* CSU is dedicated to providing higher education pathways for ATSI people * CSU Indigenous Access Program (IAP) first-ever midyear intake * CSU students who participate in IAP have a higher progress rate (75 per cent) than non-IAP students (68 per cent) * CSU aims to ensure each student gets a personalised pathway to study at the UniversityCharles Sturt University (CSU) is dedicated to providing higher education pathways for Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people.Due to great demand the CSU Indigenous Access Program (IAP) has returned this year with its first-ever midyear intake program. Indigenous Australians of all ages are invited to take part in the five-day intensive pathways program at CSU in Dubbo from Monday 25 to Friday 29 June. Successful completion of this program provides entry into a range of CSU bachelor courses.CSU manager of Indigenous Student Centres Mr Nathan Peckham said the program helps potential students assess their skills and suitability to study while also offering them a range of support and networks to help them succeed at CSU.“The Indigenous Access Program has run for several years and has successfully built confidence in those preparing for university,” Mr Peckham said.“IAP participants who went on to become Charles Sturt University students have a higher progress rate (75 per cent) than non-IAP Indigenous students (68 per cent).“Our goal is to make sure each student gets a personalised pathway into Charles Sturt University so they can study the course they’ve always dreamed of doing.”CSU is committed to encouraging more Indigenous Australians to study at university with travel, accommodation, and meals provided for eligible participants.Activities include: confidence building in preparing for university, assessing literacy and numeracy skills, gaining career guidance and support, as well as accessing course advice.Hear what the students think of the CSU Indigenous Program here.

* Four Dubbo experts will speak about breast cancer experiences and support services * Free CSU public lecture aims to engage regional Australia on this disease. * Four well-known community members will lead a panel to discuss their personal experiences with breast cancer‘Breast Cancer Uncovered’ is the topic of the next Explorations Series free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Thursday 24 May.Head of Campus at CSU in Dubbo Ms Cathy Maginnis said the Explorations Series is part of the University’s community engagement program, which brings diverse speakers to share ideas, thoughts and opinions on topical issues.“The Explorations Series public lectures aim to engage our rural and regional communities in discussion and debate about major issues facing our regions, the nation and the world,” Ms Maginnis said.“The focus of this public lecture is breast cancer, an insidious disease that has affected and continues to affect many people in rural communities. Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate between gender or age.“We have invited four well-known community members to form a panel to discuss their personal experiences with breast cancer and the journeys they have undertaken to enhance breast cancer support services throughout the region,” Ms Cathy Maginnis saidThe speakers are Ms Donna Falconer, author of My Time and founder of the Pink Angels and Groovy Booby Bus; Mr Graeme Board, OAM; and the Dubbo-based McGrath Foundation Breast Care Nurses, Ms Vanessa Hyland and Ms Margie Collins.Each panel member will deliver a brief presentation and answer questions from the audience, followed by a light supper.This free CSU Explorations Series public lecture will be at 6pm on Thursday 24 May in room 202, building 902, at CSU, Tony McGrane Place, Dubbo.Participants are asked to register their intended attendance online here: http://news.csu.edu.au/events?a=3014820Prior to the event there will be a media opportunity with the speakers at 3pm on Wednesday 16 May.

* CSU access program for alumni residing in Dubbo and region * Alumni have  24/7 access to the library and learning commons, gym access, Wi-Fi access and the ability to book meeting spaces As part of its commitment to support its graduates to succeed in work and life, Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo launched its new access program for alumni on Thursday 10 May.Head of Campus of CSU in Dubbo Ms Cathy Maginnis said the new alumni access program is open to all past students of CSU who reside in Dubbo and the surrounding region.“Charles Sturt University is keen to support our graduates to succeed in work and life, and the program is a further expression of the University’s ethos derived from the Wiradjuri phrase yindymarra winhangana, ‘the wisdom of knowing how to live well in a world worth living in’,” Ms Maginnis said.“We aim to engage with our alumni, to forge mutually beneficial relationships, to celebrate their successes and to continue to value-add and offer support to them throughout their lives.“The University in Dubbo is a dynamic and forward looking institution which aims to enhance its presence in the community and continue its fruitful relationship with its locally-based graduates.“I encourage all Charles Sturt University alumni living in Dubbo and the surrounding region to take advantage of the access program.”CSU alumni in Dubbo will have:* 24/7 access to the library and learning commons* gymnasium access* able to book meeting spaces* Wi-Fi accessDirector of Advancement, Sarah Ansell was present at the launch and spoke on the importance of alumni and continuing engagement with this sector of the University community. Also present at the launch were four members from the Orana and Far Western Regional Consultative Committee; Ms Ann-Marie Furney, Mr Jeff Caldbeck, Ms Jo Lawrence, and Mr Denis Armstrong.CSU alumni featured on the flags include:* Ms Juliet Duffy, sustainable management, entrepreneur / advocate for women in STEM* Mr Nicolas Steepe, social work, project manager, Equity and Diversity at CSU* Mr Steve Hinks, management, Director of Taronga Western Plains Zoo* Ms Jo Lawrence, psychology, Executive District Director, Family and Community Services (FaCS)

* CSU launches its $100,000 Community-University Partnerships grants program for 2018. * Up to $20,000 available across five different categories to support our regions. * Launch at CSU in Dubbo today. Online applications here. * Grants for projects across arts and culture, education, sport, indigenous and discretionary grants for community initiatives. Grant money totalling $100,000 is now on offer from Charles Sturt University (CSU) for local communities following the launch of the 2018 Community-University Partnerships (CUP) grant program.Head of Campus at CSU in Dubbo Ms Cathy Maginnis (pictured second from left) said, “The University is offering $100,000 in grants as an investment in the development of our regions.“Members of our local communities are encouraged to apply for the funding to support their local community groups and activities.“There’s funding from hundreds of dollars, up to a maximum amount of $20,000 in each grant category,” Ms Maginnis said.CUP grants are across five separate categories across arts and culture, education, sport, Indigenous, as well as discretionary grants to support small community initiatives.Launching in Dubbo today, CSU also welcomed successful recipients from last year’s program to congratulate them on their success and for them to share with the community how they spent the grant they received.In 2017, four community groups received $1,000 grants each as a part of the CSU in Dubbo CUP Rural and Regional Education Development Program: * Wellington Primary School Parents and Citizens, to erect playground structures and create a sensory garden. * Buninyong Public School, to provide migrant families with quality books to support English language learning. * Orana Heights Public School - Early Intervention Support Class, Dubbo, to add to sensory, gross motor and fine motor equipment to increase student engagement and participation. * St John's Parish School, Trangie, to add to mathematical resources in classroomsMs Xanthie Kerin, a teacher at St John’s Parish School in Trangie, said, “We thank Charles Sturt University for the generous grant that enabled our small rural school to be able to purchase up-to-date contemporary learning mathematical resources for our classrooms.“With this grant we have been able to launch our little school into contemporary 21st learning, leading in world class math practices. Our classrooms are fully resourced in new learning manipulatives that enable students to engage in investigative and open-ended math learning.”In 2017, a Head of Campus small grant was awarded to Condobolin High School to install swing gates in the existing cattle yards to ensure safety for students and animals.Condobolin High School teacher Ms Katrina Thomas said, “The purchase of the gate makes the yards safer the students to work in and increases their confidence in handling stock”.Grants are not just awarded within the local government area. In past years grants have been awarded to recipients in Enngonia, Bourke, Peak Hill, and Wee Waa.Ms Maginnis said, “Given that winter is just around the corner, we’ve opened the 2018 grant program with the Rural and Regional Sports Development round first and the other grant programs will open in a rolling fashion throughout the year.“Charles Sturt University has a long and proud tradition of supporting our communities. The CUP initiative is all about the University supporting groups and organisations in Dubbo and the surrounding region in achieving the goals,” Ms Maginnis concluded.BackgroundGrants are available from five different categories. The CUP Head of Campus Small Grants Program, CUP Rural and Regional Arts and Culture Program, CUP Rural and Regional Education Development Program, CUP Rural and Regional Indigenous Community Engagement Program and CUP Rural and Regional Sports Development Program.Online applications are now open for the 2018 CUP Rural and Regional Sports Development Program, with the other programs to follow. Further information, application packs and program guidelines can be found here.

Talented Bathurst school student Will Hazzard will stage a solo exhibition of his works at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo starting on Monday 2 April.The ‘Share the Earth’ exhibition by the award-winning 16-year old artist will feature 22 works reflecting his love of animals and the environment. Mr Hazzard lives with his parents at a property at Meadow Flat near Bathurst, and is a student of the Dubbo School of Distance Education.Head of Campus at CSU in Dubbo Ms Cathy Maginnis said, “We’re truly delighted to host this outstanding exhibition by Will. By providing areas at the CSU Dubbo campus for local artists to exhibit their artworks, at no cost, demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the ethos of yindyamarra winhangana and our connection to the community.”Mr Hazzard has been awarded prizes for exhibiting at the Royal Bathurst Show, the Sofala Show, the Blayney Show, Textures of One, Evans Art Exhibition, Ironfest (Lithgow), and Waste To Art. One of his designs was chosen to feature at the NSW Department of Education music festivals. He won an ‘Advocate for Children and Young People’ competition and met the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. His work has toured NSW as part of Operation Art, and is featured in an exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW.In June the University will call for Expressions of Interest (EoI) from interested artists to apply for exhibition time at CSU in Dubbo during the period July 2018 to June 2019.

Students and staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will receive information and opportunities for health assessments at the CSU 2018 Wellness and Wellbeing Expo on Monday 19 March.The CSU Wellness and Wellbeing Expos are being staged at the seven main CSU campuses during March, and more than 2 500 CSU staff and students are expected to benefit from the information and health checks provided.Expo coordinators in the CSU Division of Human Resources, Ms Lisa Tuineau and Ms Melissa Lombe, said, “Charles Sturt University recognises and values the importance of staff and student wellness and wellbeing, and aims to adopt a holistic approach to the treatment of workplace health and safety.“The University appreciates that problems of a personal nature can and do have adverse effects on work performance, work satisfaction, study, health, and feelings of wellbeing, and is therefore running Wellness and Wellbeing Expos on its major campuses.“The Expos will give attendees the opportunity to obtain information on numerous health and wellbeing services available to them at the University and in our local communities. The University hopes that staff and students will not just become more aware of the services available and will encourage them to engage with these services and programs.“Through happier, healthier and more satisfied staff and students the University hopes to foster a productive and resilient environment.”The 2018 CSU Wellness and Wellbeing Expo will be held at CSU in Dubbo on Monday 19 March. Services at the expo include hearing checks, free massages, and pre-winter flu vaccinations.The health and wellbeing of staff and students at CSU has received a boost with sponsorship from the NSW Trustee and Guardian, iCare, Gallaghers, Employers Mutual, G&C Mutual Bank, UniSuper, and nlc.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will welcome 60 commencing students when Orientation Week (O Week) activities start on Tuesday 20 February.CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann said, “The start of the new academic year at the University is always an exciting time, particularly with the arrival of new students on campus for Orientation Week activities, followed by the return of continuing students.“I welcome all new students, whether they are studying on campus or online. Charles Sturt University is committed to providing the best possible student experience, and sharing the University’s values so students become graduates who are insightful, inclusive, inspiring and who make a positive impact in their communities and professional disciplines.”Key points:Across CSU there are 2 785 new on-campus students in 201860 new students at CSU in Dubbo (does not include online students)Welcome Ceremony at CSU in Dubbo at 10am Tuesday 19 FebruaryAcademic classes for on-campus students start on Monday 26 FebruaryHead of Campus Ms Cathy Maginnis (pictured) said, “We welcome the new commencing students in 2018 at Charles Sturt University in Dubbo, and congratulate them on their acceptance of their chosen course and the start of their lifelong learning journey.“It will be an exciting and exhilarating journey with many challenges ahead.“The commencement ceremony is a chance to celebrate with the new students and introduce them to the campus and staff in preparation for academic classes which start on Monday 26 February.“We also welcome any students studying mixed mode or online to come and use the newly refurbished student-friendly 24/7 facilities, as well as access the support staff on campus.“In their time with us we hope students will adopt the Charles Sturt University ethos of Yindyamarra Winhanganha – the wisdom of respectfully knowing how to live well in a world worth living in.”O Week activities at CSU in Dubbo include a Welcome Ceremony at 10am on Tuesday 20 February for students and their families and supporters. Throughout the week new students will attend meetings with course coordinators and lecturers, tours of the campus and facilities, and social activities.Session One classes for students studying on campus commence on Monday 26 February.Ms Maginnis said CSU in Dubbo continues to provide high quality student-centred courses - nursing, early childhood and primary education, and social work, with committed academics and support staff. She encourages any students who have been unsuccessful in gaining entry to their chosen course to contact the University to discuss their options, as single study subjects and pathway courses are available.

More than 350 people will attend the Charles Sturt University (CSU) 2017 graduation ceremony in Dubbo on Friday 8 December.Approximately 298 family and friends will join 74 graduates at the ceremony to be hosted at the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre in Darling Street, Dubbo.Head of Campus at CSU in Dubbo Ms Cathy Maginnis (pictured) said, “Graduation is a time of celebration for both the graduating students and their families and friends and we are proud to celebrate their achievements and welcome them into the workforce as future professionals and leaders in our communities.“It is a time when academic and support staff can congratulate the students on their achievements and overcoming challenges to achieve their goals and realise their dreams. It is a day for both staff and students to join with their families in feeling proud of their achievements.”The Presiding Officer will be University Council member Mr Jamie Newman. Mr Stephen Lawrence will deliver the Occasional Address. Ms Jessica Griggs will deliver the student Vote of Thanks.Nursing student Ms Joanne Wilde will graduate with distinction and receive the Ajisai Prize in nursing. Ms Rebecca Davis will graduate with Bachelor of Social Work (Honours Class 1). Mr Zenzo Ncube will graduate with a Bachelor of Social Work and will receive a Dean’s award for academic excellence.The CSU in Dubbo graduation ceremony starts at 9.30am Friday 8 December at the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre (map) in Darling Street, Dubbo.

More than 60 Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will gather at the University in Dubbo on Wednesday 1 November for the third annual Student Leadership Conference and the inaugural Indigenous Student Conference.The students come from a range of disciplines and from all CSU campuses.The conference theme is 'CSU values student leadership'.Conference organiser Ms Kerry Silverson, said the conference shows the dedication of CSU to improving educational outcomes for students in regional Australia."A range of speakers across a spectrum of disciplines will share their expertise and experiences with students who will gain valuable insights into being a leader in a changing world," Ms Silverson said.During the conference the keynote speaker, Indigenous journalist, author and social commentator Dr Stan Grant Junior, will also address a special workshop (from 11am to 12pm) for CSU Indigenous emerging leaders. Dr Grant is also Chair of Indigenous Affairs at CSU.Dr Grant will be available for media interviews at 9am to 9.20am at the University, before delivering his keynote address to students. He will be joined at the media opportunity by CSU Dean of Students Professor Julia Coyle; the Head of Campus of CSU in Dubbo Ms Cathy Maginnis; and CSU student leader Mr Brenton Hawken.Dean of Students in the CSU Division of Student Services Professor Julia Coyle said, "We are delighted to host the inaugural Charles Student University Indigenous Student Conference."The conference will bring Indigenous students from across Australia to the University in Dubbo to participate in a range of workshops to collaboratively develop with staff programs to enhance Indigenous Student leadership and to strengthen the Indigenous student voice at Charles Sturt University."The students will also engage with Indigenous Elders and our key note speaker Dr Stan Grant Junior on enhancing Indigenous student success. As the inaugural Indigenous Student Conference will be occurring at the same time as the annual Student Leadership Conference, Indigenous students will have a valuable opportunity to participate in shared sessions that build their personal leadership skills through insights imparted by the leadership speakers."Mr Nathan Peckham, manager of CSU Indigenous Student Centres, said, "The inaugural Indigenous Student Conference is a fantastic opportunity to bring Indigenous students together to discuss the issues that matter to them. Combined with the annual Student Leadership Conference, we are excited to create a collaborative space where students can work together on common goals to improve the student voice at Charles Sturt University."The students will be welcomed to CSU in Dubbo at an event at 6pm on Tuesday 31 October.