Wesleyan Church expands higher education into Australia

When the Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) purchased Sydney’s Wesley Institute it had grand plans – to transform the Institute into Australia’s first protestant Christian University and expand it to a global network for Christian education.

The last time university status had been awarded to an Australian operator was Bond University nearly 20 years before – but IWU was adamant it didn’t want to establish a campus of an American University, it wanted to grow an Australian entity.

H/Advisors APA was engaged to assist with a range of start-up communications including name and assistance with brand development; key announcements such as launch, property acquisition, general profile; and building political and public support for the transition.

As the application for ‘University College’ status progressed, H/Advisors APA assisted with the navigation of the regulatory pathways through government and TEQSA, and the recruitment of additional students through publicity and social media.

The College now boasts an expanded range of academic qualifications at Bachelor and higher level, a research capacity, and the 2019 QILT survey showed scores higher than the national average in nearly all metrics of student experience.

The College Strategic Plan for 2020-2025 maintains the timeline to achieve University College status by 2025 and Australian University status by 2030.