The Academic Board was established under the University of the Sunshine Coast Act 1998 (Qld) primarily to protect the academic quality and integrity of UniSC's higher education operations.

The Chairperson of Academic Board is Associate Professor Gail Crimmins.  The Board plays a key role in academic quality assurance through:

• Advising Council on matters related to teaching, scholarship, and research;
• Formulating proposals for UniSC academic policies;
• Monitoring academic activities across the University; and
• Promoting and encouraging scholarship and research.

"When I nominated for a seat on the Academic Board for 2025, I didn't fully understand the critical role that the board fills. I quickly learned during my induction that the Academic Board fulfils a crucial role in corporate governance for UniSC and is the reviewing body for academic matters across all faculties. The benefit of this governance role, to me personally and my cohort of Indigenous and postgraduate students, is the insights into how the university operates, how it is governed, the guidelines and frameworks that the university must adhere to, and importantly, access to senior academics and administrators at UniSC who give freely of their time and advice. Every member of the Academic Board has welcomed me as an equal member of the board and this has allowed me to engage on those matters that are important to Indigenous and postgraduate students. This role is not for the faint-hearted, there will be times when you will need to challenge accepted thinking or practices, but rest assured, every member is afforded an equal opportunity to raise questions, issues, and possible solutions. If you have ambitions to become a senior leader in your organisation or sit on company boards, this is an excellent introduction to the role of boards and board members."

Drew Dale GCBA IMLa
UniSC Post Graduate Student

Academic Board contributes to UniSC's ability to operate in accordance with the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 in particular, matters related to academic governance as well as other relevant regulations.

Available student representative positions:

• One undergraduate student
• One postgraduate student
• One international student
• One Indigenous identifying student

Eligibility:

• Students must maintain their enrolment status throughout 2026 in line with their representative category (e.g. undergraduate students must remain enrolled in an undergraduate program for the duration of their term).
• Students employed at UniSC in a position of 0.5 FTE or greater are not eligible to hold membership in the student category.
• Students currently subject to the Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) process, or who have previously received an adverse misconduct finding (academic, research or general), are not eligible to apply.

View the Selection Criteria for more information.

Key Information:

• Academic Board meetings are currently held five times each year.
• Meetings usually run for two to three hours.
• In addition to the regular meetings, a one-day Strategic Planning Day is held each year following the first meeting of Academic Board.
• Most meetings are held in the Council meeting room at the UniSC Sunshine Coast campus, however meetings may be held at other UniSC locations. A video link is also available for members unable to attend in person.
• The term of appointment for student members is one year, with a maximum of two consecutive terms of office permitted.
• Terms and conditions (declaration)

To apply: Submit an expression of interest.

The Education Committee advises the Academic Board and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) on a range of learning and teaching matters, including policy development. It also monitors learning and teaching performance, benchmarking and external referencing of program and course design and delivery, academic integrity, and academic risk.

Available student representative positions:

• One undergraduate student
• One postgraduate (coursework) student

Eligibility:

• Students must maintain their enrolment status throughout 2026 in line with their representative category (e.g. undergraduate students must remain enrolled in an undergraduate program for the duration of their term).
• Students employed at UniSC in a position of 0.5 FTE or greater are not eligible to hold membership in the student category.
• Students currently subject to the Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) process, or who have previously received an adverse misconduct finding (academic, research or general), are not eligible to apply.

View the Selection Criteria for more information.

Key Information:

• Education Committee meetings are currently held between four or five times each year.
• Meetings usually run for two to three hours.
• Most meetings are held in the Council meeting room at the UniSC Sunshine Coast campus, however meetings may be held at other campuses.  A video link is also available for members unable to attend in person.
• The term of appointment for student members is one year, with a maximum of two consecutive terms of office permitted.
• Terms and conditions (declaration).

To apply: Submit an expression of interest.

The Research Committee advises the Academic Board on matters related to research, research training, and ethics matters, including the development of relevant policies.  It also provides advice on research and research training strategic plans and initiative.

The Committee considers and recommends areas of research activity for support, including the establishment of Research Centres or Institutes within UniSC. It contributes to the formulation of research strategies aligned with UniSC’s Strategic Plan, monitors the work of the ethics committees to ensure compliance with internal and external standards and requirements, and makes recommendations to the Academic Board as required.

The Committee provides leadership and advice on mechanisms to improve monitoring, benchmarking and reporting of UniSC’s research performance.

Available student representative positions:

• Two Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Candidates

Eligibility:

• Candidate must maintain an active enrolment throughout 2026 in accordance with their HDR candidature requirements.
• Candidate employed at UniSC in a position of 0.5 FTE or greater are not eligible to hold membership in the student category.
• Candidate currently subject to the Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) process, or who have previously received an adverse misconduct finding (academic, research or general), are not eligible to apply.

View the Selection Criteria for more information.

Key Information:

• Research Committee meetings are currently held four times each year.
• Meetings usually run for two to three hours.
• Most meetings are held in the Council meeting room at the UniSC Sunshine Coast campus, however meetings may be held at other campuses.  A video link is also available for members unable to attend in person.
• The term of appointment for student members is one year, with a maximum of two consecutive terms of office permitted.
• Terms and conditions (declaration).

To apply: Submit an expression of interest.