University of Southern Queensland

Infobox University
name =University of Southern Queensland
motto ="Per Studia Mens Nova" (Latin: "Through study the mind is renewed")
established =1967
type =Public
chancellor =Mrs Bobbie Brazil
vice_chancellor =Professor Bill Lovegrove
city =Toowoomba
state =Queensland
country =Australia
campus =Urban
students =26,174 (2004)
staff =1396 total staff
website = [http://www.usq.edu.au/ www.usq.edu.au]

The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) is based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. The institution was established in 1967Fact|date=January 2008 as the Queensland Institute of Technology (Darling Downs), in 1971Fact|date=January 2008 it became the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education, and then the University College of Southern QueenslandFact|date=January 2008 in 1990; and finally USQ in 1992Fact|date=January 2008.

USQ has a substantial campus in Hervey BayFact|date=January 2008 (Fraser Coast Campus) to the north of Brisbane, and has recently established a new campus at SpringfieldFact|date=January 2008 in Brisbane's outer suburbs (2006).

The University of Southern Queensland, in partnership with Canterbury Institute of Technology, offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs which are in high demand in the local and international job markets. USQ Sydney Education Centre has many years of experience servicing international students. Located near the heart of Sydney’s CBD, USQ Sydney Education Centre is within walking distance to the city’s main transport, education, sports, government and tourist facilities.

USQ has approximately 27,000 enrolmentsFact|date=January 2008, including over 7,400 international students. More than 100 nationalitiesFact|date=January 2008 are represented and about 5,000 international studentsFact|date=January 2008 study USQ programs while remaining in their home countries.

USQ offers programs at undergraduate and postgraduate level by on-campus, off-campus or online study. Some students choose different modes of delivery for different periods of their study.

History

Governance and committees

The University's governing body is the Council. Members of the Council, representing University and community interests, contribute to the overall governance of the University by helping to set strategic directions and develop policy. The University of Southern Queensland Act 1998 establishes the Council and defines the functions and powers of the Council and the University, and sets limits on what the University and its authorities may do. The Council is advised by a number of key committees.

The Vice-Chancellor is the University's chief executive officer and responsible to the Council for the overall direction of the academic, administrative, financial and other affairs of the University. The Vice-Chancellor is supported by an Executive to whom most of the University's organisational units report.

The Academic Board is the University's senior academic advisory body. Its members include the Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Deans, senior members of the University, elected members, the president of the USQ Student Guild, and two other student representatives. The Board is responsible for making recommendations to Council on academic policy, regulations pertaining to the academic operation of the University and the implementation of approved policy.

Faculties and academic departments

*Faculty of Arts
*Faculty of Business
*Faculty of Education
*Faculty of Engineering and Surveying
*Faculty of Sciences

Maths Department restructure furore

On March 17, 2008, the University of Southern Queensland announced proposals to cut staff within the Department of Mathematics and Computing by more than 50%, planning to cut the existing faculty from 14 to 6. [cite web|url=http://terrytao.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/fosrop.pdf|title=Restructure Proposal|accessdate=2008-04-07] This is counterbalanced by the fact that the federal government provided the university explicit support for the importance of such enabling sciences, and indeed seems to contradict the significant increase in funding for mathematics and statistics approved in 2007 and flowing into USQ in 2008. The prominent expatriate Australian mathematician Terence Tao recently launched a publicity initiative to bring this to the attention of a broader audience [cite web|url=http://terrytao.wordpress.com/support-usq-maths/|title=Support USQ maths|accessdate=2008-04-07] . Additional media coverage of this can be found at [cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2194629.htm|title=ABC bulletin|accessdate=2008-04-07] [cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23430562-12149,00.html|title=Article in the Australian|accessdate=2008-04-07] [cite web|url=http://terrytao.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/austms-gazette-prescol-eight.pdf|title=AustMS coverage|accessdate=2008-04-07] [cite web|url=http://www.thechronicle.com.au/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3768570|title=Chronicle news article|accessdate=2008-04-07] .

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.usq.edu.au University of Southern Queensland]
* [http://www.usqsydney.nsw.edu.au University of Southern Queensland - Sydney Education Centre]
* [http://www.studentguild.com.au/default.asp USQ Student guild]