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University of Newcastle (Australia)

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University of Newcastle
MottoI look ahead
TypePublic
Established1965
ChancellorProfessor Trevor Waring AM
Vice-ChancellorProfessor Nicholas Saunders
Undergraduates17073
Postgraduates5754
Location
Newcastle
,
New South Wales
,
Australia

32°53′35″S 151°42′7″E / 32.89306°S 151.70194°E / -32.89306; 151.70194
CampusUrban
OrganisationsIRU Australia
Websitewww.newcastle.edu.au
File:UoN logo square.gif

The University of Newcastle is a public university that was established in 1965 and is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales. It was founded as part of a newer generation of universities which intended to depart from the traditional methods of the older universities of Australia. As such, the university prides itself in its unique and challenging core educational programmes that are delivered through five faculties: Business and Law; Education and Arts; Engineering and Built Environment; Health; and Science and Information Technology.

The university has enrolled approximately 17,000 full-time students (including more than 14,600 undergraduates) and about 9,000 part-time students.

Historically, the university is known for its educational innovation which is, in part, due to a sharpened nexus between teaching and research and, partly due to its willingness to implement novel models and modalities of teaching which was displayed, for example, in pioneering the PBL system for its undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine programme- a system later mandatorily implemented by the AMC throughout Australia. The Centre for Teaching and Learning is facilitating and supporting the this pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning. 1

The University of Newcastle is a member of Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRU Australia).

New Identity

In April 2007 the University of Newcastle began a new branding strategy which includes a new marketing image, logo, website redesign etc. This is part of a five-year plan to create a new visual and academic identity for the University.[1]

Campuses

A walkway within the Callaghan Campus of the University

There are three main campuses, located at Callaghan, Ourimbah and Port Macquarie. Additional campuses are located in hospitals across the Hunter New England Health Service and Northern Sydney Central Coast Health regions. Of most prominence are the extensive student facilities at the John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, the University Department of Rural Health (UDRH) based at Tamworth Hospital, and the student areas of Gosford Hospital.

The largest campus at Callaghan sits on a 140 hectare, natural bushland site. It lies about 12 km from the centre of Newcastle. Some of its buildings have won national awards for architecture and sympathetic environmental management.

The University of Newcastle also has a presence on three sites within the Newcastle C.B.D. The School of Music and Conservatorium is located in the Civic Theatre precinct, the School of Law, Legal Centre, and Graduate School of Business are located in University House, and the Newcastle Institute of Public Health is located in the David Maddison Building on the site of the Royal Newcastle Hospital (though this is likely to change when development plans for the site are realised). University House is a landmark art-deco sandstone building directly opposite Civic Park.

History

The University has its origins in the Newcastle University College of the University of New South Wales, first established in 1951 at the site of Newcastle Technical College. After considerable agitation at the local level, the fully autonomous University of Newcastle was established in 1965. The student body annually celebrates the anniversary of the institution's independence on Autonomy Day.

In 1998, the University established a partnership with the Institut Wira, a Malaysian private business school. In 2002, Ian Firms, a lecturer at Newcastle, failed a large number of student papers from Wira for academic dishonesty, but his actions were reversed by the Newcastle administration and he was discharged. He then appealed to the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption, which supported his actions; the University eventually accepted the conclusions of their report. [1]

In 2003, The University of Newcastle, together with five other Australian universities, (Macquarie, La Trobe, Flinders, Griffith and Murdoch), established Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRUA).

Forty years after obtaining autonomy, The University of Newcastle has developed a reputed history in their national and international university standings; ranked top 10 among the 38 universities in Australia by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University consecutively in 2005 and 2006, and 127th in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement in 2005. In the following year, The University of Newcastle was ranked as one of the top 100 global universities (at rank 97th) in August 2006 by Newsweek International. Given there are more than 10,000 academic degree issuing institutes in the world, The University's rank represents the top 1% globally.

The Medical Sciences Builiding

Student body and organisations

The University has a student population of just over 26,000 (including part time students) as of 2006, including 4422 international students from more than 80 countries. Enrolment increased to almost 9% in 2005/2006 despite a national trend showing decreases in acceptance for university offers.

The university is widely recognised for its commitment to equity in education and consistently enrols more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders than any other Australian university. The university has also graduated more than 60% of the nation's indigenous doctors.

Students at the Callaghan Campus of the university are represented by the Newcastle University Students' Association (NUSA), the University of Newcastle Union Limited (UNU Ltd), Newcastle University Postgraduate Student Association (NUPSA); while students at Ourimbah Campus are represented by Campus Central.

The UNU is responsible for the social life of the university, as well as most of the commercial facilities on campus. It organises all the main entertainment events, usually performed at the University's two licensed venues, the Bar on the Hill and the Tanner Bar. Apart from (formerly compulsory) student contribitions, the UNU generates significant income from the stores, restaurants and bars on the Callaghan and city campuses.

NUSA and NUPSA are primarily advocacy organisations, representing students on a variety of issues from political activism to the internal organisation of the University. NUSA also produces Opus, the University's magazine written by and for students. Both these organisations have no commercial interests and are expected to come under significant strain when the effects of Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) become apparent.

Campus Central (Central Coast Campus Union Limited T/A Campus Central) is a single organisation looking after all the interests (commercial, sporting and advocacy) of students at the Ourimbah campus. Campus Central funds its operations from commercial revenue generated from its four commercial outlets.

Athletics

The Forum Sports and Acquatic Centre lies within Callaghan campus grounds, with sporting facilities that include an Olympic-sized swimming pool and one of the highest climbing walls in the country. It is the site of training for many international and national teams including the Sydney Swans AFL team and the Newcastle Knights Rugby League team.

The university itself counts some prominent athletes among its student cohort. In the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Newcastle's students won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal which places it at 15th place if it was entered as a country.

In 2005, more than 370 students competed at the Eastern University Games in Tamworth and, the Australian University Games in Brisbane winning a string of gold and silver medals cementing its place as one of the top universities in Australia for athletics.

The University of Newcastle is a member of the Elite Athlete Friendly Universities (EAFU) which supports elite athletes by having a number of systems to ensure that there is sufficient flexibility to create a supportive environment conducive to the achievement of academic excellence.

Administration

Student Hubs

In mid 2006 The University of Newcastle introduced the concept of Student Hubs, restructuring the previously existing Faculty Student Services offices into 4 major points of contact for students to gain information and advice about their programs and general student administration.

The Student Hubs provide an environment for students to seek advice and aid in their daily schedule.

Shortland Hub includes staff from:

Shortland Hub is located on Level 3 of the Shortland Union Building on the Shortland side of the Callaghan campus and contains facilities for computer use (including wireless access), printing and photocopying. The hub also contains the Hub Cafe and a University Memorabilia Shop. Access to information is readily available with Support staff situated on Level 3 in the hub. If further advice is required students will be referred upstairs to Level 4 where you can locate the Program Officers for many of the degrees on the Callaghan campus.

Hunter Hub includes staff from:

Hunter Hub is situated in the Student Services Centre on the Hunter side of Callaghan campus it contains similar services to the Shortland Hub and is located in one of the centres of administration at the university. Other departments located in the Hunter Hub include; Admissions and Enrolments, Exams and Graduation, Revenue, Disability Support Services, Scholarships and Nustar (Newcastle University Student Administration Records.)

City Hub includes staff from:

Ourimbah Hub includes staff from:

Faculties and Schools

The University has five faculties covering a wide range of available programs. The faculties are Business and Law, Education and Arts, Engineering and the Built Environment, Science and Information Technology, and Health.

Faculty of Business and Law

The Faculty of Business and Law contains the following schools:

Faculty of Education and Arts

The Faculty of Education and Arts contains the following schools:

Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment

The Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment contains the following schools:

Faculty of Science and Information Technology

The Faculty of Science and Information Technology contains the following schools:

The school of Environmental and Life Science offers teaching to undergraduate, honours and post-graduate students. The school is focused on five disciplines; Applied Science, Biological Science, Chemistry, Earth Sciences and Geography.

Faculty of Health

The Faculty of Health contains the following schools:

The Ourimbah Campus is one where services and infrastructure are shared between education providers. The partnership titled The Central Coast Campuses is a partnership of:

Notable Alumni

References

  1. ^ "A Tarnished Reputation: Australia's universities wrestle with criticism that they're cutting corners to attract foreign students" by David Cohen. Chronicle of Higher Education October 14, 2005. 52(8) A39 online version subscription required.

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