Vision

To enrich the Ourimbah Campus experience.

Mission

Meet the needs of the Ourimbah Campus community through the provision of services and fostering of opportunities for engagement and participation.

Moto

yourservices_yourvoice@ourimbah.

History

Campus Central had its beginnings in 1989 when a group of students were concerned that their General Service Fees automatically went to the Newcastle student bodies and they saw none of the money nor received any services. A Central Coast Student body was formed and their aim was to become a financially independent recognised student body by the University. At first there was no canteen or a place to meet, but by 1991 we were given a small canteen and student office on what is now known as the ‘old side’. In fact these buildings are still there at the Community College. These operations were still run from Newcastle with profits remaining there. However, by 1993 the University and University Council, after intensive lobbying from the new student body, voted that this Central Coast Campus student body was to be recognised and that they were entitled to receive all of the General Service Fee of Central Coast students.

The Central Coast Campus Union (CCCU) was to be based on a Guild structure and not the split Unions that operate on the Callaghan campus with a manager employed to oversee the running of the Union. If you are not aware, there are 4 different bodies at Callaghan – UoN Services, NuSport, NUSA and NUPSA – each one looking after their particular area.

The CCCU became a Company Limited by Guarantee in 2001 which was partially driven by the fact that it had grown so quickly as well as giving the directors some degree of limited liability.  In the last five years Campus Central has invested well over $2 million in capital works including the University Hub building*, doubling the size of the Lakes Café Complex, converting its old office area into a retail shop, building Café Express at the Lecture Theatres and numerous other small projects.

At the end of 2003 the Board voted to change the trading name from the Central Coast Campus Union to Campus Central. This was done to make it easier to work on other campuses without making the members there feel that they were part of an organisation based somewhere else.

Currently the University of Newcastle has about 2,500 students enrolled at the Ourimbah campus, with approximately an additional 3,000 enrolments in TAFE programs. The University has plans to take this up to 4,000 full time students by the end of the decade. In 2005 there were approximately 30 staff employed by Campus Central including casual employees however, following the introduction of Voluntary Student Unionism in July 2006, there are now approximately 20 employees.

*The University bought Campus Central’s office building for its new Hub in 2006.