Regional Futures Summit earlier this year, which was attended by the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government Simon Crean and Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy. 

Research at UNE was given a major fillip with $4.8 million from the Commonwealth Government’s Collaborative Research Network (CRN) fund.

UNE in collaboration with five partners has begun recruiting for the CRN for Mental Health and Wellbeing in rural regions and it will be officially launched next year.

Last week we received an early Christmas present in the form of $36.6 million in Structural Adjustment Funding.

This funding will allow UNE to convert more of our courses to an online format – currently only 5% of courses are fully online- and to establish a future campus in Parramatta. It will allow us to upgrade our IT systems, and implement partnerships with other higher education and VET providers.

As I said at the beginning it has been an eventful year for UNE but it has also been a productive year.

The changes that we are putting in place have required hard work across the University. But I am convinced that the changes and initiatives put in place will leave the University in a strong position.

Compliments of the season and my best wishes to you all.

Regards,

Jim Barber
Vice-Chancellor and CEO

The University of New England is adding to its sporting credentials next year by significantly expanding the number of sports majors it has on offer.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, said that in 2012 UNE would offer new specialities in sports management and physical education, building on the existing programs in sports science and exercise physiology.

“The changes, outlined in UNE’s new Sports Prospectus, are about creating greater career opportunities for students in the field of sport,” Professor Barber said.

“The Sports Prospectus details UNE’s suite of courses designed to educate professionals in the sporting sphere and also the leading-edge sport and exercise infrastructure we have on hand at our Armidale campus.  

“It also outlines our exciting work with the Australian College of Physical Education to expand into the undergraduate areas of sports coaching, sports development, and health and leisure, and into the postgraduate fields of sports medicine and sports management.”

UNE’s reputation in sporting excellence will also be enhanced in 2012, with the University’s sponsorship of the National Rugby League team, the Parramatta Eels.

UNE has signed with the Eels as a jersey sponsor for their 2012 NRL season.

Professor Barber said it was the first time that a tertiary institution had become a major partner of an NRL club.

“The sponsorship will also see the Parramatta Eels hold their pre-season training camp in Armidale early in 2012,” he said.

“The Eels will stay on campus to utilise UNE’s state-of-the-art training and sports science facility.

“Our sponsorship of the Eels will raise the awareness of our exceptional sporting facilities and the wide range of courses we offer.”

“More than 2,000 of UNE’s Distance Education students come from Parramatta territory, and this sponsorship will increase the brand awareness of UNE in the growing Western Sydney area,” Professor Barber said.

Parramatta Leagues club CEO Bob Bentley said the club is very excited to be the first NRL side to be sponsored by a tertiary institution.       

“At Parramatta we take professional development and  further education of our players seriously. There are several players in our NRL team including Luke Burt and Tim Mannah who are currently undertaking higher education studies,” Mr Bentley said.

“Additionally, our Toyota Cup Under-20s players are all involved in education programs, with many of the 36-strong group studying at either University or TAFE.

“The NRL team is looking forward to holding the pre-season camp in Armidale and meeting with the local community.”

On average, the Parramatta Eels have a viewing audience of almost 400,000 on free-to-air television, a home ground attendance of 17,000, and sell more than 20,000 jerseys each year.

The 2012 Parramatta Eels Jersey is now on-sale.

More information on the sports prospectus can be found at www.une.edu.au/excellence. 

For media enquiries, please contact Catherine Goldie on 0409 215 640.

The Parramatta Eels will travel to Armidale early next year for their pre-season camp.

The University of New England is a jersey sponsor of the National Rugby League side in 2012, affording locals the opportunity to meet and interact with the players.

UNE’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Jim Barber said the sponsorship was part of a major sports focus for UNE in 2012.

“Next year we will be showcasing UNE’s growing academic strength in various disciplines associated with sport, as well as the University’s superb playing fields and state-of-the-art training and sports science facility,” Professor Barber said. 

“The Parramatta Eels arrive in Armidale on Tuesday 31 January for their four-day visit and will stay on campus to utilise our training facilities,” he said.

“Their visit will include plenty of opportunities for New England Rugby League fans to interact with some of the game’s greats.”

The Armidale Dumaresq Mayor, Councillor Peter Ducat, welcomed the opportunity to be the major sponsor of this UNE initiative.

 ”Armidale has core strengths as a venue for sporting events that bring millions of dollars in to the Armidale economy each year,” Councillor Ducat said.

“Through this sponsorship Armidale Dumaresq Council can support the city’s efforts to increase visitation numbers – whether it be for sport, recreation or education.”

Fans will get the chance to meet the players at a civic reception and also at a dinner with the Eels.

“There will also be opportunities for local schoolkids to be involved in coaching clinics with the players,” Councillor Ducat said.

“I expect this association with the Parramatta Eels to draw people from throughout New England – which is great news for businesses in Armidale – in addition to strengthening the Armidale brand as an ‘Evocity’,” he added.

For media enquiries, please contact Catherine Goldie on 0409 215 640.

Students from the residential colleges at the University of New England will entertain members of the University and Armidale communities when they compete in the inaugural Intercollegiate Quiz Challenge (IQ Challenge) on Monday 10 October.

The IQ Challenge, in UNE’s Lazenby Hall at 6.30 pm, will be adjudicated by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, and marked by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Annabelle Duncan, and Dr Jack Hobbs from the University Council. All community members are invited to join the audience for the Challenge, which is expected to end at about 8.30 pm.

“The friendly contests of the IQ Challenge will develop relationships between the residential and academic communities at UNE, with the questions being supplied by each of the University’s academic Schools,” said the organiser of the event, Myee Gregory, a Senior Academic Mentor at Earle Page College.

“The Challenge will also contribute to students’ ‘UNE experience’ by extending the interaction between the residential colleges themselves,” she said. “The colleges already participate in intercollegiate cultural and sporting competitions.”

Each of the colleges – eight in all, including Wright Village – will submit a team of six students who will compete in the academic rounds, and a team of six who will compete in activity-based rounds. Also competing in the academic rounds will be a team comprising a Senior Common Room representative from each college.

“The support I’ve received in getting this event started has been fantastic,” Ms Gregory said. “It’s great to see so many people at the University excited by the initiative.”

“The residential system is a major asset of UNE, and I hope the IQ Challenge can contribute to the residents’ experience of university life,’ she said. “As UNE is an academic institution, it just made sense to have an intercollegiate academic competition here to go along with our intercollegiate cultural and sporting competitions.”

The University of New England and the Australian College of Physical Education (ACPE) signed an agreement at UNE yesterday to work together to build on ACPE’s enviable reputation in physical and sports education and UNE’s capacity as an innovative distance education provider with its blossoming physical education, sports and exercise science capacity.

‘UNE is building on its physical education and sports exercise courses to position itself as a significant education provider in this field,’ said UNE’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber. ‘This agreement with the Australian College of Physical Education is part of a broader strategy through which UNE collaborates with national and international teaching and research sport institutions, as well as athletes and sporting clubs, to leverage our own strengths and deliver the best and most comprehensive educational opportunities. I’m very pleased that we are able to team up with such a high-quality partner in ACPE.’

David McDonald, CEO of ACPE, said: ‘The opportunity to partner with UNE is a strong fit for ACPE as we are both institutions that share a commitment to superior student outcomes through teaching and learning excellence. The partnership strength is built on our complementary areas of specialisation in ACPE’s industry engagement and focus on experiential learning in sport, physical education and related disciplines and UNE’s established leadership in research and online education.

‘This MOU is the foundation for a range of shared initiatives and facilitates further expansion of ACPE’s extensive industry relationship network. ACPE looks forward to sharing its innovative teaching within sports and physical education disciplines with students, staff, and stakeholders of the University of New England.’

Professor Victor Minichiello, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of UNE’s Faculty of The Professions, said: ‘Both organisations will explore how UNE can deliver e-learning units into the physical education awards of the Australian College of Physical Education. The University will also explore how it can expand the specialisations it offers in its newly-established Bachelor of Sports Studies degree program by utilising the expertise and teaching materials of ACPE in sports coaching. We’ll be looking at ways for students from either institution to use the excellent sports and teaching facilities at ACPE’s Olympic Park precinct in Sydney and on the UNE campus in Armidale. This represents a great opportunity for students, now and in the future, to get the best that UNE and ACPE have to offer.’

The Australian College of Physical Education is located in Sydney in the Olympic Park precinct and has been commended by the Commonwealth university regulator AUQA for the reputation it has maintained over a long period of time in physical and sport education.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Professor Jim Barber (left) with Mr David McDonald, Chief Executive Officer of ACPE.

The University of New England has repositioned itself at the forefront of distance education in Australia through a deal agreed between UNE and the international education services provider Pearson on Sunday.

The partnership entails world-standard delivery and marketing of UNE online courses throughout the nation and overseas. It is the first partnership of its kind in the tertiary sector outside the United States.

It will provide a guaranteed revenue stream for the University and is expected to increase external student numbers each year.

Through the partnership with the University, Pearson will make its online systems and marketing expertise available to enhance the way UNE delivers its distance education course material.

The UNE Council has also approved the first step towards a staged upgrade of the residential colleges on campus through further partnership agreements with the private sector.

Robb College will be the first to undergo extensive re-development with expressions of interest to be called for this week. All 190 rooms at the College will be upgraded.

The Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay, said the two deals were integral to the University’s Strategic Plan, which received unanimous support at Sunday’s Council meeting. “We are back at the top of the game, and it’s an exciting development for the University based on two of its outstanding features – distance education and the residential college system,” he said.  “Bringing the colleges up to date will attract greater numbers of internal students to Armidale.

“Through the partnership with Pearson we can grow UNE’s proven excellence in delivering distance education. We will have greater numbers of external students, and that will create more academic and other staff positions in the long term.”

The Chancellor emphasised that UNE would continue to control all course content and academic standards, and that there would be no job losses on the campus as a result of the agreement.

“In effect, it means that the University’s five-star rating for student satisfaction will now be matched by a platform for delivery in the very competitive national and international online environment,” he said. “The competition in the public and private tertiary sector is fierce and the uncertainty surrounding enrolments with next year’s deregulation of the market has created a lot of nervousness.”

The Chancellor said that Council was confident UNE could withstand the challenge by building on its existing strengths through world-class online course delivery and a rounded university education experience through the residential college system.

Pearson is the world’s leading education company. From pre-school to vocational, university and professional studies, its curriculum materials, multimedia learning tools and testing programs help to educate more than 100 million people worldwide.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows the Chancellor of UNE, Dr Richard Torbay (right), with the Chief Executive Officer of Pearson Australia, Mr David Barnett.

At an exhibition in Coffs Harbour this week, the University of New England will be presenting some of the groundbreaking projects that the National Broadband Network is enabling it to develop.

“These projects aim to benefit people across their lifespan – from young children to parents and grandparents,” said UNE’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber. “They will help them in the home as well as in schools, nursing homes, general practices and farms.”

“The capacity of the optical fibre made available through the Commonwealth Government’s National Broadband Network program is capturing the imagination of the University,” Professor Barber said.

T.H.E Exchange exhibition, sponsored by Regional Development Australia and NBNCo, will be at Coffs Harbour Ex-Services Club on Wednesday 20 July.

“During the event’s pre-opening cocktail party on Tuesday 19 July, colleagues from UNE and the University of California Irvine School of Medicine will give a live presentation that will demonstrate how general practices in rural and regional communities will be able to connect with a world-class medical teaching institution via fast broadband connections to share simulation facilities and teaching resources,” said Professor Victor Minichiello, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of UNE’s Faculty of The Professions. In addition, Professor Minichiello and his UNE colleagues will talk about a range of programs that will benefit from fast broadband, enabling high-speed data exchanges that will bring tremendous service benefits to communities across Australia.

Among the UNE programs to be highlighted will be the QuickSmart programs, which help struggling students to become active and successful learners by improving their basic skills and understanding in numeracy and/or literacy. Currently, more than 600 schools offer QuickSmart programs to almost 10,000 students across Australia, with many of these students experiencing up to three years’ academic growth over the course of a single year. With the opportunities provided by the NBN, UNE is developing ”QuickSmart in the Home” to offer relevant, targeted and professional online educational support to parents and children around Australia. Another program that has relevance for all Australians is EduONE, which allows people to “try before they buy” while earning points towards TAFE/VET or university programs. They can study online, find out about local events, simply indulge their passions or interests, or videoconference from their desktop to join workshops or seminars anywhere in the world.

A program called “Smarter Safer Homes for Aged People” uses technologies including sensors and synchronous videoconferencing via the NBN to enhance the quality of life of aged persons – living independently or in a residential aged facility – and their families. The program is a joint venture between UNE and the CSIRO Australian Centre for Broadband Innovation and CSIRO E-Health.

UNE and CSIRO’s ICT Centre are establishing a SmartFarm on a commercial university farm in the New England region of NSW. Using functional, realistic, and accessible sensor and data management technologies, SmartFarm will demonstrate the operational benefits of a national broadband network for Australian farms.  This project will show how NBN-enabled platforms for gathering and interpreting information from crop and pasture sensors and livestock tracking and management tools will increase farm productivity by increasing water (up to 100%), fertiliser (40%) and pasture use (20%) efficiencies and reducing inputs.

The fruits of 40,000 years of life, freedom and effort by Aboriginal Australians are what the University of New England community is celebrating during NAIDOC Week, according to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber.

Professor Barber was speaking at a ceremony to witness the now-traditional raising of the Aboriginal flag on ‘Booloominbah’, the historic mansion at the centre of the University, to mark the start of NAIDOC Week celebrations.

With the ceremony coinciding with US Independence Day, Professor Barber recalled Thomas Jefferson’s famous words speaking of the ‘unalienable’ rights of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’

He said that this passage, which has come to stand for the moral courage at the heart of US patriotism and sensibility, was often used to assert the right of marginalised people everywhere and that it was important to remember that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had been living, free and in pursuit of happiness, for at least 39,750 years before Jefferson’s words were penned.

‘We look forward to a time when all obstacles to the liberty and happiness of Aboriginal Australians will be wiped away,’ Professor Barber added.

Further inspiration came from speeches by local community member, Gary Strong, and from UNE student speaker, Angelia Ralph, a Kamilaroi woman enrolled in the TRAX tertiary preparation program through UNE’s Oorala Aboriginal Centre.

Speaking on the theme of NAIDOC for this year, ‘Change: the next step is ours’, Ms Ralph said that she preached to her own children the importance of finishing school and setting goals to achieve their dreams.

‘Now I believe it’s time for mum to walk the talk!’ she said, adding that family is everything in Aboriginal communities. ‘That’s where our comfort zone is,’ she continued. ‘But outside of those communities it’s a whole new world. This world intimidates and scares Aboriginal people. But if we as Aboriginal people change our view on that whole new world – ‘WOW’! We as a community could make a difference in every area and aspect of an Indigenous person’s life as well as our own.’

‘Let this be a speech to hear for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. Because I believe it should go hand in hand for the theme, ‘Change: the next step is ours.’ It’s up to us all to look at ourselves and say “I can make a difference.”

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The term NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’.

The photo shows UNE student, Angelia Ralph, speaking at the NAIDOC Week flag-raising ceremony.

Just weeks after winning one of its largest ever research grants, UNE is celebrating its greatest success in years at the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) citations for excellence in teaching – indicating that its strategies for 2012 and beyond are already having an impact.

Following on the heels of news that UNE would be a major beneficiary of the $4.8m in funding for the rural mental health project, the ALTC announced that all seven of UNE’s nominations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning had won citations.

The ALTC Citations recognise the diverse contributions made by individuals and teams to the quality of student learning in a specific area over a sustained period, and are awarded for a range of contributions to student learning, both direct and indirect.

The Citations covered outstanding individual contributions to student learning in areas ranging from literature and writing studies, teaching and engaging students in statistics, to easing distance education psychology students into study, and bring the law to life.

Also receiving citations were the ‘Early Alert’ team for their identification and support of students at risk of dropping out and the ‘tUNEup from Home’ team for an online program that leads students to independent mastery of their academic literacy. (Full citations at end)

In congratulating the citation winners, the Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Jim Barber, paid tribute to the efforts of both individuals and teams and to their ‘creative thinking and dedication to student needs’.

‘Put together,’ Professor Barber said, ‘the expertise, focus and rigour which have led to the funding for this major project, plus the ALTC citations, affirm UNE’s continuing strength as a research institution and its capacity to nourish and enrich the student experience.

‘The timing of these awards couldn’t have been better as it sends a signal to potential students and the nation as a whole about UNE’s commitment to its students’ success.

‘I think we are seeing, as we go towards 2012 and the new, competitive, environment in higher education, that our strategies are beginning to bear fruit,’ Professor Barber added.

ALTC 2011 Citations for UNE

Dr Linley Cornish

For supporting and inspiring students to learn the discipline of education and the craft of teaching with accessible, relevant, creative and personally meaningful learning resources

Dr Elizabeth Hale

For the innovative integration of critical and creative approaches to unit design, delivery, and assessment practices that encourage student learning in literature and writing studies

Early Alert Team

For developing ‘Early Alert’, a unique system for identifying and supporting students at risk of dropping out

Dr Anthony Marks

For promoting self-efficacy in distance education psychology students to ease their transition into study, motivate them to succeed and enhance their overall learning experience

Dr Renato Villano and Pauline Fleming

For successfully engaging students in statistics by providing a supportive learning environment and utilising assessment as a learning tool

Julia Werren

For bringing law to life for students by incorporating research, social policy and ‘skills-based’ approaches in an easy to understand manner

tUNEup from Home Team

For developing an innovative and equitable online program that leads students to independent mastery of their academic literacy

Opportunities for educational exchanges and partnerships with American universities were some of the topics discussed when the Consul-General of the United States of America, Mr Niels Marquardt, visited UNE on Thursday, June 9^th.

Mr Marquardt held talks with the Chancellor, the Hon Dr Richard Torbay MP and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, before making an informal public presentation at which he answered questions and UNE staff canvassed possible opportunities for the University to engage with the US higher education sector.

Mr Marquardt also participated in an interview on the UNE Radio Station, TUNE FM, which was both broadcast live to student listeners and streamed on the web.