The University of the Sunshine Coast has unveiled an ambitious future, focusing on a transformative student experience and enrolment growth.

The four-year strategic plan and ten-year vision, For a Better Tomorrow, is now available to the public after extensive staff, student and community consultation.

The plan places strong focus on offering flexibility and choice for students and building global partnerships that benefit students and researchers.

UniSC Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Helen Bartlett, said the next decade would be a “pivotal time” for the University, which began in 1996 on the Sunshine Coast, before adding campuses at Fraser Coast, Gympie, Caboolture, Moreton Bay and Adelaide.

“UniSC has doubled in size over the last 10 years and is now well-positioned for continued sustainable growth as we respond to the needs of our growing communities,” Professor Bartlett said.

“COVID affected all Australian universities, and it is incredibly gratifying that we have recovered our trajectory and have seen an uplift in international and domestic student numbers, as well as a surge towards our online offering.

“This plan is our roadmap for how we are to transform our built environment, learning and teaching, research, digital, data and enabling services to ensure we are growing in the ways that our community needs.

She said one of the most important changes was to the flexibility of study options.

“From 2026, students will be able to choose between fast-tracking their program or pacing it over time to fit around their lifestyle, through a mix of online and in-person teaching,” Professor Bartlett said.

“We already have some of the country’s best outcomes for student experience, but we talk to our students and prospective students, and we know that we can do even better. That is why our new learning and teaching model puts the student at the centre, where they have more options to learn at their own pace.” 

Professor Bartlett said another key focus was to build partnerships with local and global industry and organisations, similar to the Cisco Chair of Digital Health and Ageing, a partnership using digital technologies to make the aged care system more efficient and responsive.

“Our partnerships model is proving very successful, and we intend to build on that,” she said.

“Partnerships are extremely beneficial to all. They allow us to combine our strengths with industry to deliver workplace-ready education while businesses can leverage our world-class research, and our researchers can collaborate more readily with others internationally.

“Another focus for us will be sustained enrolment growth underpinned by research development and partner engagement.” 

UniSC now has almost 19,000 current students, has conferred 39,758 graduate awards, and has built a reputation for quality teaching while providing equal and inclusive access to education.

In the last year alone, UniSC opened the doors on three additional modern campus buildings at Moreton Bay, launched the National PTSD Research Centre and opened a campus in Adelaide while securing major funding for research projects.

Professor Bartlett said the University’s strategic plan centred around clear goals under the pillars of Transformative student experience, People-first workplace, Local and global impact, and Sustainable and resilient organisation.

“The plan is centred around the purpose and vision of UniSC, and these continue to focus on transforming the lives of others and the prosperity of our regions in genuine collaboration with our communities,” she said.

“In perhaps the most recent example of this, we announced that UniSC’s first-ever end-to-end medical program would be available by 2030 in a major step towards addressing doctor shortages on the Sunshine Coast.

“Underpinned by careful planning, pragmatic implementation and a suite of performance measures, this plan is the key to how we will continue to serve our communities now and well into the future.”  

UniSC’s four-year strategic plan For a Better Tomorrow is available here.