Enrolment and Rome Campus updates

A message from the Provost, Professor Pauline Nugent:

Dear colleagues,

I am very pleased to share with you some recent updates from my portfolio:

Winter 2018 in Rome

Most of Europe was hit with a cold snap in late February and locals in Rome woke up to a snow-covered city for the first time in many years. While our Rome Campus colleagues had to endure one of the coldest winters in history, they were also treated to a rare magical sight of  our campus blanketed in snow.

It has been a very busy first quarter for our Rome Campus with a total of five academic intensive units held at the campus, involving Faculties of Health Sciences, Law & Business, Education & Arts as well as the Core Curriculum. The units attracted a total of 150 students from ACU and partner universities including Loyola University Chicago and The Catholic University of America (CUA).

Some key highlights include:

• For the first time since the unit was introduced in Rome in 2015, Health Care Ethic (HLSC220) was jointly held in collaboration with Loyola University Chicago (LUC) and the Faculty of Health Sciences. A total of 36 students (20 from ACU and 16 from LUC) participated in the unit which included classroom lectures and community engagement activities. The success of this collaboration, have both universities agreeing to offer the unit again next year.
• Two of ACU’s Elite Athlete and Performer Program students had the unique opportunity to complete academic units at the campus, whilst participating in world-class training with the SIS Roma Water Polo Club in Rome. Ms Brooke McClean participated in the International Core Curriculum (UNCC300) while Ms Ellodie Ruffin completed the Health Care Ethics (HLSC220) unit. The program organised by Student Engagement & Services Directorate in collaboration with the Office of the Provost was another significant milestone for the Rome Campus which continuously provides our students rich academic and internationalisation experiences.
• Some of our ACU students also attended the Australia Day Celebrations held at Domus Australia in Rome. They had the opportunity to meet Hon Julia Gillard who graced the affair as Chair of the Board of the Global Partnership for Education.
• Two ACU student Ambassadors, Lachlan Tomkins, (an Indigenous Student Ambassador from the Faculty of Education & Arts) and Stephanie Santos (Faculty of Theology & Philosophy) were selected to represent ACU at the Pre-Synodal meetings in Rome, organised by the Secretariat of the Synod.

My office has collaborated with Students, Learning and Teaching’s Evaluations Team, to coordinate for the University the Rome Study Experience surveys. Our Rome Academic Subcommittee continues to strengthen academic governance for all units held at our Rome Campus to ensure ACU continues to meet all academic requirements.

Planning and preparations for academic programs including intensive units and research seminars in Rome during ACU’s winter semester break in June and July are currently underway. The Institute of Religion and Critical Inquiry held during March, a seminar on “Moral Disagreement: Global Issues in Ethics II” involving 20 participants, drawn from Australia, USA and Europe.

Next month, I will be in Rome with the Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Greg Craven for meetings with stakeholders to discuss the future strategic direction of the Rome Campus.

ACU students with Hon Julia Gillard at the Australia Day Celebrations held at Domus Australia in Rome.

Enrolment update

Overall, ACU’s enrolment load continues to grow within a challenging and highly competitive higher education environment. As at 26 March 2018, total load has grown by 435 EFTSL or 1.7% from the same time last year and our fee paying international load is 1.9% (56 EFTSL) above target.

My office continues to work with Faculties, International, MER, Student Admissions and OPSM to lift commencing load and strengthen pipeline via the Mid-Year Enrolment strategy.

I look forward to providing more updates on this important initiative during the year.

Professor Pauline Nugent
Provost