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The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...
campus,
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, and
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The university offered traditional programs, including business, information technology, building and construction, engineering, mining, education, social sciences, nursing, hospitality, and art. The University of Ballarat's history goes back to the gold rush era of the 1850s. It began as a tertiary school in 1870. In 1970, Founders Theatre was built at the Mt Helen campus after an appeal was made to commemorate the opening of the school 100 years earlier. The theatre opened in 1981. The University of Ballarat was formed from a number of varying types of schools. The earliest was the School of Mines in 1870, which subsequently merged with other related organizations. Another was through Ballarat Base Hospital School of Nursing (1888). Ballarat College of Advanced Education was formed in 1976 with what began as a teacher's college in 1926, and Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education, which began in 1967 when it split from the School of Mines. The university merged with
Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
's Gippsland (Churchill) campus in 2013, under the new name
Federation University Australia Federation University Australia (FedUni) is a public university based in Victoria, Australia. It is the modern descendant of the School of Mines Ballarat, established in 1870 as the fourth tertiary institution in Australia, which evolved to f ...
.


History


School of Mines

Tertiary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
at Ballarat began with the establishment of the Ballarat School of Mines in 1870, making it Australia's third oldest tertiary institution.
Redmond Barry Sir Redmond Barry (7 June 181323 November 1880), was an Irish-born judge in the Australian colony of Victoria. A major figure in the early civic life of Melbourne, Barry was instrumental in founding several key institutions in the city, in ...
was its first president, and he was involved in the creation of university degree level courses for the school. The School of Mines had two divisions - a tertiary division and a technical division. The tertiary division provided higher education courses such as mining engineering, geology, education and business studies, while the technical division provided such programs as wool classing, plumbing and bricklaying. The organisation remained in that form until 1967 when it was split into three institutions, Ballarat School of Industries, Ballarat Technical School, and Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education. They remained three entities until 1976. Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education merged into Ballarat College of Advanced Education. The Ballarat School of Industries and Ballarat Technical School merged into the School of Mines and Industries, Ballarat (SMB) in 1976. Several entities merged or had arrangements with SMB. In 1994, a memo of understanding (MOU) was signed between SMB and the Ararat Technical School, which was founded in 1969. Then, in 1998, SMB and the Horsham-based Wimmera Institute of TAFE (1984), dating back to 1882, merged into the University of Ballarat to create a larger University.


Ballarat College of Advanced Education

In 1976, the Ballarat College of Advanced Education (Ballarat CAE) was formed with the merger of the Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education (1967) with the State College of Victoria, Ballarat—that began as Ballarat Teachers' College in 1926. The Dawkins Revolution of the late 1980s saw a merger of large metropolitan colleges of advanced education with universities, and although the college struggled with the options, it chose to remain as a CAE.


Ballarat University College

Ballarat University College was formed in 1990, and became an affiliated college of the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
. Its name was changed to "Ballarat University College, an affiliated College of the University of Melbourne", the actual name used on graduates' testamurs. Ballarat University College then sought to become a fully-fledged university in its own right when Professor John Sharpham asked the board of BUC why, if
Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. In 2019, it was ranke ...
was allowed to separate from the University of New England by becoming a university in its own right, Ballarat should not be allowed to do the same. The Federal Government was lobbied and responded by sending three Vice-Chancellors (one of them, incidentally, being from the University of New England) to Ballarat to consider the matter. The result was favorable and the university college became a university in 1994. Its sole link to the University of Melbourne was that Melbourne would observe the academic standards at the new university for a five-year period.


University of Ballarat

The University of Ballarat was organised in 1994, after being sponsored by the University of Melbourne for five years, and due to the passage of an Act of the
Victorian Parliament The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly ...
. In 1998, the Ballarat School of Mines and Industries (1870) and the Horsham-based Wimmera Institute of TAFE merged into the university, expanding its curriculum. The university's English and Academic Preparation (EAP) prepared international students for a university education in Australia and improved student's ability to read, write, speak, and listen to the English language. The Ballarat had five campuses, and it offered traditional university programs, including business, information technology, building and construction, engineering, mining, education, social sciences, nursing, hospitality, and art. In addition to traditional classroom learning, the school offered online learning courses. According to the university's records, there were 25,810 students consisting of 13,820 higher education students and 11,990 technical and further education students in 2008. Of the total student population, 11,460 students were at the Ballarat campus. There were 6,145 master's students, as compared to the 6,048 bachelor students. There were 12,481 students located off-campus, based on partnerships with partnership institutions. The university was a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. All transcripts issued by the university are accredited by Australian Core Skills Framework and
Australian Qualifications Framework The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government's Department of Education, with oversight from the States and Terri ...
. The school achieved a 5-star rating for teaching quality in the 2013 and 2014 edition of The Good Universities Guide. The same survey showed that graduates gave the school a 4-star rating for its ability to teach general skills, cultural diversity, graduation success, and the aided in their ability to get a job.


Merger to Federation University Australia

The university merged with
Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
's Gippsland (Churchill) campus in 2013, and the merged schools are now the
Federation University Australia Federation University Australia (FedUni) is a public university based in Victoria, Australia. It is the modern descendant of the School of Mines Ballarat, established in 1870 as the fourth tertiary institution in Australia, which evolved to f ...
. The name change was made as the result of the passage of the amended University of Ballarat Act 2010 bill through the state's parliament. Its name no longer carries the name of Ballarat because the intention is not to be limiting geographically. It also wanted to reflect its intention to continue offering education to domestic and international students. Students who were enrolled at the time of the merger and name change were allowed to choose the name of the institution shown on their graduation documents. The name change went into effect on 1 January 2014.


Notable alumni

* David Noonan, Australian artist who lives and works in London *
Aunty Donna Aunty Donna is an Australian surrealist comedy group formed in Melbourne in 2011. The group currently consists of performers and writers Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane, alongside writer and director Sam Lingham, director Max Mill ...
, absurdist sketch comedy troupe * Kate Suratin * Steve Bracks, former Premier of Victoria * Sandy Blythe, wheelchair basketball player * Dr. Cyril P. Callister, an Australian chemist and food technologist * Jacqueline Dark, opera singer * Keith Hamilton, former Minister for Agriculture and former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs * William Roy Hodgson, Human Rights Diplomat * Will Longstaff * Isolde Standish is an
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
and
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Humanities Scholar and Film theorist specialised in
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
.


See also

*
List of universities in Australia There are 44 universities in Australia out of which 39 are public universities and 5 private universities. The Commonwealth Higher Education Support Act 2003 sets out three groups of Australian higher education providers: universities, other ...
*
Federation University Australia Federation University Australia (FedUni) is a public university based in Victoria, Australia. It is the modern descendant of the School of Mines Ballarat, established in 1870 as the fourth tertiary institution in Australia, which evolved to f ...


Notes


References

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External links


Federation University Australia
formerly University of Ballarat Defunct universities and colleges in Australia 1850s establishments in Australia Education in Ballarat 2013 disestablishments in Australia Universities and colleges established in the 1850s Educational institutions disestablished in 2013 Universities and colleges disestablished in the 21st century