Vice-Chancellor and President:Professor Peter Leewww.scu.edu.au |
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Southern Cross University is a multi-campus regional University with a vibrant profile of engaged teaching and research. It has a student population of around 16,000 people (approximately 10,000 equivalent full-time students) studying at its eastern seaboard campuses, or with collaborating institutions both within Australia and internationally. The University has a strong capacity in distance education delivery. The University is proud of its diverse and distinctive student body - based on 2009 data 60 per cent of its students are from regional Australia, it has an Indigenous participation rate of 2.28 per cent (compared with 1.23 per cent for New South Wales), while its international profile includes students from more than 80 countries. Southern Cross University is growing, with a new campus at the southern Gold Coast serving a region experiencing rapid population growth yet under-represented in higher education attainment. Undergraduate degrees are available in tourism, business and law, with degrees in education, health sciences, social science and postgraduate business taught nearby at two Tweed Heads facilities. The University plans to consolidate and grow these operations as the southern Gold Coast campus expands. The University's Lismore campus is set on 75 lush hectares and houses the majority of the University's academic and research units. Specialist laboratories and teaching spaces for environmental science, health and human sciences, law, visual arts and contemporary music are located at Lismore campus, which draws on the vibrant Northern Rivers arts scene for creativity and inspiration. The Southern Cross University Coffs Harbour campus is part of an educational precinct which includes the Coffs Harbour Senior College and North Coast TAFE. Psychology and information technology degrees are among the courses offered at Coffs Harbour campus. The University also delivers tourism courses at The Hotel Sydney in partnership with Mulpha Australia. Southern Cross University has an emerging research profile, drawing on issues of relevance to its regions in developing internationally significant research capabilities. It has particular research strengths in environmental and plant sciences including wetland revitalisation and cetacean research, and operates the National Marine Science Centre at Coffs Harbour. In the 2011 Excellence in Research for Australia Report, the University was ranked "well above world standard" in the field of geochemistry; "above world standard" in earth science; and "at world standard" in nursing and forestry. Formal research partnerships exist with other universities, research organisations and industries in Australia and overseas. Through the Collaborative Research Networks program, the University is partnering with research-intensive universities to develop its research capacity in policy related research concerning a range of social and economic issues in regional Australia. The university is an active participant in seven Co-operative Research Centres.
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