Newcastle University and Ourimbah Campus - a model for the future

Last month the Deputy Prime Minister, The Hon. Julia Gillard made three key announcements about the future of tertiary education in Australia at the Universities Australia conference, which was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle, Professor Nick Saunders. All three announcements were in response to the recommendations of the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education, which was the first report into higher education for 20 years.

It was fitting that these highly significant announcements were made at a conference chaired by Professor Saunders, as the type of changes envisaged in the Bradley report and subsequent government decisions are to have more universities and campuses around Australia look and act like his University.

Ourimbah Campus shows the way forward
Central to the proposed reforms is having high quality research and teaching programs, whilst also being open to students from a broad range of backgrounds and having strong links to the TAFE sector. Indeed, the multi-sector arrangement at Ourimbah between the University of Newcastle and Hunter TAFE, now 20 years old, shows the way forward for much of the rest of Australia.

The strong and productive relationship between further and higher education on the Campus, in association with community education, is the defining feature of Ourimbah as an education and training site, and provided the basis for the exceptional achievements of the last 20 years with 918 students graduating in February 2009.

The Ourimbah Campus has always attracted a lot of attention. In a Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs report in 2000, the Ourimbah Campus was cited as one of the better justified, longest established and most successful multi-partner campuses in Australia, having also won a national award for the architecture and environmental management.

The Campus plays a crucial role in developing the educational outcomes of the region to match or better those of other regions in New South Wales and Australia. Last year there were 3,438 university enrolments and 3,325 TAFE students at the Campus.
2009 has seen further expansion with our well-tried courses more popular than ever and new courses attracting many students to the Campus who would otherwise have travelled north or south to study, and probably leave the Central Coast for good.

We have a capital works program exceeding $16 million dollars to ensure that our students and staff have world-class facilities they can learn and work in as well as being surrounded by an attractive rainforest environment. Just as importantly, the University of Newcastle is in the “Top 10” for research performance in Australia, and third in NSW.

A desirable and valuable option for the future
In 2009, the campus offers 16 full degree programs at Ourimbah (with 34 majors) in the Faculty of Education and Arts, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Business and Law, and Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment.

The expansion of Faculty of Health programs at Ourimbah, as well as prestigious and popular courses only offered at Ourimbah in sport, marine, food science and sustainable resource management, have altered the UAI landscape for the Ourimbah Campus and reshaped public perceptions and student acceptance of Ourimbah as a desirable and valued option for further and higher education and training.

A highly competitive environment
While the Campus quickly won the pride and loyalty of the Central Coast community, it operates in a very competitive environment. It is very close to metropolitan Sydney and a host of further and higher education (public and private) providers.

The keystone to the success of the Ourimbah Campus is that it is a joint venture of two leading, innovative and successful further and higher education institutions, and is the focus of cross-sectoral access to, and pathways through, both institutions.

The Campus has been able to develop a comprehensive education and training profile that is responsive to Central Coast issues, but able to draw on the assets and status of the University of Newcastle and TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute to leverage synergies between human and capital resources as well as local industry and professional groups.

Commitment to our community
The future, by definition, is unknown and making decisions about the future of education and training on the Coast will require a degree of creativity and foresight in a way not previously expected of public education institutions. But with the recent government announcements, we are better placed on the Central Coast than almost anywhere else in Australia to take advantage of new directions and funding possibilities.

Change will come about regardless of what we do but opportunities are there for the taking and it is preferable that the University of Newcastle and Hunter TAFE show leadership and consult with our community about changes to education and training on the Central Coast, rather than just letting things happen.

By building on 20 years of passion and achievement about what is done at Ourimbah, we will not only acknowledge that inheritance but also reshape it into something future generations can be just as passionate about and pass on in their own way.

Back Send us your comments