Erica Wilson - Southern Cross University

Choosing a bold career: Why it means more for Erica with SCU

When Erica Wilson moved to Lismore for a Lecturer position at Southern Cross University in 2003, she had no idea she'd build a decades-long career with us, nor how much she’d come to love the region. Now, as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Innovation), Erica shares how she’s helped drive one of the biggest innovations in the university’s history to deliver impressive outcomes for students.

Building something new

There’s business as usual - and then there’s Erica Wilson’s approach. As Pro Vice-Chancellor, Erica has taken the lead with her innovative and determined spirit to co-design and spearhead the university-wide roll-out of our unique Southern Cross Model. This groundbreaking teaching model is centred on immersive, six-week learning blocks, evidence-based teaching techniques and new assessment modes. And, to make it a reality, Erica needed to redesign the entire curriculum.

“From the start, it’s been asking questions like how do we teach better in the classroom? What is the value of having so many exams? Do we need to move to greater hybridity? It’s been lots of innovative and exciting stuff, and I’ve also just found it a really enjoyable and fun journey. I see this as a once-in-a-lifetime chance for us as a uni to design the curriculum and way of teaching we want from the ground up.”

Erica says it’s been exciting to see the long-range positive data and insights rolling in thick and fast.

“So far, we’re seeing the model has far exceeded any outcomes we ever could have imagined, including average subject pass rates increasing by 20%. Teaching scores are higher, too, and many staff are reporting more engaged classes. I just feel very proud of what we’ve achieved to this point.”

Erica notes she and her team are hearing from universities all around the world interested in introducing the model.

“The main question we get is, ‘How on earth did you do this?’”

Erica’s answer?

“We think it’s because of that innovative spirit we have at SCU, that refusal to accept the status quo. It takes a certain institutional culture and spirit to be able to achieve something like this, and that just came through from the whole university, from the Executive to academic and professional staff across every work area.”

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For the students

Erica attributes her passion for enabling outstanding student outcomes to her own background - three of her four grandparents were teachers, as was her father. Since becoming a Lecturer in the then School of Tourism and Hospitality in 2003, she has put an outsized effort into supporting and motivating our students, drawing on her own experiences as a student to ensure our students are empowered to achieve.

“When I started my own undergraduate studies, in the very first introductory statistics class, our professor told us, with confidence, that ‘Eighty per cent of you will likely fail this subject.’ That's what the expectation was, and I can tell you, that’s what permeated and what we as students believed. At SCU in contrast, I love being part of a university that is so focused on our students succeeding, no matter where they come from or what career or life aspirations they may have.”

Now, in her executive role, Erica is proud to be in a position where she can help drive better learning outcomes for students across the entire university. Working closely with the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Quality), she oversees the university’s academic portfolio, as well as the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Since implementing the Southern Cross Model, Erica is proud to say to students:

“No matter your background, if you're bright and you want to make a difference and be more and do more, then we've got a particular way of teaching and learning that we think really allows you as a student to succeed. I love hearing students say they enjoy learning in the Southern Cross Model, and to see them walking across the stage at graduation. Hearing their stories of success is what it's all about.”

Connecting with community

When we catch up with Erica, she’s working in the executive office space at our Lismore campus. She tells us there’s a basket of freshly laid eggs that a colleague brought in sitting in reception for people to share. A few weeks ago, someone brought jars of honey straight from their hives. Erica’s specialty is citrus fruit from her prodigious fruit and veggie garden, although the week we catch up with her, she has a crop of cucumbers to share.

For Erica, this sense of community has helped her fall in love with the region.

“We've always got something in the office here that someone's either made or grown and at the same time, we're running a university. I love that! It really is an amazing region to live in. People are very connected to nature and to the place, and it’s just this incredibly diverse, motivated, dedicated group of people.”

While Erica loves the lifestyle and connection, like many of her Lismore colleagues, the floods of 2022 were what really drove home to her how valuable this is.

“The floods were terrible, but they brought us together in an amazing way. Our Lismore campus – including our classrooms - became an evacuation centre for approximately 1,000 people for many weeks. So many of our schools in the region were lost forever. We now have Trinity Catholic College, Richmond River and the Living School on or close to campus, and it’s been such a good outcome from these terrible events.”

For Erica, whose children both attend Trinity Catholic College, the floods have had an unexpected silver lining. She can easily attend their performances and events simply by walking across campus. And the best bit? Nowadays, they drive her to school!

“SCU has become like a home for them,” she says. “It’s a place that’s always exciting. It’s never dull on campus and I love the vibrancy this expanded education site brings.”