School leavers whose Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) was not as high as they had hoped have been told they don’t have to give up their university aspirations, with Charles Sturt University (CSU) continuing its Pathway Program in 2013. The program, a partnership between CSU and TAFE, runs for one year full-time and provides entry options for students who applied to CSU but were unsuccessful, or who need further preparation. Pathway coordinator Ms Sandra Fisher said the program offered multiple benefits. “Upon completion, students receive a Diploma of General Studies from Charles Sturt University and the Certificate IV in Further Education, or Tertiary Preparation Certificate from TAFE,” she said. “They are also guaranteed entry into a range of CSU degrees and may receive credit for some subjects.” The program is offered face-to-face at CSU in Bathurst, Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga, and this year will be offered at CSU in Dubbo as a blended distance education option.

Starting in Bathurst on Thursday 29 March, the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Division of Learning and Teaching Services will hold forums on a number of its campuses for academics to discuss developments in online and mobile learning and teaching at the University. Forums facilitator, Associate Professor Philip Uys, the Director of Strategic Learning and Teaching Innovation in the CSU Division of Learning and Teaching Services, said, “The continued evolution of quality in learning and teaching at Charles Sturt University, and the growing expectations of our students for appropriate technology responses, requires the University’s staff to skilfully use an ever-growing set of internal and external educational technologies. Charles Sturt University is increasing its digital, mobile and paperless learning and teaching, which pose challenges for strategists of these new technologies, and for academics using them. It will be good to share information about education technology developments at the University and have some in-depth conversations about why these changes are occurring. We will explore what the learning and teaching potential of the respective educational technologies is, and what issues we are facing.”

Local mother of two, Ms Kellie Maskey now has further incentive to complete her degree having received a Rural Scholarship from the Royal Agricultural Society Foundation. Studying a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo, Ms Maskey was thrilled to receive a $5 000 scholarship to help complete her studies. "I'll put the money towards education costs like text books and the support needed while I'm on practicum placement," Ms Maskey, 28, said. With a third child due in a matter of weeks, Ms Maskey is aware of the hurdles she'll face finishing her degree. "I'm in my third year of the course but next year could be extremely challenging. I was really excited to be interviewed for the scholarship and to be awarded the prize."  The RAS Rural Scholarships are available to support individuals in NSW who demonstrate a passion for rural issues and whose studies will add value to rural communities. "I hope to teach locally and in the long-term work in a more rural and remote location."

A student attending Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange has been awarded a Rural Scholarship from the Royal Agricultural Society Foundation to help her realise her dream of becoming a regional dentist. Ms Grace Amey, 22, is in her second year of the CSU Bachelor of Dental Science and is passionate about returning to western NSW to practice dentistry once she graduates. “I work at a dental clinic in my home town of Dubbo when I’m not at uni,” Ms Amey said. “I see so many people come to the clinic from further west who have to wait months to see a dentist. There is so much demand for health professionals.” Ms Amey’s $5 000 scholarship will help her with the cost of equipment needed for her course. “It’s a big help to have this kind of support.” The RAS Rural Scholarships are available to support individuals in NSW who demonstrate a passion for rural issues and whose studies will add value to rural communities.

MyDay at Charles Sturt University in Orange, to be held on Monday 4 June, has attracted high school students from Sydney, Canberra, and north and south coast regions all keen to experience life as a health sciences student. Highlighting courses in dentistry, physiotherapy, clinical science and pharmacy, the day introduces students to the campus known as the health hub of the University. Students will gain hands-on experience in the health clinics, meet with academics and tertiary students and tour the campus. MyDay offers high school students the unique opportunity to experience a day in the life of a university student and provides key information on support available to make their goals achievable. On the same day an Agriculture HSC enrichment day will be held for those studying agriculture in the HSC.

To understand what it is like to be a person with a disability is the aim of a course at Charles Sturt University (CSU) where four people with disabilities act as tutors for CSU students in the third year of their speech pathology degrees. As part of the 2012 program, groups of students will present the life story of their tutor in a creative performance for the tutors, their families and other CSU students, to be held in the Gums Café at CSU in Albury-Wodonga on Thursday 31 May starting at 10.15am. Program coordinator and occupational therapy lecturer, Dr Ruth Beecham, said the presentations will use imagination as well as media such as theatre, cinema, and pictures or literary expression. “We want our students to totally focus on their future clients, and what their clients want from them. Teaching students to listen carefully and respond creatively is a great way of developing these skills,” Dr Beecham said. “We need to see problems from a number of perspectives, instead of rushing headlong into ‘solutions’, and take time to explore issues.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff and students are being encouraged to express on film their ideas for environmental sustainability. The Eco Literacy Film Festival aims to showcase short, three-minute films exploring how the University can reduce its environmental footprint in areas of biodiversity, energy and transport, waste water and pollution, and food and produce. Festival Co-ordinator, Ms Natasha Hard said a total of $6 000 in prizes is on offer and the films will be shown in an online and on campus film festival later in the year. “Anyone who has a phone can make a film and make a difference,” she said. “By celebrating some of the great things being done and highlighting new opportunities, we hope to support interest and action in the area of sustainability across Charles Sturt University.” The festival is funded by a grant from CSU Green. Entries close at 11.59pm on Friday 6 July. Read more about the Eco Literacy Film Festival here.

Treatment for the blood cancers multiple myeloma and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma currently require some patients living in regional and rural Australia to travel considerable distances and stay for a period of time in major regional and metropolitan centres. Charles Sturt University (CSU) Honours student Ms Kerry Wagland is investigating how mothers living in regional areas with dependent children, and who have contracted these rare cancers, cope with their disease and treatment. Ms Wagland, with the support of CSU’s School of Psychology, is interviewing rural and regional women who have these diseases to understand how they impact on the mother’s daily life and her relationships. “I am seeking to gain insights into the challenges faced by these women, especially when they have to travel to and stay at a major treatment centre. I am hoping this will lead to improved support for these women,” Ms Wagland said. The interviews, to be carried out for up to one hour face-to-face or via telephone, will be conducted until 31 August 2012.

Four students from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Ontario in Canada have arrived in Dubbo to work at Dubbo South and Buninyong Primary schools as part of their studies. Ms Jaclyn Craig, Ms Bobbi-Sue Airdrie, Mr Andrew Petruccelli, and Ms Natalia Yarmak will work at the school as part of their Bachelor of Primary Education Studies. Two more students, Ms Amanda Waugh and Mr Marcus Johnson, have been placed at schools in Bathurst. Ms Waugh says she is enjoying her stay. “We are all loving it here and just had our first day yesterday at the schools,” she said. “It was great to meet everyone.  We have found so many similarities but also so many cool differences.” The students will be in Australia until Friday 25 May.