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GOVERNANCE AND ACCREDITATION

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO)

Chris Harris has had a passion for the Arts since childhood, acting in theatre and musical theatre through his formative years before acting and producing plays with the College Players from Antigone to the Absurdists as an undergraduate at the University of Queensland while studying for his Bachelor of Arts in the 1990’s.

Since then, Chris has leadership careers in his two other great areas of passion, hotels and education, beginning with management roles in Mirvac Hotels (Quay Grand Suites) in Sydney, Australia (1999-2007), completing his Executive Management training with the Marriott Group along the journey (2000).

After sessional academic roles while concurrently in hotels (2004-2007), Chris transitioned full-time to education management with the appointment to Head of Hospitality Programs at the International College of Management Sydney (2008-2010).

Chris then spent 10 years in South-East Asia, working across three leading education brands – Berjaya University College of Hospitality (Malaysia), Kaplan Higher Education and At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy (Singapore)- in Executive roles reporting to the CEO (2010-2020). Chris’ posting prior to APAC was as Director Education at William Angliss Institute of TAFE (2020-2023)

Chris’s university qualifications also include a Master of Arts – English Literature (Sydney) and Graduate Certificates in Higher Education and Educational Research (Macquarie and Monash respectively), but he also proudly possesses Vocational qualifications and is a passionate advocate for learning at all levels and for life. A proud Queenslander, Chris is honoured to be home after a 25-year odyssey and working with the wonderful creative hearts and minds at APAC.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors is the corporate governance body of the Australian Performing Arts Conservatory (APAC) in accordance with the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 and the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2014. The APAC Constitution is the principal governing document.

After a 25 year career as a Chief Executive Officer leading a range of middle market Australian and New Zealand businesses, Carolyn is now focussed on a career as a professional Non Executive Company Director.

She has worked in the fields of business, health, private education, transport and advertising.

During her business and management career, Carolyn led and turned around a number of dual sector private education organisations funded and owned by private individuals and/or private equity.

Her board roles have been or currently are in the law, private education, group training, the arts, local government and the bus and e-mobility transport sectors. More specifically as Deputy Chair – Brisbane Powerhouse Pty Ltd (2002 – 2008), Chair – Queensland Orchestra Pty Ltd (2000 – 2008) and as the Director – Flying Arts Inc. (1999 – 2001).

Carolyn has had extensive experience as a board chair in commercial, not for profit and government environments. In addition she has sat on both listed and private boards. Carolyn brings a deep understanding of corporate governance, strategy, risk and compliance and people management to the table.

She is also a nationally accredited mediator.

Dr Rana completed an MBA from Ohio University and gained an MS and PhD from Stevens Institute of Technology. Dr Rana has executed a number of complex cross-border equity/debt-structured investments and financing transactions in the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong while working at HSBC’s New York office. He enjoys evaluating different global education models and applying them to unlock the potential of students toward access to Education.

Professor Ray Lloyd is CEO at GBS and Deputy CEO of GEDU. He is approaching 40 years working in education at all levels and 25 years in Higher Education.  After completing a degree in Mathematics, he qualified as a teacher and taught Mathematics at a high school in London before taking up an opportunity to work in Botswana where he ended up living and working for eight years.

During his time there he revealed an aptitude for coaching track and field, and coached athletes to more than 25 National records at Senior and Junior levels in the sprinting, jumping and throwing events as well as serving as Director of Coaching of the Athletics Association.  He then chose to return to the UK to study for an MSc. in Sports Science which he successfully completed, winning the Carnegie Prize for Outstanding Performance.

In 1999 he embarked upon an academic career, and has worked in a number of UK universities, progressing through the academic ranks of Lecturer, Senior lecturer, Principal Lecturer, Head of Department, Dean and Pro-Vice Chancellor, eventually being appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 2013.He completed his PhD, which explored the physiology and biomechanics of human load carriage, particularly in head-loading amongst African women,  in 2010 and  was awarded a full professorship, Professor of Human Performance, in recognition of both his research output and his record of outstanding professional practice in Strength and Conditioning and Sports Science, operating in Premier League Football, first class cricket, professional squash and elite tennis amongst others.

After seven years as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof Lloyd joined GBS in September 2020 and has overseen a growth in student numbers from 3,500 to 33,000 and staff numbers from 100 to more than 1,500. During this time of growth GBS has retained its position in the upper decile of UK institutions with student satisfaction scores in excess of 90%. More recently he has taken on the role of Group Deputy CEO for GEDU.

Liz Vinning worked in education for over 35 years and held governance roles in education settings for over 20 years. She has a long and deep involvement with the Society of the Sacred Heart. She has held multiple governance roles with this connection including Board Chair at Sacré Cœur School, Melbourne, a Director of Sacred Heart Education Ministry, and recently a Director and Chair-elect at Sophia Education Ministries.

Other governance roles held were in the private education sector in Victoria, and on Advisory Boards at Deakin University.

Liz, in working for the corporate arm of Deakin University, supported major organisations develop and implement award winning employee development frameworks in the banking, defence, insurance, mining, personal injury and retail sectors.

John Ridge has been heavily involved in the IT industry for approximately 50 years, both in Australia and overseas.

In his career he has held a number of senior IT positions in organisations (and industries) such as Morgan Grenfell (banking and finance), Ok Tedi Mining and Bougainville Copper (mining), Lawdan (professional services), and Australian Iron and Steel (manufacturing).  He also established his own IT training and services company in 1986 which he was CEO of for 13 years.

From 1997 – 2005, he was been involved with the Australian Computer Society in a number of capacities.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is the professional organization for the Information Technology industry in Australia.  It has over 23,000 members and was formed in 1965.  It has a staff of around 50 people and revenue in 2013-2014 of around $14 million. He was the President during 2000 – 2001, and during that time made a number of achievements.

In 2000 it became the first computer society in the world to be admitted to their countries peak professional body when it was only the 3rd organization, since its formation in 1971, to be admitted into the Australian Council of Professions.

During his presidency, the Society achieved very impressive results – 2000 was the most successful year for 28 years with a membership increase of 12%, the highest membership numbers for 28 years and a very positive financial result.  In 2001 the ACS achieved a better financial result than 2000, and membership growth of a further 7%.

He represented the ACS internationally on the South East Asian Computer Confederation (SEARCC), and on both the NSW IT&T ITAB (Information and Telecommunications Industry and Training Advisory Board) and the national IT&T ITAB, established NICTA (National ICT Alliance).

The ACS Foundation was established and launched in August 2001, to raise money for scholarships and research in IT in Australia – John drove that initiative.  It was also established to value add to the relationship between students, as scholarship holders, universities and the sponsors or donors of those scholarships.  Since its establishment, the Foundation has raised over $50 million, and awarded more than 5,000 scholarships.  The quality of the ACS Foundation students is very high and more than 80% achieved a Distinction average or better, and 35% achieved a High Distinction as their lowest grade.

In January 2005 he was appointed as the Executive Director of the ACS Foundation, and since that time the ACS Foundation has continued an impressive growth from its solid base.  His interest in the education and training sectors of the ICT industry has been evident over a sustained period, and finds the opportunity to work with young people and attract them into the ICT industry particularly rewarding.

In January 2007, he was awarded the Order of Australia for his contribution to the ICT industry and education.

In the 2013 – 2014 financial year the ACS Foundation awarded 350 scholarships and raised in excess of $6.8 million.

ACS Foundation WIL scholarships are an effective way for students to gain relevant industry experience and experience in the work place, which is often what employers are looking for in addition to their qualifications.

Brad Haseman has worked as a teacher and researcher for over fifty years pursuing his fascination with the aesthetics, forms and finances of contemporary performance and learning for young people. He completed a distinguished career spanning thirty years with the Creative Industries Faculty at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) where he was Professor in Drama Education.  Before retiring in 2016 Brad held a range of senior leadership posts, at that time as Assistant Dean (Academic); a post responsible for maintaining and managing the learning system for over 4,500 students and 200 staff in the creative arts and cultural industries. He is been a pioneer of arts education, and is known internationally as a teacher and workshop leader (Process Drama), arts researcher (Performative Research) and community engagement practitioner (Applied Theatre and Teaching-Artistry). He holds the title of Professor Emeritus with QUT.

Since January 2018 Brad has been  have been Executive Vice President of Kadenze, Inc. overseeing arts-led pedagogies for their global online catalogue of courses. Kadenze, dealing solely with the Creative Arts, Design and creative technologies, is committed to building high quality online learning, at global scale, and as affordably as possible.

Brad is currently a member of the Leadership Committee of the International Teaching Artist Collaborative and a Council Member of St. Paul’s School, Bald Hills, Brisbane.

Faisal brings significant leadership and strategic experience in business transformation and consolidation, merger and integration, designing and implementing growth strategies, and business expansion.

He has previously worked for some iconic businesses within the adult education (HE & VET), hospitality, not for profit, private equity investee entities and professional services sectors including Marriott International Inc, University of London, Deloitte, RSM and Australian Institute of Management (a Scientia Education Group business owned by CHAMP Ventures).

Faisal is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Governance Institute of Australia, and Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. He is a managing director of C-Kandar Pty Ltd., founding trustee of Sedum School of Special Children and a former director of Asian Association of Management Organisation secretariat.

ACADEMIC BOARD

The Academic Board is established by the APAC Board of Directors as the peak academic governing body of the Australian Performing Arts Conservatory (APAC) in accordance with the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021.

Brad Haseman has worked as a teacher and researcher for over fifty years pursuing his fascination with the aesthetics, forms and finances of contemporary performance and learning for young people. He completed a distinguished career spanning thirty years with the Creative Industries Faculty at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) where he was Professor in Drama Education.  Before retiring in 2016 Brad held a range of senior leadership posts, at that time as Assistant Dean (Academic); a post responsible for maintaining and managing the learning system for over 4,500 students and 200 staff in the creative arts and cultural industries. He is been a pioneer of arts education, and is known internationally as a teacher and workshop leader (Process Drama), arts researcher (Performative Research) and community engagement practitioner (Applied Theatre and Teaching-Artistry). He holds the title of Professor Emeritus with QUT.

Since January 2018 Brad has been  have been Executive Vice President of Kadenze, Inc. overseeing arts-led pedagogies for their global online catalogue of courses. Kadenze, dealing solely with the Creative Arts, Design and creative technologies, is committed to building high quality online learning, at global scale, and as affordably as possible.

Brad is currently a member of the Leadership Committee of the International Teaching Artist Collaborative and a Council Member of St. Paul’s School, Bald Hills, Brisbane.

Dominic Crisci began his career in theatre, studying Drama at QUT. After graduating, he began working in his chosen field as an assistant director on feature films, music videos, commercials and TV in Australia, the United Kingdom and South Korea. In 2010, Dominic moved back to Australia and was fortunate enough to partner with Chris Sun on the Sunshine Coast, produced 3 award-winning feature films, and eventually directed the award-winning Thicker than Water. Simultaneously, Dominic’s passion for game design and development saw him create his first game for android in 2012. Currently, Dominic works in the Josephmark Group at Breeder Studios creating world-renowned interactive experiences and motion graphics while finishing his Masters of Teaching at QUT.

Dr Alison Grove O’Grady is Chair of Initial Teacher Education and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, School of Education and Social Work. Her research focuses on pedagogies of empathy, as performed and action-oriented methods, to develop teachers’ understanding of self, multiple identities and voices. Alison’s research prepares teachers for the challenges within diverse classroom ecologies, where diversity and difference in culture, ethnicity and faith are critical considerations. Alison’s praxis contributes to the continuous guidance, support, and development of teachers. Alison’s recent book O’Grady, A.G. Pedagogy, Empathy and Praxis: Using Theatrical Traditions to Teach. Springer Nature., captures much of her work in this field. She is a passionate teacher and lifelong learner.

Avril’s extensive career as a contemporary dance artist and teaching artist spans the last 30 years.  Her diverse dance career comprises performing, producing, establishing, and curating independent performance venues, tour management, rehearsal directing and teaching. Avril is a qualified level 2 STOTT Pilates instructor and Feldenkrais Practitioner. She has taught dance technique, creative movement, Pilates and the Feldenkrais Method for community groups, amateur dance groups, private dance schools and professional dance organisations. Avril has taught dance across the three tiers of the Australian education system, writing, and implementing curriculum, creating, and delivering workshops for dance students, and designing and leading dance teacher in-services and professional development opportunities. Her approach to dance pedagogy and curriculum incorporates her extensive theoretical and embodied knowledge with her professional dance experience.

Avril has been a peer on the Australia Council for the Arts Dance Assessment Panel and an editor for Dance journals. She was a recipient of a 2009 Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning and has authored several successful large Arts Queensland grants. Avril’s research focus has centred on the performers experience within all aspects of dance: creation, instruction, education, and performance. Recent and current research topics include training for transition into university dance programs; pre-service dance teacher training and final year transition programs involving mentoring programs with industry and service-learning models; approaches to Dietetics, Exercise Physiology and Dance Teaching; teacher-artist training; and somatics and contemporary dance training.

Madonna Stinson is an internationally recognised researcher, author and educator in the fields of drama education, arts curriculum, and creativity. In 2020 she retired from Griffith University where she remains an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Griffith Institute for Educational Research and the School for Education and Professional studies. Across her career she has worked as an actor, director, playwright, artistic director, a primary and early years teacher, a secondary Head of Performing Arts, and an arts curriculum developer. At Griffith University she served in a range of leadership roles, including: Deputy Head of School (Academic); Program Director of both the PhD and Masters Programs; and Director of the Bachelor of Education (Secondary).  For Griffith, Madonna chaired the ground-breaking 2018 Creativity Summit.

She studied at UQ, QUT and Griffith University in Brisbane, and at Central School of Speech and Drama, London. Madonna’s research and teaching concentrates on creative approaches to curriculum and pedagogies, in particular with regard to drama and language. This work has a focus on social justice and considers innovations and connections within drama/arts teaching and learning, creative pedagogies and curriculums with the potential for learner and teacher agency. In Australia, Madonna was a Chief Investigator on the ARC TheatreSpace project (2009-2013), Age-Appropriate Pedagogies for the Department of Education and Training, Queensland (2015-2017), the Y-Connect teaching-artist project (2016-2019) and, most recently, a project focusing on developing teachers as creative writers (Horizon Grant, Education Queensland, 2019-2020). She has provided publishing leadership though her positions as editor of NJ (The Drama Australia Journal), guest editor of two special editions of Research in Drama Education, and as an advisory board member on AJTE, and Pedagogies. In 2014 Madonna was awarded Life Membership of Drama Queensland in recognition for her contribution to the field of drama.

Commencing her career as a primary teacher she quickly became a lead member of a Queensland Education Theatre in Education team. This led to studies at Central School of Speech and Drama (London) after which she returned to take up the position of artistic director at a children’s art centre in Brisbane. Following ten years as HOD (Performing Arts) she moved into curriculum development and became a lead project officer for the formation of the P-10 Arts curriculum in Queensland. In 2002, she joined the National Institute of Education in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore where she worked for seven years, and was the founding director of the UNESCO-NIE Centre for Arts Research in Education. She has been an invited visiting scholar at Reading University (UK), Cambridge University (UK) and the University of Stockholm (Sweden). During her research career she has been awarded nearly $3.5M in research funding, for both individual and collaborative projects. Her publications include 4 books, over 40 scholarly book chapters and refereed journal articles, and other significant professional publications in the fields of drama education, language learning, curriculum and pedagogy. Madonna remains actively engaged in performing arts education, and is a popular and frequent keynote speaker and masterclass facilitator. She is currently researching the long-term outcomes of drama learning in secondary school.

COMMITTEES

The contribution and involvement of APAC’s committees and members is critical for decision-making and effective corporate governance. Several committees assist APAC in its operations. These committees report directly to the Academic Board and/or the Board of Directors:

The Appeals Committee is established under delegation by the Academic Board. The Appeals Committee hears appeals from students against academic decisions made by officers of APAC in accordance with the Student Complaints and Appeals Policy.

The Campus Management Committee is established by the Board of Directors to provide strategic and operational support to the Chief Executive Officer in managing priority issues and the day-to-day activities of APAC.

The Course Advisory Committee is established under delegation by the Academic Board to facilitate the strategic development and review of courses. The Course Advisory Committee will incorporate relevant feedback from industry, academic peers, potential employers, students and alumni, and considering matters pertaining to the academic governance and quality of coursework programs and policy.

The Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee is established under delegation by the Board of Directors to:

  • provide guidance on matters relating to finances, budget, and resource allocations, including the oversight of operational financial matters, monitoring of financial risk, preparation of financial reports, and other matters as requested by the Board of Directors.
  • to advise and assist in achieving APAC’s strategic and operational objectives through the effective oversight and monitoring of APAC’s performance framework and systems of internal control, risk management, continuous quality improvement, business continuity and regulatory compliance.

The Grades Ratification Committee is established under delegation by the Academic Board to facilitate the review of student grades for all APAC educational offerings, and escalate matters pertaining to student attainment and assessment to the Academic Board.

The Teaching and Learning Committee is established under delegation by the Academic Board to assist in achieving APAC’s strategic and operational objectives. The Teaching and Learning Committee provides advice and recommendations to the Academic Board on matters including teaching and learning policy, strategy, innovations, and initiatives, and ensuring the maintenance of high-quality educational offerings, academic standards, and legislative compliance.

ACCREDITATION

APAC is:

  • A registered Australian Higher Education Provider
  • Accredited by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)
  • Registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and courses for Overseas Students
  • A registered FEE-HELP provider for all Higher Education Programs

To view our accreditation on TEQSA click here.

To view our CRICOS registration click here.

For details of our financial standing click here.

For the Constitution of Performing Arts Education Pty Ltd, which trades as APAC, please click here.

INDICATIVE STUDENT ENROLMENTS

APAC offers niche degrees in the area of performing arts. The practical nature of the courses offered means that class sizes and overall enrolment numbers remain small. This ensures that APAC can deliver the outcomes students want in a safe supportive environment.

APAC has an average of 40 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Screen and Stage.