University of Southern Queensland - History

History

In 1961 the City of Toowoomba reserved 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land to the southwest of the main town centre for educational purposes. This suburb was named Darling Heights on 25 September 1966 but was later renamed Darling Heights.

The Queensland Institute of Technology (Darling Downs) opened in Toowoomba in 1967 as a technical college offering 29 full-time technological diploma courses to 140 foundation students who studied full-time or part-time. The foundation principal was Mr J Wolfe who served until May 1967 when Mr Lindsay Barker became principal.

After the passage of the amended Education Act in 1971 the Institute became an autonomous multi-purpose college under the control of its own college council which subsequently determined that the new college would become the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education.

By 1973, accredited professional degree courses were offered in:

• Engineering
• Education
• Science
• Business Studies.

The School of Arts was formed in 1974. The Institute established the External Studies Department in 1978 and this soon became a recognised benchmark in its field with UNESCO selecting it as a demonstration unit. By this time external enrolments had begun to rival the number of internal enrolments.

The period spanning 1980 to 1990 saw a period of unprecedented growth of the Institute leading to the establishment of the University College of Southern Queensland (UCSQ) under the sponsorship of the University of Queensland. On 1 January 1992, UCSQ became the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) with Professor Barry Leal becoming the University’s inaugural Vice-Chancellor.

With the appointment of Professor Peter Swannell as Vice-Chancellor in 1996 the University underwent a further period of exceptional growth which included the establishment of a Wide Bay Campus, later renamed USQ Fraser Coast, and a Brisbane Centre in 1997, the USQ European Study Centre in Bretten, Germany in 1998 and the building of a number of landmark structures on campus. In 1998 USQ was voted the 'World’s Best Dual Mode University' by the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) while Professor Jim Taylor, the then Director of the Distance Education Centre won the inaugural ICDE prize for individual excellence for his contribution to global distance learning.

In 1999, USQ launched USQOnline, and was named winner of the Best Exporter Award in the Government Category of the National Multicultural Marketing Awards held by the New South Wales Ethnic Affairs Commission. In 2000, USQ won the organisational category of the Queensland Government Multicultural Services Awards and was named joint winner of the Good Universities Guides 'Australian University of the Year (2000–2001)' for demonstrated leadership in establishing the e-University.

In 2003, USQ opened Stage II of its Wide Bay Campus, constructed a research and manufacturing facility for Fibre Composites and established USQ International College, Fiji. Following the retirement of Professor Peter Swannell in 2003, Professor Bill Lovegrove was appointed as Vice-Chancellor. By the end of 2003 USQ had in excess of 25,000 enrolled students from 133 countries and a full-time equivalent of 1400 staff. Since 1992, USQ’s capital works expenditure has exceeded $107 million. The University has an estimated annual economic injection into the economy of the region in excess of $150 million per annum.

In July 2004, USQ won the Commonwealth of Learning Award of Excellence for Institutional Achievement which recognises and honours excellence in distance education and open learning. The Commonwealth of Learning is an intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning/distance education knowledge, resources and technologies.

In December 2004, the University improved its distance education profile by being accredited with the Distance Education Training Council (DETC), an American public service organisation dedicated to identifying quality distance learning institutions. The accreditation is an expression of confidence in the educational programs, policies and procedures of the University by its peers, and brings the institution recognition through the extension of special status by several American states under their legislation and regulations.

In Semester One 2006 the USQ Springfield campus opened its doors to more than 350 students in Brisbane’s south-western corridor. The Campus is situated in an education precinct, known as Education City, which includes other educational providers, such as English as a second language providers, an ABC Childcare and Training Centre and the Bremer Institute of TAFE to name a few. The Campus offers programs in Business, Science and Arts and is well known for its intensive mode, which is very popular at the postgraduate level.

The USQ Historical Archives, established in 2007, documents and maintains a secure, publicly accessible collection which records all aspects of the University's history for the purpose of research and to preserve the USQ memory.