We're committed to Dubbo, says Charles Sturt University

Our Dubbo campus is a source of great pride, with multi-million dollar facilities which are vital to providing educational opportunities and impactful research outcomes that serve this community on a scale no other tertiary institution can match.

We are proud to offer attractive courses with flexible study modes and sector-leading graduate outcomes. For the fifth year in a row, Charles Sturt has been ranked number one nationally for full- time graduate employment. This is no fluke - our staff work hard at ensuring our courses are industry co-created and attuned to workforce needs. Most of our degrees offer work placements so students gain valuable and relevant work experience as part of their studies.

Our Dubbo campus is the home of our School of Australian Indigenous Studies, and we remain committed to producing highly skilled and much-needed nurses, as well as supporting online students studying in the region.

As an anchor institution that draws students to Dubbo and also supports our local students to remain in the region by offering world-class degrees, we remain deeply committed to the community. The scale of Charles Sturt's contribution to the regional economy may come as a surprise: it was previously reported in this publication that the University contributes $213.4 million to the Central West's economy annually. In a report issued last year, the Nous Group and Victoria University's Centre of Policy Studies calculated the annual economic impact of Charles Sturt as a whole at more than $500 million.

We have continued to invest in the region, most notably through the provision of the land on which the NSW Office of Sport and PCYC is developing the $24.5 million Dubbo Regional Sports Hub. We have also committed another $10,000 to partner Dubbo Regional Council and NSW Health in the next stage of the Dubbo HEWP Planning Process.

While we are committed to continuing our success as an anchor institution, the impact of COVID-19 on the higher education sector cannot be understated. Charles Sturt has fortunately not been as severely impacted as some regional and metropolitan universities; however, we still experienced a significant drop in revenue in 2020 and project an even greater drop in 2021. We have been working to recalibrate our operating model to ensure that we can be financially and academically sustainable.

I want to acknowledge, with the greatest sympathy, the unfortunate reality of job losses for some of our staff, and the impact this has. We have taken steps to keep the number of staff impacted to a minimum and to support those affected through this difficult period. It is worth noting that around 90 per cent of job losses to date have been through voluntary separations.

I also want to assure you we are walking this challenging path with the singular goal of creating a future for the University that is academically innovative, financially sustainable, industry-engaged and community-focused - in Dubbo and beyond.

To ensure transparency through this process we've regularly met with our community and political stakeholders and have been heartened by their support and acknowledgement of our shared mission for Dubbo.

In 2020 there were more than 300 students studying through our Dubbo campus (on campus or online) and there are promising signs that our 2021 student intake will remain strong. Indeed, as of Thursday 28 January, applications to study with the University in session one of 2021 were up more than 6 per cent on last year, and acceptances of our offers to commencing students had also increased year-on-year. Additionally, our Advantage early offer program had more than 2,000 applications - 94 per cent from school leavers - to whom we made 1,859 conditional offers, up 164 per cent on last year.

As of the start of the year we have returned to working on our campuses, including Dubbo, and look forward to engaging face-to-face with students in the coming weeks. We will continue to act in accordance with all COVID-19-related government and health requirements to ensure the ongoing safety of our students, staff and communities.

The year 2020 was tough and, like all universities in the sector, Charles Sturt has not been immune. I assure you that we are committed to remaining an educational, research and economic pillar of Dubbo. Contributing to the city's vibrancy and success is a role we've been proud to play for decades, and one we will continue to play for decades to come.