W  www.usq.edu.au/business/currentstudents   

On behalf of the Dean and all Faculty Academic and Administrative Staff, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all our students a safe, happy and relaxing holiday period.

We're looking forward to another great year with you in 2007!
 

Detailed linked news & information specifically for:

• Accounting Students
• Fraser Coast Students

USQ COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT GROUP
Meeting fortnightly, 12 noon-1pm Wednesdays in the Quad, Toowoomba Campus
Email:  usqceg-owner@yahoogroups.com

USQ DEBATING SOCIETY
Email:  usqdebating@hotmail.com

HOPE - Householders Options To Protect the Environment PH Frank 46392135  Email:  HOPE_Toowoomba@yahoo.com.au

BPM - Baby, Pram and Mum Exercise Classes  PH 4631 1588

Please let us know if you would be interested in being a student mentor for new on-campus students in S1 2007

Email: business.experience@usq.edu.au

IT Service Management & Governance Seminar

 By Aileen Cater- Steel

The Faculty of Business’ Information Systems Department recently hosted an IT Service Management & Governance Seminar in a bid to provide local IT professionals the opportunity to discuss their personal experience in improving the IT industry. The seminar was attended by local industry leaders, as well as USQ academics.  IT students were also invited to attend the session. Presentations were made by Peter Strickland (Heritage Building Society), Peter Cross (itSMF Aust National Chair), Stephen Callaghan (Board Member, ISACA), Brian Kissell (CTO USQ) and Simon Newton (TCC).  National Chair of itSMF, Peter Cross, visited Toowoomba and the University earlier this year where he met with local IT professionals and academics and the seminar was a result of this visit. The conference was a success, with an informative discussion forum following the four presentations. The Faculty plans to host similar events in the future.

AIM Regional Management Excellence Awards - Congratulations!

For the past 25 years Professor Rod St Hill has implemented an ‘open door’ policy for students and has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help those seeking advice or support. So it is only fitting that he was named USQ’s first Dean of Students.

Students’ first year experience, orientation and transition will be a strong focus of the new role, as well as promoting strategies to enhance student performance and monitoring graduate outcomes, taking into consideration the diversity of the USQ student population.

Professor St Hill said he is looking forward to the challenge of meeting student needs and believes that some of the current issues for students include combining academic workload with paid employment and social activities, and worrying about their future career.

'I hope to enhance the quality of engagement of students with both the academic and social systems in the USQ community,' Professor St Hill said.

'There are many members of the USQ community who have a passion for students.  I would like to bring them together so that we can work jointly to make the USQ student experience the benchmark to which other universities in Australia and internationally aspire.'

USQ Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bill Lovegrove, said the Dean of Students position was created to improve the quality of the student experience and further enhance the quality of teaching.

'It is part of a broader campaign to improve our capacity to attract and retain good students by improving the quality of the student experience and thus helping students achieve their ambitions,' Professor Lovegrove said.

The Dean of Students will work with other areas of the University to complement initiatives already in place.

The Beyond Education project, for example, focuses on the transition from university into the workforce, whereas the Dean of Students primarily focuses on the transition into university.

Professor Rod St Hill
USQ Dean of Students

The Faculty of Business is currently investigating offering a suite of new programs in law, including an undergraduate Bachelor of Laws (LLB), a Juris Doctor (JD), for those who already have a bachelor degree, and undergraduate double degrees with Arts, Business and Commerce.  These programs are subject to University approval and professional body accreditation. Upon accreditation these programs will satisfy the educational requirements to practise as a solicitor or barrister in Queensland with mutual recognition opportunities in the other states and territories. Students must undertake further training or participate in a supervised program while employed with a law firm to fully satisfy professional body requirements. 

The programs may be offered on campus and externally, allowing students to combine their studies with work if needed.  Intensive teaching may be available during Semester 3 to help students fast track their studies.   

The law programs will be supported by communication technology and online resources, allowing both on-campus and external students the opportunity to access the latest legal information at a time that suits them.  Students will be encouraged to participate in an interactive study environment where discussion groups and CD presentations will be part of some courses.

Plans are in the pipeline to develop a moot court.  This will allow students to practise court room procedure with law staff, legal practitioners and other students.  It is hoped the court room will have video conferencing facilities, allowing external student participation, and will rely on access to electronic resources and computer software technology to provide students with a modern court room experience.

The structure of the programs is yet to be finalised, however it is likely the Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor will give students an excellent grounding in legal concepts and methods in legal research and reasoning.  Students will be able to choose areas of concentration including Commercial Law, General Practice, Natural Resource Law and International Law.  Students can also nominate to study electives of interest from other faculties.  The Bachelor of Laws can be completed in 4 years full-time equivalent, the double degrees in 5 years full-time equivalent, and the Juris Doctor in 3 years full-time equivalent (or less with Semester 3 study).

Information for existing Business students who are interested in transferring into the Bachelor of Laws in 2008 will be included in 'FoBWatch' in early 2007.

The University has implemented some significant changes to the Academic Regulation 5.6.8.2 regarding deferred examinations:  

(5) In the case of an application for a deferred assessment for medical reasons, the documentation must include an original or certified copy of a USQ Medical Certificate, completed by the student's medical practitioner on or before the day of the examination and must include a statement from that medical practitioner regarding their assessment of the student's ailment including:

The 2007 new Deferred Examination application form and revised USQ Medical Certificate are now available.

HOW CAN WE HELP EXTERNAL STUDENTS?

The Faculty would be very interested in hearing ideas from external students on how we might:

• Establish a mentoring program

• Establish more group web/email contact for students enrolled in the same courses

• Help external students feel less isolated generally

WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS!

Today, tomorrow or any time in the future:

Email: business.experience@usq.edu.au
 

Detailed linked news & information specifically for:

The First Year Experience

Student invitation draws national president

After reading the prescribed texts for Sustainability and Community Development, Joan instantly decided to email Professor Ian Lowe AO and invite him to address USQ and the local community. While she describes it as a cheeky move, it got Professor Lowe’s attention and he offered to give a free lecture at the campus.

'I emailed him straight away not expecting him to reply. A few days later he did, and he offered to talk at the Uni free of charge.

I told Ian that not everyone was as cheeky as me. He said because I took the initiative- he didn’t give the invitation a second thought,' Joan said.

Fresh from a speaking appointment at the National Press Club in August, Professor Lowe’s talk packed the Wide Bay lecture theatre, with an estimated 180 people attending.

'It was so successful that by 9am the next morning I had 85 emails in my inbox and by the end of the day I had 343. People were asking if we could start an action group in Hervey Bay, and that was double the amount of people that actually attended the event!'

During his talk Professor Lowe discussed the need to develop ways to reduce individual energy consumption and looked at environment issues at a local level. He also discussed how the world could reduce carbon emissions and touched on the issue of nuclear energy.

Joan, who is an indigenous student, said she was drawn to Professor Lowe’s work, and his beliefs reflected those she was taught as a child.

'Looking after the land and its sustainability is something that is a part of my cultural heritage.

We only have one planet and it’s dying- and its man whose stuffed it.'

McConachie Stedman Scholarship 2007

McConachie Stedman are offering one Scholarship in 2007 to an undergraduate Faculty of Business student who meets the following criteria:

• Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident;
• enrolled at USQ Toowoomba Campus in a full-time on-campus capacity in 2007;
• pursuing a degree in the field of Business, Commerce or IT which includes a major in Accounting or IT;
• a second or third year student who has completed at least 8 courses successfully;
• GPA not less than 5.0

Scholarship Value: $1,500 over 1 year

William Groom Centenary of Toowoomba Scholarship

Seminars

Hi my name is Mandeep Raina but I’m widely known by nickname MANU. I’m 23 years of age and I’m an external student attending USQ. I have lived in Sydney, NSW all my life. I am currently working as a manager for a wholesale clothing company but have decided to change career. I have enrolled in a Bachelor of IT majoring in applied computer science and am also working towards becoming a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE).

I attended a university in my state for one semester but because of work commitments and extra-curricular activities I unfortunately didn’t have enough time to dedicate to my studies. I had heard of some universities providing correspondence degrees, but decided to go ahead with the USQ external program because I was the most happiest about it when I was shopping! I still have the flexibility to do the things I love and spend time with the people that mean most to me while being able to study after working hours and in the convenience of my own home! Plus I get great support from my course tutors and lecturers.

I love to live life to the fullest and love to get out there and do different things. I like to spend time with my family and friends, going indoor, and very soon outdoor, rock climbing, swimming, bike riding, wing chun kung fu, socialising, travelling, good food and playing/writing music on my guitar and piano.

My future goals are to travel and see our amazing world before it’s too late due to rising temperature levels (global warming) and brewing wars, start my own business and contribute back to the community and hopefully to extend that contribution worldwide (I’m a big thinker), finding the woman of my dreams and loving her for the rest of my days (Yes I’m also a hopeless romantic) and just enjoying/accepting what life has to offer.

Cheers, Manu

For sale:

TOYOTA CAMRY 1986 2.0L Manual, A/C, P Steering, Excellent Condition, Fuel Efficient. $2,400 neg PH  0401 614 052

DELL INSPIRON LAPTOP 9100  —Windows XP, Pentium 4, 3GHz Processor, 100GP Hard Drive, 512 MB RAM, ATI Radeon 9700 Graphics card, DVD + RW.  $2,500 Neg PH  0407 606 825

Congratulations Paul!