Victoria University, Australia
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| Victoria University | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1916 |
| Type | Public |
| Chancellor | Justice Frank Vincent |
| Vice-Chancellor | Professor Elizabeth Harman |
| Staff | 2,854 (2008) [1] |
| Undergraduates | 23,999 (2008) [1] |
| Postgraduates | 4,568 (2008) [1] |
| Other students | 28,587 TAFE (2008) [1] |
| Location | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Campus | Urban |
| Affiliations | ASAIHL |
| Website | www.vu.edu.au |
Victoria University is a tertiary education facility based in Melbourne, Australia. It offers both Higher Education and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) courses across 11 campuses.
Contents |
[edit] History
Victoria University founded in 1916 as Footscray Technical School. In 1968, it became the Footscray Institute of Technology.
In 1991, the Footscray Institute of Technology and the Western Institute were merged to form the Victoria University of Technology. The Foundation Vice Chancellor, Professor Jarlath Ronayne, believed that the university could best serve the West by being a strong, teaching and research-based institution along traditional lines. He built partnerships that would support this in Europe and in eastern Melbourne. [2]
On 1 July 1998 Victoria University of Technology was forced to merge with the Western Melbourne Institute of TAFE by the Victorian state government, against the wishes of Professor Ronayne.[2] The merger gave the university control of nearly all government tertiary institutions between Melbourne's CBD and the Werribee River.
In April 2005, the University applied to the Victorian government to have the name "Victoria University" formally recognised in legislation, although the name had already been widely used for seven years. At this time, Vice Chancellor Elizabeth Harman said of the word "technology", "The word reflects the past, not the future and it suggests we are a narrow specialist when in fact we are a broad educational provider". A change of name was said to help the Uni "position itself for the future in ways that are not about an old technology specialist label or traditional approach - we are not trying to be Cambridge on the Maribyrnong River, either."
2005 also saw the university launch a new operational ethos embodied in the tagline - "A New School of Thought". [3] The university uses this slogan widely in public communications.
2008 saw the Vice Chancellor announce 270 forced staff redundancies (one quarter of teaching staff and one fifth of general staff), the closure of the Melton and Sunbury campuses, and significant course and subject "rationalisations". As a result, staff at Victoria University went on strike and instituted work bans. [4]
[edit] Structure
The University has three Higher Education faculties and two TAFE faculties and the VU college.
Higher Education:
- Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development
- Faculty of Business and Law
- Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science
TAFE:
- Faculty of Technical and Trades Innovation
- Faculty Workforce Development
- VU College
[edit] Research
Research Institutes:
- Institute for Community, Ethnicity and Policy Alternatives
- Institute for Logistics and Supply Chain Management
- Institute for Sustainability and Innovation
Research Centres:
- Centre for Ageing, Rehabilitation, Exercise and Sport Science
- Centre for Environmental Safety and Risk Engineering
- Centre for Strategic Economic Studies
- Centre for Telecommunications and Micro-Electronics
- Centre for Tourism and Services Research
- Work-based Education Research Centre
[edit] Campuses
Victoria University currently has 11 campuses - City Flinders, City King, City Queen, Footscray Nicholson, Footscray Park, Melton, Newport, St Albans, Sunbury, Sunshine and Werribee.
The Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music is an independent body affiliated with the University that delivers courses at its main Richmond campus and also at the Sunbury campus of Victoria University.
Victoria University courses are also delivered by a number of affiliates in Asia. In 2006, these offshore students made up 10% of the student body and 15% of the university's income. [5] Two of the largest affiliates are Sunway University College in Malaysia and Liaoning University in China.
[edit] Footscray Park
The Footscray Park campus is located in Ballarat Road, Footscray and is the University's primary campus. It was first opened in 1943 and was the main campus of the former Footscray Institute of Technology. The campus now delivers almost exclusively higher education courses and has a 25m lap pool and gym facilities for students.
[edit] St Albans
The St Albans campus is located in McKecknie Street St Albans and is the second-largest campus of the university (by student population). Both higher education and TAFE courses are delivered at the site with a focus on psychology, nursing, arts, paramedic and biomedical science. First founded in 1986 in Princess Arcade, it was moved to the current site in 1987. It is located on Jones Creek on the site of a decommissioned army base and later explosives works. It was the main campus of the former Western Institute.
[edit] Footscray Nicholson
The Footscray Nicholson campus is located in central Footscray, on the corner of Nicholson and Buckley Streets. It delivers TAFE, VCE and short courses. It was the main campus of the Western Metropolitan Institute of TAFE when it became part of the University and was earlier the original campus of the Footscray Institute of Technology.
The campus was first founded in March 1916 when the Footscray Technical School began teaching. On 1 July 1972 the secondary education part of the Institute was separated but continued to operate on this site until May 1980. Today it is known as Footscray City College. On 23 October 1973 the trade section of the Institute was renamed "Footscray Technical College". It was based at this campus. This college was renamed "Footscray College of TAFE" in April 1982. It separated from FIT on 30 June 1982, taking with it this campus.
This college remained independent until 1991, when it merged behind-the-scenes with the Newport College of TAFE. From 1992, the merged entity operated as "Western Metropolitan College of TAFE". It was renamed "Western Melbourne Institute of TAFE" (WMIT) in 1996. This merged with Victoria University of Technology in 1998.
[edit] City
This collection of campuses each has a specialised focus. They share some resources, and in some respects are treated as a single campus.
[edit] City Flinders
City Flinders is located across two buildings at 300 Flinders Street and 301 Flinders Lane in central Melbourne and was originally a centre for postgraduate students working in the CBD. However, it has more recently expanded its focus and since 2006 it has also been the base for the university's undergraduate visual design courses. Most recently the building has had a major renovation with the first of selected undergraduate business courses such as International Trade and banking and finance taking place from 2007 onwards. The Flinders Lane building focuses on Osteopathic Medicine. Also offered on this campus are Masters courses within the Faculty of Business. The 300 Flinders St building was built by Floyd Podgornik. [6]
[edit] City King
City King was opened in 1996 and is home to the university's department of Personal Services and primarily teaches massage, hair and beauty TAFE courses. Its secondary focus is short courses with its central location assisting access to the general public.
The institution that became this campus began as the "Melbourne School of Hairdressing" in 1964 on another site. In 1975 it was renamed "Melbourne Technical College of Hairdressing". This became known as "Flagstaff College of TAFE" in 1984, due to its proximity to the Flagstaff Gardens.
On 1 July 1993 Flagstaff College of TAFE merged with the Western Metropolitan College of TAFE. [7]. At this point, the old Flagstaff College campus merged with the adjacent campus of the Melbourne School of Decoration that had become part of the college six months before. The new "Flagstaff campus" operated in three buildings adjacent to William Angliss College.
In 1996, the painting, decorating and signwriting courses moved to Sunshine, while the other courses moved to the current King St site. The campus then became part of Victoria University on July 1 1998.
[edit] City Queen
The Queen Street campus teaches law subjects. It is also home to the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre for Postgraduate Legal Education and the Australian Institute for Commercial Arbitration. It is located in two Victorian-era buildings: the old Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the old Land Titles office at 295 & 283 Queen Street.
[edit] Werribee
The Werribee Campus is located in the Werribee agricultural research/tertiary education precinct in two diagonally adjacent parts. The main part was envisioned as a Western Institute campus, though it only began once that institution had become part of Victoria University of Technology in 1992.
The other was a campus of Footscray College of TAFE that opened in the 1980s as its "Hoppers Crossing" campus. It joined the Western Metropolitan College of TAFE in 1991, and was renamed "Werribee" campus in 1995. After an institutional name change, it became part of VU in 1998. The two diagonally adjacent "Werribee" campuses merged at this time.
This campus is home to community radio station WYN-FM. [8]
[edit] Sunbury
The Sunbury campus is on the 22 hectare site of an old mental hospital (in its last days known as "Caloola Centre"), on the top of a hill. Opened in 1995, it offers TAFE and Higher Education courses. It is the only VU campus with student accommodation on site - Sunbury Hall. It contains a campus-within-a-campus of the Melba Conservatorium of Music. It is also home to community radio station 3NRG [9].
In 2008 it was announced that the campus was to close, with the final new enrolments being taken in 2010. [10]
[edit] Melton
The Melton campus offers TAFE and higher education courses. It is adjacent to Staughton College, a government high school (previously "Melton Technical School"). Together they form the "Melton Learning Precinct".
In 1987, the Western Institute took over the Melton annex of the Footscray College of TAFE (founded in the mid 1980s). Later that year, they moved to the current Melton South site, collocating with the now adjacent Technical School, before opening on its current site soon after.
In 2008 it was announced that the campus was to close, with the final new enrolments being taken in 2010 [10].
[edit] Sunshine
The Sunshine campus is located on Ballarat Road,Sunshine and offers TAFE courses. It is the site of the university's conference centre. An ambulance depot is surrounded by the campus. Sunshine campus is adjacent to Dempster Park and 200 metres from the Australian Technical College - Sunshine.
The campus began as "Sunshine High School" in 1955.[11] It eventually became a campus of Western Metropolitan College of TAFE.
[edit] Newport
The Newport campus offers automotive, carpentry and electrical TAFE courses. It is adjacent to the Newport rail yards.
The campus began operating as "Newport Technical School" on 1 March 1979. It was a campus of the Footscray Institute of Technology. It was officially opened on the 22nd October 1980 by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Winneke. The school was renamed "Newport College of TAFE" in April 1982, before separating from the Footscray Institute in November of the same year.[12]
After a merge, the campus began operating as part of the new "Western Metropolitan College of TAFE" in 1992. Six year later, this TAFE and the campus became part of Victoria University.
In 2005, the university announced plans to close the campus, although to date this has not eventuated. [13]
[edit] The Student Village
Originally the Maribyrnong Migrant Hostel (later becoming the Midway Migrant Hostel and Phillip Migrant Hostels) [14], the 12 hectare site was converted to student accommodation in 1989. A consortium comprising Footscray Institute of Technology (FIT), the Western Institute, RMIT and the University of Melbourne originally owned the facility, however FIT and Western Institute descendent Victoria University took it over completely a few years later.
It is now home to up to 525 tertiary students, housed across six colleges. Since April 2009, Student Village has adopted a dictatorial management style.
List of Colleges
| College | Color | Buildings |
|---|---|---|
| Astley | green | Ada, Albert, Avoca, Arter |
| Barton | royal blue | Barham, Barkley, Bourne, Bemm, Bass |
| Chifley | yellow | Calder, Cann, Carlisle, Carey |
| Dalton | red | Darby, Dart, Don, Dee |
| Endeavour | maroon | Elliot, Elgin, Emu, Erskine |
| Falcon | navy blue | Forest, Ford, Franklin, Fraser |
Gilmore College was previously on the Phillip Migrant Hostel site. Some sections of the surrounding land are currently being redeveloped with housing.
[edit] Whitten Oval
In 2008 it was announced that the University planned to open a sport and recreation learning centre in West Footscray at Whitten Oval. [15][16] It is planned to include a 140-seat lecture theatre, classrooms and offices. [17]
[edit] Past campuses
[edit] City South Melbourne
The South Melbourne campus was a TAFE-only campus, first opened in 1885 and closed in 2006. It was located at 207 City Road, Southbank and shared some facilities with the Victorian Institute of Sport. In its last days it offered sport, graphic design and business courses. On closure the Department of Visual Arts, Design and Multimedia relocated to City Flinders Campus, and the Department of Sport, Recreation and Performance moved to the Footscray Park Campus. It was sometimes known as "Kavanagh St campus" due to its location, and "JH Boyd campus" due to its history. The main buildings are heritage listed and City of Melbourne is presently (2007) attempting to acquire the site from the state government for public use. [18]
The educational establishment on this site was first known as "State School No 2686". It was constructed in 1884-1885 to the design of the Education Department's Chief Architect Henry Bastow. It replaced "No. 222 St Luke's South Melbourne Church of England School" in Clarendon Street, Emerald Hill. In 1929 it was amalgamated with "Eastern Road State School No. 1852".
The building was reconstructed in 1930 by WH Bolger to become the "South Melbourne Girls' School" devoted to the training of girls in domestic arts. In 1932 it was renamed the "JH Boyd Domestic College" after its patron, a successful grazier, who bequeathed a large sum of money to establish a school of domestic science so 'that women should be taught to manage a home correctly'. It later became known as "JH Boyd Girls High School".
It was closed as a school in 1985 after 100 years of operation. Later, the Western Metropolitan College of TAFE took it over. The campus joined Victoria University in 1998.
[edit] Echuca
The short-lived Echuca campus was a small shop near the Echuca Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE campus. It offered Nyerna Studies (Koori) courses.
[edit] Yarraville
The Yarraville campus was a TAFE only campus. At the end of its life it offered courses in plumbing and gas fitting, furniture studies and boat building. These moved to the Sunshine campus on its closure. The site was sold in 2004 for AU$4.9 million. [19] It has been converted into "Yarravillage", a housing estate. [20]
The campus was established as part of the Footscray College of TAFE. It was sometimes known as "Berry St campus" due to its location.
[edit] Old Williamstown Post Office Restaurant
The university operated a teaching restaurant at Cole and Parker Sts, Williamstown for a few years. It was regularly included in lists of campuses at this time. The post office was built in 1860.
[edit] Antecedents
[edit] Footscray Institute of Technology (1916-1992)
In March 1916, the Footscray Technical School began teaching at the currently used Nicholson St site. The land was previously owned by the Victorian Railways, and was and still is adjacent to the Footscray Mechanics Institute.
In 1943, a new campus was built on Ballarat Rd, on the edge of Footscray Park.
In July 1958, the school was renamed "Footscray Technical College". On 25 September 1968, it was renamed "Footscray Institute of Technology" (FIT). It was to keep this name until its end.
On 1 July 1972 the secondary education part of the Institute was separated and named "Footscray Secondary Technical School". It operated on the Nicholson St site. However, its council was not established until early 1975, a new site (on Ballarat Rd) was not acquired until 1975 and was not ready for occupation until May 1980. Thus during this period it remained closely linked to the Institute. Today it is known as Footscray City College.
Also in 1972, FIT began to issue degrees.
On 23 October 1973 the trade section of the institute was renamed "Footscray Technical College". It operated on the Nicholson St site. This college was renamed "Footscray College of TAFE" in April 1982. It separated from FIT on 30 June 1982.
On 1 March 1979 "Newport Technical School" opened. It is renamed "Newport College of TAFE" in April 1982. It separated from FIT in November 1982.
These three departures left FIT with its most advanced courses, and the Footscray Park site.
In 1984, FIT became self-accredited. According to some definitions, it became a university at this point.
On 1 July 1990 Victoria University of Technology was established through the merger of Footscray Institute of Technology, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Western Institute. These 3 merged entities continued to operate as separate legal entities until 1 January 1992, by which stage RMIT had pulled out.
[edit] Western Institute (1987-1992)
The Western Institute was founded in 1986, and began teaching in 1987. In 1991 it merged behind-the-scenes with FIT to become VUT, and began operating as such in 1992.
The Institute had campuses in St Albans and Melton, and was establishing one at Werribee when it became part of VUT. It also delivered courses at the University of Melbourne's Mount Derrimut campus. It planned to open a campus in Keilor, most likely just south of Calder Park.
[edit] Western Melbourne Institute of TAFE (1992-1998)
In 1990, the "Victorian Education and Training Act" became law. Previously, Victorian TAFE colleges were closely run by the "State Training Board". But now they became independent state-owned businesses, and had many more freedoms.
On 1 May 1991 the Footscray and Newport Colleges of TAFE made use of this new-found freedom and amalgamated to form "Gellibrand College of TAFE", which on 1 August that year was renamed "Western Metropolitan College of TAFE".[3] The merged entity began operating as such on 1 January 1992. [4]
The merger brought together the two TAFE colleges that had succeeded from FIT in 1982.
On 1 January 1993 the Melbourne College of Decoration merged with the college. The Painting, Decorating and Signwriting departments became part of the college, while the Visual Merchandising and Interior Decoration and Design departments moved to RMIT. [5]
Six months later on 1 July 1993 Flagstaff College of TAFE merged with the college. [6] Its single campus was co-located with the decoration college, the two merging together to become the Flagstaff campus. William Angliss College was also on this site, [7] and the two shared some resources.
In 1994, the college had the following campuses: Footscray (Nicholson St), Hyde St annex (Footscray), Newport, Yarraville, Sunshine (Ballarat Rd), Sunshine (Morris St), Hoppers Crossing, South Melbourne, Old Williamstown Post Office Restaurant and Flagstaff.
The Morris St campus was a continuation of the Sunshine Technical School which was established in 1913.
On 1 January 1996 the college was renamed "Western Melbourne Institute of TAFE" (WMIT). [8] Also this year, the Flagstaff Campus moved into a new building at 255 King Street, becoming known as the "King Street campus".
In November 1996, the King Street campus' child care centre in West Melbourne was ceded to RMIT.
On 1 July 1998 WMIT was absorbed by VUT. At this time, VUT changed its public name to Victoria University. [9]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Victoria University Annual Report 2008
- ^ a b VU Performance Portfolio 2006
- ^ VU Performance Portfolio 2006 Setting the Scene
- ^ VU Academics to Begin Rolling Strikes
- ^ Victoria University Performance 2006
- ^ [1]
- ^ 90 Years of VU - Timeline
- ^ WYN-FM
- ^ 3NRG History
- ^ a b Media Release: VU Will Provide What's Best for the West
- ^ Sunshine High School History
- ^ Victoria University Timeline
- ^ [2]
- ^ Maribyrnong Facilities
- ^ Madden Steps in to get Whitten Oval Plan Moving
- ^ Maribyrnong Council
- ^ Greens Plan Could Skittle Dogs says Smorgon
- ^ Melbourne City Council Meeting Minutes
- ^ VU 2003 Annual Report
- ^ Burbank Homes Yarravillage
[edit] External links
- Victoria University
- Friends of Victoria University
- Video interview with student on "Foreign Exchange"
- 2006 AUQA review
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