Annual Report 2008 - Central Queensland University

From
the Vice-
Chancellor
and
President
Our plan
is to help
students
and all
of our
stakeholders
be what
they want
to be.
The Council of Central Queensland University endorsed a new Strategic Plan for
the University in 2008. It is bold, straightforward and pleasingly simple. Our plan
is to help students and all of our stakeholders be what they want to be. It is our
promise. And it is our future. One person at a time. Wherever they come from.
Whatever their background or stage in life. We are focused on each person achieving
his or her goal.
We cannot do that, of course, without the dedication, professionalism and know-how
of each person who makes CQUniversity work, our staff. But they don’t do it alone.
Behind the scenes – and largely unseen – are thousands of relationships they
have developed with people in government, industry, private enterprise and
the community. Relationships, for example, that enable undergraduates to have
integrated workplace learning experience. Relationships that allow us to increase
to over 1,000 the number of people who participate annually in our free access
programs. Relationships which not only provide students with awards and bursaries,
but fill them with hope and ambition. Relationships that are helping us find cures for
disease, enhance community health, protect the Great Barrier Reef, address Central
Queensland’s skills shortage and more.
Those relationships form the cornerstone of the provision of higher education in our
communities and are the basis for our students’ success. Over the last nine years our
graduates ranked among the highest in Australia for Positive Graduate Outcomes and
Starting Salaries.
Obviously, these are uncertain times. Our financial situation (see the summary on
Page 83), coupled with the current global economic crisis, will challenge us over the
next few years. Still, we’re a young, vibrant university with a track record for doing
things unconventionally and succeeding in areas where others would not even try.
So, in 2009 we will continue to be flexible, adaptable and responsive to the changing
nature of the provision of higher education and research services in regional
Queensland and we will remain competitive in international and distance education.
How? We have good people in government, industry, private enterprise and the
community behind us.
Yours sincerely
PROFESSOR JOHN RICKARD
Vice-Chancellor & President
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