CHARLES Sturt University's 30th anniversary is naturally a significant milestone for the university, and also the Bathurst region.
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Becoming a university has changed the way rest of the country views the institution and the way industry regards its graduates.
The change has also opened up important new study opportunities for CSU students who can now complete engineering, dentistry, veterinarian and even medical degrees without having to relocate to a capital city.
Of even more importance than the three decades just past, though, is what the future might hold for CSU.
What's certain is that the road ahead will not be smooth, but the prospects are still bright.
CSU suffered a significant blow earlier this year when the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) granted it just a four-year registration extension instead of the usual seven, citing concerns over some of CSU's regulatory processes.
These included strict reporting rules with regard to academic risk management, student performance reporting, academic governance processes, academic misconduct and the scholarship activities of staff at the CSU Study Centres.
Vice chancellor Professor Andrew Vann, naturally, sought to play down concerns about the TEQSA decision and the university stressed at the time that it already had plans already under way to respond to the conditions placed upon it. But still there must be some concerns.
Much brighter news for CSU and Bathurst, though, was the university's revelation that it was seeking to establish a campus in the Bathurst business district.
The plan is in its very early stages but is a tremendously exciting prospect.
Bathurst could only benefit from an injection of students, staff and associated workers right into the middle of the CBD and the university could only benefit from creating such a tangible link to the city.
And such an investment would be a massive vote of confidence in the future of both the university and the region - what's not to like?
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So congratulations to CSU for its 30 years as a university, and thank you for all you contribute to Bathurst.
The university is an integral part of our community and a very welcome one.
Let's celebrate CSU's past and all it has achieved, but let's get even more excited about what might be still to come.
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