Vice-Chancellor:Professor Greg Cravenwww.acu.edu.au |
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Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a publicly funded university, open to all. It has six campuses based in Brisbane, Sydney (North Sydney and Strathfield), Canberra, Melbourne and Ballarat, and offers programs in five faculties throughout Australia and overseas. The University's inspiration, within 2,000 years of Catholic intellectual tradition, summons it to attend to all that is of concern to human beings. It brings a distinctive spiritual perspective to the common tasks of higher education. ACU has experienced significant growth in student and staff numbers, research output, campus facilities and course offerings over the past few years. There are currently more than 22,000 students at the University, which is growing according to a comprehensive Enrolment Plan which will see approximately 25,000 students enrolled in 2016. A particular area of growth is students from low socio-economic backgrounds. Targeted pathways programs have been developed to engage low SES and disadvantaged students in higher education. To manage the significant growth in student numbers, the University has committed to an extensive capital program of more than $200 million. Projects in progress include $18 million worth of improvements at the Brisbane Campus, the new eight-storey National Centre for Health and Wellbeing in Melbourne, and the purchase of a twenty-two storey office tower in North Sydney. Corresponding growth in staff numbers will ensure that ACU continues to have a favourable student to academic staff ratio. The University's traditional operations lie in the areas of health and education. While health offerings are set to expand with the introduction of speech therapy, occupational health and public health, the introduction of a Faculty of Law in 2013 will signify an entire new suite of programs. New international development and global studies courses will also create overseas work and study opportunities for students, and benefit from the vast network of Catholic aid agencies around the world. The single area of the University which is likely to witness the biggest growth over the next few years is research. Since 2009 the research budget has more than doubled, and will continue to rise. In 2010 there was a 30 per cent increase in publications and a 100 per cent increase in research income across the University
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