CQU’s response to the so-called 'Crossroads' paper urges the current review of Higher Education in Australia not to 'force institutions into a constraining mould' but to ensure the progress of 'new generation' universities such as ours. The response, released this week, identified issues that are critical to the progress of the University and the communities it serves.

The University believes a new funding formula must acknowledge and reward flexible learning, year-round teaching, multi-site operations, and applied research programs specific to regional universities, like CQU. The response also stressed the need to protect access to higher education by people with low economic backgrounds, indigenous people and those with disabilities.

Australia’s higher education sector is diverse and CQU stands at the crossroads itself as it matures as a university. It is a rural, regional, and metropolitan university. It is an integral part of its local communities, wherever they are located, and is simultaneously part of a global intellectual culture.

The response describes the unique profile of CQU and explains the potential for CQU to become a new type of intellectual organisation; one that is equal but different to 'traditional university models'.

A copy of the response, submitted to the Department of Education, is on the CQU website (http://www.cqu.edu.au/cqutour/crossrds.pdf).