Final year high school students around Australia are receiving their final results and making big decisions about their futures - What do I want to do? Do I study or work next year? Where do I study? Charles Sturt University (CSU) is helping these students make informed decisions with a series of Change of Preference Information Sessions on all campuses next week. CSU Market Development Manager Ms Cheryl Howell says these sessions will help students and their parents think about study options for 2010 at CSU, with academics and support staff available for discussions. "If prospective students want to discuss our courses, preference options, school results or living and learning at CSU, they can attend one of these sessions being run throughout the University's region," said Ms Howell. Victorian students can call CSU on (02) 6051 9962 or 1800 334 733 to discuss their options before their change of preference period closes.

Having worked diligently to ensure Year 12 students had access to the best possible resources, the Charles Sturt University (CSU) NSW HSC Online website  team has taken time out to congratulate students who worked hard to receive notable results in their NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) last week. "While creating this website, the NSW Department of Education and Training and Charles Sturt University were keenly aware of the crucial information this website delivers to students studying for the HSC," said NSW HSC Online coordinator and CSU senior lecturer Dr Deb Clarke. "It’s wonderful to know our resources helped students gain the marks they wanted in the HSC.” The NSW HSC Online developers are now reviewing the site to ensure the next group of students studying for the HSC can access quality education resources for 50 HSC subjects in 2010. “Each month the website delivered up to 1.65 million pages to students, teachers and parents and we believe this will increase in 2010.”

The CSU Media team welcomes you to 2010. We hope you had a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and that the year ahead is a healthy one.

For those keen to study medicine and dentistry, it’s good to know there is more than one way to get into these professions at Charles Sturt University (CSU). The University’s Bachelor of Clinical Science is a pre-medicine and pre-dentistry course that offers ten places in medicine at the University of Sydney for regional graduates. Clinical science graduate Ms Tegan van Gemert from Bathurst says, “The subjects I studied and the clinical experience I gained while studying the CSU clinical science course made me more determined that medicine was what I wanted to study. Preparing for the admissions test and interviews was quite stressful, but the subjects I had completed through the course gave me all the background knowledge and skills I needed to succeed. I am very grateful for the opportunity this degree provided me in achieving graduate entry into medicine.”

Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) have voted a lecturer at the School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst as CSU 2009 Lecturer of the Year. Ms Veronica Madigan won the accolade in a nation-wide poll open to all academics and students at the 38 universities in Australia. Dr John Harper, the Sub-Dean, Learning and Teaching, in the CSU Faculty of Science, said, “It is wonderful that students have gone out of their way to vote Veronica as their top lecturer at CSU for 2009. She continues to make a lasting, positive impression on her students and is an inspiration to us all.” Ms Madigan said, “As a person who is passionate about my teaching, there are only two things that really matter to me: the success of my students, and their appreciation of what I try to do for them. For them to say ‘thank you’ in this way is just the greatest thrill for me.”

At the invitation of the Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Ian Goulter, the Federal Member for Macquarie, The Hon. Mr Bob Debus, MP, will inspect progress in the construction of the new Dental and Oral Health Clinic at the CSU campus in Bathurst at 10am on Friday 22 January. Mr Debus and Professor Goulter will be accompanied by the Head of Campus, Mr Col Sharp, Dr Sabrina Manickam, senior lecturer and the External Relations Coordinator at the School of Dentistry and Oral Health, and representatives of Joss Constructions, the contractor undertaking the project. “I’m excited by progress with the CSU Dental and Oral Health Clinic in Bathurst because, when it is opened to the public later in 2010, we’ll contribute to improving patients’ access to dental services in the region, as we will for other communities in regional Australia,” Professor Goulter said.

Starting school can be exciting and, perhaps, a little scary – and that’s just for parents. Two senior education researchers at Charles Sturt University (CSU) have developed guidelines to help parents, teachers and children as they start school. “Starting school is an important milestone in the lives of children and families. If children have a successful start to school, they are likely to stay connected to school and regard it as a positive place to be,” says Professor Bob Perry from CSU. Drawing on over 15 years of research, Professor Perry and Professor Sue Dockett, who research and teach at the University’s Murray School of Education, have led the way for parents and teachers on how to help all involved feel competent and confident when children start school.

Academics from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will take part in the Orange Relay For Life taking place on Saturday 13 March. Team captain and CSU lecturer in the School of Biomedical Science, Dr James Wickham, says he was impressed by the speed in which staff members put their hand up to take part. “Charles Sturt University has been involved in Relay For Life in the past and everyone who walks always enjoys themselves,” he said. “It’s a fantastic cause and a great way to celebrate with those who have battled cancer and survived.” With 14 staff members in the team, CSU will be recognisable on the track with caps and ties. “We thought we’d have an ‘academic’ theme,” Dr Wickham said. Relay For Life is an overnight, community event where teams participate in a relay-style walk or run to raise funds for the Cancer Council. The event brings the whole community together for a night of fun, entertainment, celebration and remembrance. “The University team hopes to raise more than $2 000 for the cause,” Dr Wickham said.

While managers put much energy into improving business performance by investing in innovation, increasing product and service quality or through expansion, little effort is given to improving the culture which is the backbone of every organisation’s operation. A Swiss graduate from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Doctor of Business Administration program says carefully managing organisational culture can positively influence the company’s bottom line. Dr Patric Maerki is the first graduate to complete his studies through a partnership with CSU and the University of Applied Science in Bern, Switzerland. He devised a way to help manage the aspects of corporate culture influencing business performance. “My research into companies in five different industries showed that corporate culture values such as freedom, risk taking, open and shared communication, and respecting employees can be used to enhance operational performance in innovation, organisational alignment and customer orientation, and to increase profits,” said Dr Maerki. CSU’s distance education program attracted Dr Maerki as he could balance his business commitments with the demands of completing a doctorate while receiving support from a Swiss supervisor.