Academic Director, Education Strategy · Charles Sturt University

Leading education strategy
from the inside out.

Scholar-practitioner working at the intersection of curriculum transformation, assessment reform, and AI in higher education — with a commitment to equity, evidence, and institutional change that lasts.

PhD MEd (Learning & Leadership) SFHEA Co-Chair, ISSOTL SoL SIG Deputy Chair, Academic Senate Director of Memberships, OAPA

About

I'm an academic leader and scholar-practitioner at Charles Sturt University, where I work as Academic Director, Education Strategy in the Division of Learning and Teaching. My work sits at the intersection of curriculum quality, programmatic assessment, academic governance, and the role of AI in reshaping what teaching and learning can look like.

Much of what drives me is a practical question: how do institutions move from good ideas to sustained change? I've spent the last several years leading initiatives that try to answer that — including the Models of Engagement and Assessment (MEA) framework, a university-wide transformation spanning 293 courses designed to reposition the course as the primary unit of curriculum and assessment design.

The MEA isn't about redesigning curriculum. It's about confirming what's already there — and making the architecture visible enough to build on.

Alongside institutional work, I'm an active scholar in the SoTL tradition. I write and speak about assessment reform, faculty identity in the age of AI, distributed leadership, and equity in regional higher education. I hold a Senior Fellowship with AdvanceHE and am currently pursuing Principal Fellowship.

My PhD is in Environmental Management and my MEd is in Learning and Leadership — a combination that has shaped a career at the intersection of systems thinking and educational practice.

A/Prof Prue Laidlaw

Education

Master of Education (Learning & Leadership)

University of Technology Sydney · 2024

Doctor of Philosophy (Environmental Management)

Charles Sturt University · 2009

Bachelor of Environmental Science (Hons 1)

Charles Sturt University · 2004

Affiliations

HERDSA · Member

ISSOTL · Member & Co-Chair, SoL SIG

AdvanceHE · Senior Fellow

Open Access Publishing Association · Director of Memberships

CSU Academic Senate · Deputy Chair

Editorial

Associate Editor, ASRHE

Peer reviewer: Teaching in Higher Education; JUTLP; Studies in Higher Education

Profiles

LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCiD

Projects

Selected initiatives

Institutional work spanning curriculum, assessment, governance, and capability.

Current initiatives

2024–2029 · Ongoing

Models of Engagement and Assessment (MEA)

Institution-wide transformation repositioning the course as the primary unit of curriculum and assessment design across 293 CSU courses. Four phases: Foundations, Mapping, Implementation, Assurance — aligned with HESF and TEQSA requirements.

2025 · Ongoing

Course-Level Assessment

A whole-of-degree approach to assessment design that connects task sequencing, capability development, supervised and non-supervised assessment, and evidence of learning across time. Builds directly on the MEA and supports CSU's Education Strategy Vision 2030 and TEQSA's 2025 guidance on assessment reform in the age of AI.

2022–2025

Faculty Learning & Teaching Hub

Founded and led this professional learning platform, now with 8,000+ staff engagements. A core vehicle for building capability in inclusive curriculum design, authentic assessment, and academic integrity across the Faculty of Science and Health.

2019–2021

HEPPP Retention Project

Equity-focused retention initiative developing early-assessment strategies that improved outcomes in high-priority subjects. Trained 30+ staff in online invigilation protocols, enabling over 1,300 supervised exam sittings.

Research projects

PhD · 2009

A Passing Occupation

Doctoral research exploring the history and heritage of itinerant workers in rural New South Wales, 1850–1914 — recovering a hidden chapter of colonial life. Drawing on archival records, newspapers and memoirs, the research identified 60+ itinerant occupations and made the case for better heritage recognition of this mobile workforce. View research →

Honours · 2004

Fire Management Planning & Cultural Heritage in NSW

Honours research examining whether mandatory Bush Fire Risk Management Plans across NSW adequately protect cultural heritage assets — finding systematic gaps in planning for both Indigenous and historic heritage. View research →

Publications & Writing

Selected works

Peer-reviewed articles, conference contributions, and public scholarly writing.

Speaking & Keynotes

Speaking & engagement

National and international contributions across conferences, workshops, and institutional events.

I speak on topics spanning education strategy, assessment reform, AI in higher education, and academic leadership — drawing on both scholarly literature and the practical experience of leading change at institutional scale.

Programmatic assessment & course-level design

AI, faculty identity & institutional response

Distributed leadership in education transformation

Equity and access in regional higher education

Scholarship of leading & SoTL

Assessment integrity in the AI era

Regular venues: HERDSA · ISSOTL · ASCILITE · CAULLT · ACSME · Improving University Teaching (IUT)

Contact

Get in touch

I welcome connections with colleagues working on education strategy, assessment reform, AI in higher education, or academic leadership — whether for conversation, collaboration, or speaking invitations.

Email is the best way to reach me.