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Central Queensland University (CQU) has a robust international profile that is largely due to a successful 13-year relationship with Campus Group Holdings and the organisations’ unique 50:50 joint partnership known as C_Management Services (C_MS), which recruits international students and manages the University’s four international campuses in Australian capital cities. The importance of the C_MS partnership cannot be overstated – it has beneficial and lasting consequences for students, staff, stakeholders and the sector. C_MS has been able to consistently outperform an increasingly competitive market whilst meeting demands for service and quality.

The relationship is unlike any other in higher-education in Australia because the University is a half owner in the partnership, making international education core to the University’s business in Queensland and elsewhere. More than half of the University’s 25-thousand students are international students.

This partnership showed the sector, very early on, that international student cohorts were not to be an “extra business” or a small portfolio. They were to be integral to a responsive, modern university. What makes this partnership truly innovative, however, is that CQU introduced a model to Australian education that maintains the integration of academic activities whilst separating out support activities and other services.

It is a model acknowledged throughout al levels of government by multiple awards and commendations including four Queensland Export Awards (education category) and two National Export Awards for Education (2002 & 2005).CQU was also presented with the Queensland Multicultural Award for a Large Business in 2006 and highly commended by Queensland Education and Training International for its outstanding International Support Services and Pastoral Care.

The partnership is responsible for a more secure and resourceful University, allowing CQU to focus its energies on its core activities of Teaching & Learning and Research while contributing to the viability and stability of the Central Queensland communities it serves. The ongoing relationship ensures growth, based on intellectual property development and capacity building in Central Queensland.

With a goal in the 1990’s to “further develop and implement the integrated multi-campus structure”, international enrolments at CQU accounted for about 10-15% of total enrolments. Today – focused on efficient delivery methodologies, structures that meet market needs and applying sound business principles – student enrolments facilitated through C_MS account for approximately 52% of the University’s total enrolments.

As a result, CQU has the highest proportion of international students of any Australian university, arguably making CQU – sometimes thought of as a small, regional institution – the number one University in the country for international education. According to IDP statistics (Term 1 2006) CQU is the largest provider of education to international students on-campus in Australia.

This mature and stable partnership, now entering its 14th year, is concentrating on capacity-building that emphasises academic professional development, increased staff interaction among partners and closer attention to curriculum development. This will bring a higher level of academic energy and stakeholder particip