The University Strategy 2022 will result in the most of the money being used to improve teaching, learning and student services, including new courses.

The revamp, the most significant since the university was established in 1989, includes a possible name change, which has attracted considerable criticism.

But stakeholders,  including students, alumni, staff and community members, will be able to have their say on the full proposal at a session in Albury on Wednesday afternoon.

Vice-chancellor Andrew Vann said the aim of the university’s re-positioning was to create “a better university” and stand out in a “very competitive market place”. 

Professor Vann said the re-branding would allow CSU to gain a firm footing for the 2020 recruitment round and position it for years to come. 

“The bulk of the money in the strategy is the fundamentals of the university, about the research we do, the service and teaching we provide to our students,” he said. 

“We live in a crowded world and the media clambers for our attention and every second of every day you have to be really clear about your focus: to stand out, and this is where our brand fits in. 

The Wagga campus is already interacting with industries, such as the AgriPark project. 

“This will really transform agriculture in the Riverina in decades to come and if we can get better collaboration with our researchers, industry and farmers, that’s what we need to do with all the challenges we’re seeing,” Professor Vann said. 

“The world is changing on us and we need to adapt and we want to be there within our community helping.” 

John Mahon, a companion of CSU, agreed with the vice-chancellor’s direction to allocate the majority of funds into courses and research.

“If the university is going to put more money into the schools that need money put into them, then their direction will work,” he said. 

“There are some standout courses at the university that have international standing; like their wine science, veterinary science and their agricultural science courses (that) have good standing around the country, as well as pharmaceutical and communications, which have high employment rates.” 

But Mr Mahon said he “could not understand” why the university would want to change its name. 

“The university has been boasting about their high employment rate of graduates, so why would they want to change the name of the university that achieves this?” 

A petition against the university dropping “Charles” and becoming Sturt University has attracted more than 6000 signatures, with many notable alumni voicing their opposition.

Professor Vann said market research and feedback would determine whether the university lost something the institution had spent the past 30 years building. 

“The name is just the final piece about the whole brand story,” he said.

“The question we are asking is, if we were to drop ‘Charles’ and leave it as Sturt University, would that help or hinder us in getting our message across?

“We have to compete for students and universities for funding, so it’s important to stand out and have people know who you are.”

Professor Vann said putting the idea out into the community was important, despite receiving some strong opposition. 

“Until you ask people what they think, you don’t know what they think,” he said.

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“We do, ironically, want to be talked about and the wonderful thing about this is just how much passion has been poured out about the university.

“We’re trying to strike that balance; if we have a lot of strong feedback from alumni about hating it, then we won’t do it.” 

CSU alumni Professor Clifford Blake is a critic.

“There is only one ‘Charles Sturt, the distinguished explorer of inland Australia, and hence the name uniquely places the university in the region it seeks to serve,” he said.

“It takes decades for a university to build momentum and a reputation.” 

Mr Mahon said it the university needed to improve its collaborations as “it seems to me locally that they’ve pushed aside people who were supporters ... and lost interest in them as they no longer were invited to the university’s opening ceremonies”.