Graduation 2014

Dual-badging helps seal deal

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

University’s recognition of degrees significant as Avondale seeks new status

Degree students at Avondale will receive dual-badged testamurs from this year as the college of higher education gains further benefits from its memorandum of understanding with Charles Sturt University.

Dual badging will see Charles Sturt’s seal appear on the testamur of every undergraduate and postgraduate student at Avondale. “This may help employers or other higher education providers more easily recognise your degree,” says president Professor Ray Roennfeldt.

It means Charles Sturt recognises all of Avondale’s degrees as if they were its own, “without any changes and in full respect of our ethos and mission,” says Roennfeldt. “That’s significant because it indicates a high level of trust between the two institutions.”

We’ve been impressed by the commitment to quality at Avondale.Professor Garry Marchant, deputy vice-chancellor and vice-president (academic), Charles Sturt University

Avondale’s governing body, Avondale College Council, approved dual badging in March this year—the decision is not retrospective, so previous graduates requiring a replacement testamur will receive only a testamur with Avondale’s logo and seal. Charles Sturt’s council ratified the decision to dual badge this past Friday (June 19).

“We’ve been impressed by the commitment to quality at Avondale,” says Charles Sturt’s deputy vice-chancellor and vice-president (academic) Professor Garry Marchant, who sits as an external member on the Academic Board at Avondale. “The institution is strongly focussed on quality and on delivering to its students great graduate outcomes.”

Dual badging is a key principle of the memorandum, which Avondale and Charles Sturt signed in July 2013. “It shows the journey we undertook with Charles Sturt is continuing,” says Roennfeldt. “We still have a lot to do to realise the full benefits of the MoU, but we’re moving forward together.”

The memorandum formalised Charles Sturt’s role as a mentor and advisor to Avondale. The role includes: assessing and benchmarking Avondale’s governance, learning and teaching and research quality and standards; and sharing resources on a cost-for-services basis. This is particularly important now that Avondale, having been granted self-accrediting status, is seeking university college status.

“We’re working with Avondale on its journey toward university college status because we support the development of regional institutions and the development of access to higher education in those regions,” says Marchant.

The memorandum is not legally binding but is valid for five years, although Avondale and Charles Sturt can extend—in duration and scope—or suspend it by mutual agreement.

Established by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1897, Avondale offers undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational courses and programs that seek to develop the whole person. Its mission is to foster a Christian learning community dedicated to serving world needs.

Brenton Stacey
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Brenton Stacey

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Brenton is Avondale University’s Public Relations and Philanthropy Officer. He brings to the role experience as a communicator in publishing, media relations, public relations, radio and television, mostly within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific and its entities.

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