( Vice-Chancellor's Column ) The new academic year has 1960s and 1970s as strong research based, provided an opportunity to innovative and comprehensive universities. We welcome many new students have developed ways of making ourselves to the University as well as distinctive by adopting alternative organisational cominuing students returning structures and innovative approaches to teaching to complete or progress their and learning, research and community studies. In addition, I warmly engagement, and by actively recruiting students welcome new staff members, from more diverse backgrounds than are typically many of whom are from found in longer-established universities. outside the Central Coast and the Hunter, to their IRU Australia will use the resources of the six 'new' university. universities (Q increase and extend the activities of member universities in research, teaching and The commencement learning, international programs, commercial ceremonies at Callaghan and enterprises, regional initiatives and engagement Ourimbah this year were very with business, the professions and communities. successful, including the Our universities will continue to stress the Faculty based functions. importance of a strongly student-focused learning By now, I hope that new environment, with schemes to promote access, students have been inducted equity and diversity> and place emphasis on into the operations of the multiple modes of delivery, integrating the new University, and have a good working knowledge educational technologies into high-quality face-to­ of life at a large research intensive university, set in face teaching and online learning. The relationship MarchiApril edition distinctive regional locations here in Newcastle and between the universities will evolve rather quickly on the Central Coast. Increasingly of course, our this year, with initial meetings focusing on Editorial enquiries students may be located in countries around the identifying obvious areas for cooperation, phonelfax 49561869 world, as they undertake academic programs online collaboration and benchmarking. This relationship or mob 0412 128727, or at one of our partner locations in South East Asia will not be an exclusive one to the detriment of email prklb@alinga. or here in Australia. current or future plans for partnership in specific newcasde.edu.au. areas with other universities. I hope that you join Display advertising A major feature this year of our new domestic with me and the University Council in welcoming I enquiries to Dianne undergraduate enrolments has been that the this new cooperative development. Taylor on 4921 8641 University continues to be a 'first choice university' and classified ads to for students. The University has attracted 11 percent I have personally worked at two other IRU Kate Grady on of all first preferences to the University Admissions Australia universities (Griffith and La Trobe), and 49216856. Centre (UAC), for III individually named degree have been closely familiar with the plans and programs. In addition, UAl's for every program objectives of these and others in our group. May Publisher except 11 at the University have increased from I invite you to participate in this exercise when the Christina Murdoch those of 2002, and the following programs required opportunity becomes available. I hope you, like a UAI of 90 or more: physiotherapy, psychology, me, recognise that it is an important step forward Editor occupational therapy, medicine, biomedical science, for us to participate strongly in this new enterprise Kim Beinon combined law degrees, speech pathology and all and cooperative activity. combined degrees. On a more difficult matter, at the time of writing Writers Increased preference demand has been this column, Australia had just entered a war in Kate Grady experienced for many programs, in particular, association with the US and Britain. Irrespective of Leigh Wallis teaching, nursing, other health professions, your personal or political views, I am sure that Cae Pattison business and the arts. each of us recognises the gravity and potential international impacts of this decision. I take the Photography There are of course some down sides to this view that this is a major tragedy and an action that Chris Patterson • increased popularity, which are reflected in the cannot be justified under current United Nations Keith Davey increasing number of students who miss out on rules and procedures, nor on moral or ethical places at the University. Of 8987 first preferences grounds. k Vice-Chancellor of a major Australian Cover received for entry to the university, 6157 offers university, I have serious concerns about the impacts were made in the main round, leaving 2830 Staff were rewarded for of this action on our standing internationally, both scudenrs without an offer. Given that 77 percem their exceptional servic as an individual university and as a sector, of our domestic undergraduate studems come [0 the University at a committed to the internationalisation from the Hunter and Central Coast, there is a ceremony to present of education and research, and to peace and major shortfall of more than 2000 places for the Vice-Chancellor's goodwill to all people. prospective local students in the 2003 round. Awards for General Let us all work towards peace, tolerance. respect Staff Excellence last I am pleased to announce here the establishment for all people of the world, and international month. Story and and our membership of a new group of Australian engagement and cooperation, rather than wat caption of our cover universities named Innovative Research and suffering in the Middle East. shot, plOll1 Universities Australia. Flinders, Griffith, La Trobe, Macquarie. and Murdoch universities share with us Roger S Holmes a common history of being established in the Vice-Chancellor and President ---- 2 UNINEWS ( People & Places ) Students enrol online for the first time The University's online enrolment facility allows for the acceptance ofUAC offers," he said. "In April last year we introduced students to search and select courses they want to online course variations and changes to address for undergraduate students. study, add them to their program and enrol from Online enrolment has been the final stage in a conversion to web based home or a computer with internet access student services. Notification of exam results, class timetables and electronic anywhere in the world. handbooks have been available for some time through web access." Within two weeks of the new facility going live, The major benefits of the online system is that students are in control of the over 18,600 students had accessed the online process and can choose to access and complete their enrolment in their time system, including students from as far afield as and from anywhere in the world. When a student enrols online the Ireland, Munich and Hong Kong. All information is simultaneously recorded on the University's student system undergraduate and postgraduate coursework NUSTAR, which means the faculties and schools have instant access to students enrolled online for the first time this year, information on enrolment numbers and course demand. The student receives with a few exceptions in some courses at a receipt number and email confirmation so they know their enrolment has Grad.SchooLcom and some off shore programs. been completed. David Donnelly from Student Administration "The system even allows students to advise the University that they want a Services says the new online enrolment process break in studies, change their area of study, or that they have graduated from for 2003 follows the successful online processing of their program," David said. "It saves an enormous amount of paper and time UAC acceptance of offers last year. for both students and administration staff. Nothing is lost in the mail and there are no delays in sending or receiving material. The feedback we have "We believe we were one of the first universities received so far from the students has been overwhelmingly positive." in New South Wales to introduce an online system Staff join students in peace rally University staff held an anti-war rally at the Callaghan campus in March in protest at the threat of Australian involvement in a US-led war against Iraq. Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Social Work Brian English told a crowd of around 200 staff members at the rally that he could not support a war where Australia was the aggressor. "There has been no other occasion in Australian history where we have taken part in a war that has not been either in our own defence or in response to a request from an ally for assistance," he said. "Even in Vietnam, although we now know we were deceived by government, we believed we were asked to be there by the Vietnamese people." He called on staff to speak as loudly and as often as they could against the war to impress upon Prime Minister John Howard that the Australian times to do so. The world is watching not Iraq but "Iraq is not the people do not suppott his declaration of war. the exercise of American power." problem. The Associate Professor in history Wayne Reynolds Staff and student unions joined together to form told the rally that the war has very little to do with the University Peace Forum to coordinate action at problem can be Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction. the University against the war. The group was found in American "Iraq is not the problem," he said. "The problem working in a cooperative manner with the Hunter can be found in American policy and behaviour Peace Forum - an umbrella group that brings policy and behaviour since the dawn of the atomic bomb." together a range of organisations and individuals since the dawn of opposed to war - to promote the No War case. The USA is the only weapon-State in the world the atomic bomb." that has declared itself prepared to use nuclear A public meeting on 'Why this war is wrong' was weapons in a first strike, he said.