CQUniversity Annual Report - Central Queensland University

CQUniversity ANNUAL REPORT 201227FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTUREDuring 2012, investment in services, infrastructure and facilitieshas enabled the significant expansion of program offerings to theUniversity’s current and future student cohort, as well as step-changeimprovements in the delivery of available services across the campusportfolio. The University has continued its strategy of infrastructureinvestment as part of the renewal program and Strong to Great initiativein 2012, ensuring that there is a clear focus on multi-city development.REVIEW OF OUR ACTIVITIESTABLE 1: BUILDINGS INFRASTRUCTURE HIGHLIGHTS FORLEARNING AND TEACHING IN 2012Campus Description Cost/BudgetRockhampton Final completion of Engineering$10.7mrefurbishment B28/29Allied Health Clinic – Stage 1 construction $6.6mAllied Health Laboratories B7/8/9$1.3mCampus realignment$0.2mMackay Nursing Laboratory, teaching and staff $0.3mspacesChiropractic Laboratory, teaching and staff $0.1mspacesNoosa Final completion of campus expansion (Inc. $2.7mNursing)Cairns Distance education study centre $0.3mSydney Sonography Laboratory, teaching and staff $1.1mspacesMelbourne Campus upgrades and improvements $0.1mVarious Master planning activities – Rockhamptonand MelbourneUpgrades to security systems includingsurveillanceMusic lecturers Peter McKenzie and Derrin Kerr prepare for class.The strong connection between physical building infrastructure andinformation technology and systems has created excellent learning andteaching outcomes for the University during 2012 and beyond. Servicedelivery areas are working together in more strategic ways to createphysical and online learning environments which exceed the needs ofthe modern student, helping to create workplace-ready graduates.Collaborative learning spaces have become feature facilitiesat various campuses. These spaces use technology and fl exibleconfiguration to promote group work and remote collaboration acrossthe University’s campuses to improve learning outcomes throughfacilitated peer-to-peer learning. Within Rockhampton and Noosa,the collaborative spaces are either included within or are locatedadjacent to the campus libraries - a symbiotic relationship whichworks to further enhance student success. Once again during 2012, thelibrary has been showcased as a key learning and teaching partner forstudents and staff alike, with the results of client satisfaction surveyssetting new Australasian benchmarks in fi ve best-practice categories.Reliability and performance of online learning and teaching systemshas been significantly bolstered by the execution of major upgrades tounderlying infrastructure including enterprise storage, core network andlearning management system software (Moodle 2.2) and associatedIndigenous graduates are presented with special sashes before eachgraduation ceremony.tools. Additionally, new core video servers have been implemented tosupport significant growth in online video learning and teaching acrossthe University’s 10 campuses during 2012.These upgrades enable access to major new features includingcollaboration between staff and students using high-quality video, newmobility features for mobile devices, enhanced grade book, improvedonline assessment functionality, and improved integration withelectronic portfolios, and coupled with a high level of scalability. Theseexciting upgrades have, for example, been used to host the University’sfirst Open Online Courses (OOCs), and will be used to provideprofessional short course offerings. The University has launched itsOnline Live Classroom capability to support its distance educationcohort of students using Blackboard Collaborate. This has improvedstudent engagement by enabling interaction with peers and lecturers,leading to improved student satisfaction and retention.