Charles Sturt University (CSU) has welcomed the release of the report by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) on the University’s quality assurance processes. 

CSU’s report is part of a national quality exercise that all Australian universities undergo on a five year cycle. The external auditors examine the objectives and goals set by each university and report on how they achieve their aims. 

“This is a major external review of the organisation and how it is working,” said CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter. “The constructive comment and recommendations in the report are important tools for this University now and for future years.” 

The audit report heralds CSU’s ‘One University’ approach as distinctive and a “substantial achievement” and, as such, a key to much of its success. The ‘One University’ approach achieves a consistent and effective operation across physically separate campuses, through on-campus or off-campus teaching, and in the different countries where CSU provides university courses.

The AUQA report commended: 

• Research initiatives and the encouragement and mentoring of academic staff under the “community of scholars” concept. 
• The strong commitment to regional communities by the University and its understanding and desire to meet educational needs in rural and remote areas. [see more on regional engagement]
• Student feedback which highlighted  teaching staff as “dedicated, accessible and personally supportive” and a proactive approach to identifying students at risk and connecting these students to various student support services.
• The University’s governance process and communication protocols.

“It is gratifying to receive commendations for those areas that form our core objectives such as working as ‘One University’, collaboration with our regional communities, our student centred approach, the professionalism of our staff, and our successes in research. These are all notable achievements for CSU,” Professor Goulter said. 

The report notes the University can further improve services and broaden consistency of practice by building on the success that is already being achieved.

“The report has made a number of valuable suggestions, including on our offshore programs, on which we are already acting.

“As a large and geographically widespread university our greatest challenge is to maintain quality and consistency of performance throughout the organisation, and the Audit team’s recommendations will help us strengthen our service to our students and our communities,” he concluded.