Prospective students are investigating the hundreds of course options at Charles Sturt University (CSU) as part of the 2007 mid-year intake. Tuesday 1 May is the mid-year deadline for enrolling to study nursing fulltime on the University’s Albury-Wodonga Campus or performing and visual arts on its Wagga Wagga Campus. More than 200 courses are available at undergraduate and post-graduate levels through distance education, including courses in business, theology, communication, information technology, applied science, health science, paramedic and rural studies. CSU nursing student Jessica Roennfeldt, from CSU’s Albury-Wodonga Campus, said: “I’m glad I applied for the 2006 mid-year intake because it’s been a great way to start my professional training. There was no need to wait another six months.”

Western New South Wales year 11 students will learn how to study and write essays more effectively at the annual Study Skills Day to be held at Dubbo Campus of Charles Sturt University (CSU) this Friday (27 April). Organiser Heather Bell said sessions will include time management, motivation, note taking and HSC Online. As well, “This year the school students will hear a presentation about what we offer at CSU,” Ms Bell said. Angela Calvert from Parkes is in the first year of her CSU Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood). She attended the Dubbo Study Skills Day two years ago. “Before that I hadn’t really been thinking much about going to University, but then I really liked the Campus and the interaction between the lecturers and the students. It really helped in my HSC. It was a fun day.”

Academics and other professional staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are being introduced to the next wave of online change. Associate Professor Marian Tulloch, the Director of the Centre for Enhanced Learning and Teaching (CELT), will introduce the new online learning and teaching environment CSU Interact at a series of seminars on CSU’s campuses between 7 May and 16 May. “In early 2008 CSU Interact the new online collaborative scholarly environment will be rolled out across the University for learning and teaching,” Professor Tulloch said. “As part of CSU’s flexible learning strategy it will provide an integrated, enhanced and evolving learning environment for on and off campus students. Because it is a complex and collaborative process, these seminars will provide an opportunity for staff to hear more about the development of CSU Interact, to ask questions, and make suggestions.”

The collaboration between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and TAFE NSW’s Western Institute Dubbo Campus which enables TAFE students to articulate into a bachelor degree was celebrated recently at the United We Stand conference in Perth. The conference was described as a first for social and welfare workers and educators. CSU Humanities and Social Sciences senior lecturer Bill Anscombe presented a paper at the conference with TAFE education leader Andrew Crowley and head teacher for Community Services section Deanne Davis, who said the relationship has given TAFE students an avenue to new opportunities. “This gives students access to a university level course that they wouldn’t have thought of applying for before. Working together has helped tackle issues regarding access to education in rural areas.” Mr Anscombe agrees. “By combining with TAFE we’ve been able to offer a full-time equivalent program that combines the best of uni study with the best of TAFE competency training.”

The stories of two Labor icons are currently playing on Sydney stages: Keating! The Musical at Belvior Street, and A Local Man, the Ben Chifley one-man show at the Ensemble in Kirribilli. Co-written by historian and CSU adjunct senior lecturer Dr Rob McLachlan with Bob Ellis, A Local Man is described by the Ensemble as “a poignant portrayal of a flawed hero”. Tony Barry is reprising the role he played in the original Bathurst CSU production in 2004, which was directed by Bill Blaikie. Dr McLachlan says this new production is a “bonus all around. The Ensemble is one of the hallmark theatres in Sydney for Australian drama. It has a very sympathetic artistic director, Sandra Bates, and there is an impressive CSU ex-theatre media presence there”. A 2007 tour of Canberra and regional NSW and Victoria will be produced by Jennifer Barry, a CSU theatre media graduate.

Eight Charles Sturt University (CSU) International School of Business staff leave for China later this month to conduct intensive professional enhancement programs with their counterparts at four Chinese universities. Tianjin University of Commerce, Yunnan University of Economics and Finance, Changchun Taxation College and Yangzhou University are strategic partners with CSU for the delivery of business studies courses to international students overseas. Professor Alan Fish is Head of the International School of Business at CSU. He explains that the articulation agreements with the four Chinese institutions means students can graduate with both Chinese and western qualifications, making the students more employable. “We will be conducting intensive face-to-face sessions with the Chinese academics to familiarise them with assessment procedures and content of the CSU subjects,” Professor Fish said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Dr Keith Nesbitt’s research on a design pattern for complex systems has won him a 12-month postdoctoral appointment to the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI) in Boston, USA. Dr Nesbitt, a lecturer in Information Technology at CSU, has been working in the relatively new field of science known as complex systems. The study of complex systems is about understanding indirect effects and the problems we find difficult to solve. They have causes and effects that are not obviously related. Examples of complex systems include beehives, ant colonies and even the stockmarket, as well as the human brain. NECSI, where Dr Nesbitt will be based, is an independent non-profit educational and research institution dedicated to advancing the study of complex systems. NECSI was established as a collaboration of faculty from Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Brandeis and other academic institutions. “I’m keen to take my research to the next level. That would be the ultimate goal: to try and understand what they call the theory of the mind”, said Dr Nesbitt.

Condobolin High School has won the Essay Competition at the 2nd Study Skills Day for Year 11 Students held at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dubbo Campus. The six Condobolin students collaborated on the essay which dealt with the issues confronting young people in rural and regional Australia. The Study Skills Day equips senior school students with skills they will need during the stress and strain of what CSU’s HSC Online calls the “most important examinations in your life”. During the Skills Day, CSU lecturers covered subjects such as time management and essay writing, and students experienced university life first hand. Dubbo Head of Campus, Heather Bell, will present the trophy and $500 cheque at the Condobolin school assembly on Tuesday 15 August.

Central West businesses performed better in the June quarter than the preceding quarter, according to the latest Reliance Credit Union business survey released on Wednesday 2 August by Charles Sturt University’s Western Research Institute (WRI). "Interestingly, Central West businesses still expect to improve their performance again in the September quarter, even though interest rates rose yesterday. It is expected, however, that regional NSW business will be less affected by the rise in terest rates than Sydney due to smaller mortgages and less business debt," said WRI CEO, Tom Murphy. It was noted that fuels costs were the most negative influence on business activity, particularly transport. All business sectors except agriculture showed positive performance in June. The business survey, sponsored by Reliance Credit Union and the Central West Regional Development Board, was returned by over 400 businesses including mining, agriculture, tourist, retail and transport industries across regional NSW.