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Public university in Canberra, Australia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is 2.5 km (1.6 mi) from Belconnen Town Centre, and 8.7 km (5.4 mi) from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses covering five faculties: Health; Arts and Design; Business, Government and Law; Education; and Science and Technology.
Former name |
|
---|---|
Motto | Galambany (Ngunnawal) |
Motto in English | We all, including you[2] |
Type | Public research university |
Established |
|
Accreditation | TEQSA |
Affiliation | Innovative Research Universities (IRU) |
Budget | A$312.84 million (2022)[3] |
Chancellor | Lisa Paul[4] |
Vice-Chancellor | Lucy Johnston[5] |
Total staff | 1,185 regular (2022)[3] 272 casual (2022)[3] |
Students | 11,518 EFTSL (2023)[6] |
Undergraduates | 8,228 (2023)[6] |
Postgraduates | 2,870 (2023)[6] |
Other students | |
Address | 11 Kirinari Street , , , 2617 , |
Campus | Urban, 296 acres (1.2 km2) |
Colours | Teal |
Sporting affiliations | |
Mascot | Cappie the Giraffe[8] |
Website | canberra.edu.au |
The University of Canberra was first established in 1967 as the Canberra College of Advanced Education. It then became the University of Canberra under sponsorship of Monash University in 1990.
Over 100,000 students have graduated from the university since 1970.[6]
After a rapid period of growth which saw a 78% increase in student enrolments between 2007-2014,[9][10] UC has sustained an annual enrolment of between 11,000 and 12,000 equivalent full-time students.[6] The median Australian Tertiary Admission Rank of UC students was approximately 71 in 2012.[11]
The foundation stone was unveiled by Prime Minister John Gorton on 28 October 1968. The stone is displayed near Building 1 on the Bruce campus. The inscription 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.
An annual celebration, called Stone Day, was first held in 1971 and has since evolved into a popular music festival. Stone Day traditionally took place after classes finished at the end of Semester 2, but before exams. The day before was known as Stone Eve. Stone Day involved a music festival with local bands.
Over the years the Stone Day program grew larger, expanding to a whole week in 1976, and becoming Stoneweek. In the 1980s and 1990s, Stoneweek was a popular Canberra entertainment event and one of Australia's most popular music festivals.[12] In 2000, the festival became Stonefest.
Beginning in 2012, Stonefest was not held for a number of years at the University of Canberra. In 2014, UC created a mini-music Stonefest festival with a DJ and numerous activities, however it was not received well. In 2019, Stonefest returned, with both local and international acts, but did not run in 2020-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, returning in 2022.
The university's main campus is located in the suburb of Bruce and covers 296 acres (1.2 km2) of buildings, ovals, gardens, lawns, sculptures, car parks, and roads, and walkways. The campus is notable for its native gardens and the presence of kangaroos. There are over 29 buildings dedicated to teaching, research, and administration for the disciplines, faculties and business units. These buildings are concentrated around the main concourse. Each building is numbered and many do not hold any title or namesake.[13] At the northern end of the campus is the University of Canberra Hospital which focuses on rehabilitation.[14]
The Refectory is located in Building 1, operated by the UC Union.[15] It provides a food court, general shop, pool tables, and lounges, and is also a concert venue. Upstairs there are study rooms which can be booked by students and staff.
The Hub is located under the main concourse, providing a cafe, hairdressing salon, tattoo parlour, 87.8 UCFM student radio station studio, and social enterprise hub. A bar, convenience store, and several eateries are also available near the student residences.
A sport and fitness centre is located in Building 29 with gym facilities and is home to Brumbies Rugby administration. There are basketball and squash courts nearby in Building 4, and various sporting ovals.[16]
The University of Canberra Library is located in Building 8. The building has four floors.[17]
There are three on-campus accommodation options for students with a total of 2,476 beds[18]—Campus West, Cooper Lodge, and UC Lodge,[19] all run by UniLodge Australia Pty Ltd. In addition, off-campus accommodations in the neighbouring suburb of Belconnen include Weeden Lodge run by UniLodge and UniGardens run by UniGardens Pty Ltd.[20] These accommodation options are available to all students, including international students.
The university has satellite campuses in the following locations:
The governing body of the University of Canberra is its University Council.[21] The current chancellor is Lisa Paul, AO PSM, a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker who was a long-serving Secretary of the Department of Education and Training.[22]
Professor Lucy Johnston is the current interim vice-chancellor (VC). The incoming VC is Bill Shorten.[23] Shorten will succeed Professor Paddy Nixon, who served as VC from 6 April 2020 to 15 December 2023.[24][25][26][27] Prior to Professor Nixon, Professor Deep Saini held the position from from 1 September 2016 to 21 December 2019.[28] Before that, Professor Stephen Parker served as VC 2007–2016.
The five faculties are:
Arts and design specialises in architecture, landscape architecture, graphic design, communication studies, culture and heritage, journalism, creative writing and poetry, international studies, and media arts. The faculty has two schools: School of Design and the Built Environment and School of Arts and Communication.
The Business Government and Law Faculty provides courses in accounting, applied economics, business administration, business informatics, construction, economics, finance, law, management, marketing, politics, sociology, public policy, tourism, and urban and regional planning.
The Education faculty offers courses designed to cover all stages of teacher development with courses in early childhood, primary and secondary.
The Faculty of Health prepares a wide range of allied health professionals, including in counselling, exercise science, nursing and midwifery, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy and exercise physiology and rehabilitation, psychology, medical imaging, speech pathology, and sports management.
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.
Like most Australian universities, University of Canberra derives the majority of its revenue from the Australian Government through the Commonwealth Grant Scheme, student fees, research grants and contracts, commercial activities, and donations. The ACT Government provides around one percent of the university's operating budget.[29]
The University's budget in 2022 was A$312.84 million (2022).[3] In 2024, the University of Canberra is expecting a $36 million deficit which has triggered emergency spending constraints.[30][31] The shortfall in income compared to forecasts is largely attributed to a decline in international student enrolments.[30]
UC ranked in the 351st–400th band in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2024[42] and 65th in the list of top young universities (less than 50 years old),[43] having been ranked in the top 20 in 2020.[44][45][46] UC ranks 24th in the THE list of Australian universities.[47]
The university has several research centres relating to its areas of research strength. These are:
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.[49] UC also shares a memorandum of understanding with the Canberra Institute of Technology which facilitates student educational pathways between the institutions and sharing of some specialist facilities.
The University has several sporting partnerships including sponsoring the University of Canberra Capitals, a professional women's basketball team, the ACT Brumbies, a professional rugby union team, and the University of Canberra Firebirds, an amateur American football club.
On Saturday 17 June, 2023, UC announced a one million dollar sponsorship of, and partnership with, Stromlo Forest Park that will expand its research and teaching activities across a range of sports, tourism, and business opportunities.[50]
An independent radio station, 87.8 UCFM is run by students from the main UC campus.
Notable staff members include/have included:
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