Excelsia College > Partners and Community
Excelsia Partners
Excelsia College partners with the Council for Christian College universities (CCCU)
We are proud to announce that Excelsia College has partnered with the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), a higher education association of more than 180 Christian institutions around the world.
The College will undertake a broad range of initiatives with the CCCU to provide students with broader opportunities that transform the way they experience the world. Both Excelsia College and CCCU support a shared vision about the transformative impact of Christian education and the imperative role this plays in life-long learning.
This partnership will include work with the CCCU’s Australia Studies Centre (ASC), an off-campus study program for students based in Sydney. Beginning in January 2020, ASC will begin an exclusive focus on international business and non-profit management, utilizing the modern facilities, diverse community, and professional development opportunities that Excelsia has to offer in one of the world’s most popular learning and tourist destinations.
With campuses across the globe, including more than 150 in the U.S. and Canada and more than 30 from an additional 18 countries, CCCU institutions are accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities whose missions are Christ-centered and rooted in the historic Christian faith. The CCCU’s mission is to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help institutions transform lives.
We hope this strategic partnership will enhance student learning and experience and provide opportunities for travel and collaborative research. We look forward to working closely with the CCCU team.
Excelsia College expands strategic partnership with Sydney Film School
We are proud to announce that Excelsia College has partnered with Sydney Film School, one of the world’s top 50 film schools, according to Variety Magazine.
The strategic partnership will provide students from both schools with broader opportunities, helping to enrich their learning experience, and enhance their employability prospects.
Excelsia and Sydney Film School will work together to create opportunities for collaborative study and innovation projects, through shared areas of strength that include improved access to facilities and equipment, course development and industry networking. The partnership builds on past successful joint working and marks a step change in collaboration. Many exciting projects are in the works, including introducing new combined performing arts and screen production degrees in the near future.
Sydney Film School was founded 14 years ago to teach the essential filmmaking ‘tools’ necessary for a successful career in the global film industry. They offer an intense learning experience with graduates learning all aspects of the filmmaking process and leaving SFS with up to 20 film credits. Now located alongside Sydney Actors School, at Waterloo Studios they are situated in a purpose-built facility with world-class equipment available to students.
We hope this partnership will enhance student learning, work experience opportunities and collaborative research and we look forward to working closely with the Sydney Film School team.
Excelsia community
Excelsia Foodbank
As a not-for-profit provider, community engagement has been Excelsia’s strength. It is exemplified by a range of activities and initiatives that project Excelsia’s Christian goodwill and dedication to making a difference to the broader communities it serves nationally and internationally. It also helps to build civic leadership and facilitate engagement with local and regional communities.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Excelsia was able to support students through Foodbank, a free and confidential service that provided grocery items to students struggling financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 400 students received emergency food packs and temporary employment.












G’Day USA
Excelsia’s G’Day USA involvement is an amazing opportunity for Excelsia students in the Bachelor of Dramatic Art to meet Hollywood executives and advance their careers, and to showcase and promote Australian higher education on the world stage.












Music concerts are provided on campus for the local community. Excelsia also runs free creative and performing art workshops and masterclasses in creative and performing arts, counselling, and education. Some of those workshops assists HSC students to be better prepared for their exams.
Excelsia’s chaplain and other staff support the St. Vincent De Paul Society through their involvement in the Vinnie’s Van program, which provides help for the homeless in Metropolitan Sydney.
Excelsia’s Centre for Ministry Development provides free courses on church leadership to reduce burnout of religious leaders.





Sydney Prayer Breakfast


Sydney Prayer Breakfast


Excelsia table tennis contest


Pizza and Picasso


Excelsia Sponsorship
Excelsia College is a major sponsor of Jesus Racing Team and Life Choices Foundation. Over the past 14 years Jesus Racing has presented to over 300,000 students and thousands of inmates at prisons and detention centres across the country on behalf of the Life Choices Foundation.
The Life Choices Program was developed to challenge high school students to stop and think through the consequences of important life decisions.
Likewise, Excelsia is committed to the Kairos Prison Ministry, which provides spiritual support to inmates who are about to re-join society.
Excelsia is also one of two sponsors for the Sydney Prayer Breakfast where over 1,400 Christians come together and pray for the Sydney community. Excelsia also sponsors Christians Against Poverty which is a Christian charity that provides vital debt counselling and budgeting services to Australian families.


Help the weak
Excelsia is involved in serving the community through providing lunch to the homeless in Newtown, working with music students in Tonga, sponsoring the Uganda Children’s Choir Tour and participating in Operation Christmas Child.


Connect 21


Connect21 is a media and arts conference held annually. It is an opportunity for people to network in the Christian media sector and build formative and valuable partnerships with leaders and decision-makers from Christian radio, TV, film, and new media.
The purpose of the conference is to reimagine, stretch and consider how we think, create, and speak well in our cultural moment.
In a normal year, over 250 leaders, communicators, influencers, and content makers come together. Excelsia offered scholarships for the Graduate Certificate in Christian Leadership starting in 2022.




IMMINENT Leadership Summit
The Kingdom Good Coalition will present the IMMINENT Leadership Summit on Thursday 14 July. This one-day event will take place at Wesley Conference Centre in Sydney, as well as in various locations across Brisbane and Melbourne. This event is being organised through Christian Media & Arts Australia.
Excelsia Collaboration
The Lumen Research Institute is a research collaboration between Indiana Wesleyan University and Excelsia intended to pursue questions of social concern through global collaborative and interdisciplinary research efforts.
Excelsia is a member of the Australian Christian Higher Education Alliance, a group focused on seeing alumni thrive in their careers, distinguished by diligence, excellence, and innovative thinking, to the glory of God and for the flourishing of humankind.
Excelsia is developing a new partnership with AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) to develop Excelsia’s links between industry and higher education, including providing internships and partnerships across Australia and the USA.
Excelsia also engages with PACFA to facilitate support for its counselling students. At a staff level, Excelsia’s Provost, Professor Fernandez, presented on behalf of TEQSA on SAA to NUHEPS in 2021.
In 2019, Excelsia developed a partnership with the KARI Foundation to offer Indigenous Scholarships. Excelsia is also a sponsor of the National Indigenous Education Partnership, a program assisting Indigenous students to reach high school with the same achievement levels as their non-Indigenous peers, maximising their chances for success in high school and beyond.
Welcome to Excelsia community
Join our current student community
Get involved! Find out more engaging activities on our current students page
Ready to study with us?
Study with like-minded people and enjoy the friendly community
Join alumni community
Welcome to the Excelsia community of more than 5,000 graduates.


Excelsia College > About
About Excelsia
Choosing to undertake an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at Excelsia College will provide you with a firm foundation for your personal and professional life.
You will find a supportive, Christ-centred environment, with world-class academics and accomplished industry professionals who are ready to stand beside you and encourage you on your journey. Your gifts and talents will be fostered as you are challenged to maximise your potential. Small class sizes and interaction with our vibrant, collaborative community provide not only an expansive network of Christians, artists and professionals but also life-long friendships.
Excitingly, together with Indiana Wesleyan University, we are part of a global Christian learning community with big plans for the future. Excelsia College has 36 years of experience in Christian higher education in Australia, and IWU has 99 years of experience in Christ-centred education in the US and global markets. Together the partners are well positioned to take Christian higher education to the next level in Australia for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Both in and out of the classroom, we trust you will develop your character as well as your mind, and explore and deepen your faith so that you are able to engage thoughtfully and sustainably in your vocation and in your community.
We look forward to sharing your journey towards a fulfilling and inspiring future. Welcome to Excelsia College.


Excelsia is an academic community benefiting the world by producing research characterised by exemplary scholarship consistent with a Christian world view, and graduates prepared to lead in a range of professions.


Meet our academic board and board of Directors. Excelsia College (ACN 110 639 435) is a registered public company limited by guarantee in the State of New South Wales, Australia, under the Corporations Act 2001.


Excelsia College would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country, the Wallumattagal (or Wallumedegal) people of the Darug Nation, on which our campus is situated.



Excelsia
EXCELLENCE IN
Year 2022
Dr Christine Carroll
Music Program Director, Lecturer, Research Supervisor
School of Creative and Performing Arts
Christine started her career in music education in 1994 as a secondary school music teacher, moving into tertiary teaching in 1999. She has been a teacher educator at both the University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Australian Catholic University before beginning work at Excelsia College in 2019. She teaches units in Contemporary and Early Music History, Small Ensemble Studies (Vocal and Chamber), Harmony and Formation III as well as Masters units in Music Pedagogy, Research Methods and Research Project.
Her personal philosophy of teaching has embraced scholarship, reflection, student centred pedagogy, and personal and spiritual formation as she seeks to develop and realise the potential of her students around share goals and mutual ownership of learning outcomes. She employs teaching strategies which start by acknowledging the diversity of students’ prior learning in music, employing social constructivist pedagogies to build formal knowledge upon their informally acquired skills. To this end, activities in performance, improvisation, arranging, analysis and reflection are utilised as a basis for the introduction of unfamiliar abstract concepts requiring music reading or literacy.
She believes that effective assessment requires collaboration, with formative feedback provided throughout learning and assessment schemes. This provides her students with the opportunity to build self-efficacy as learners before more challenging individual ‘theory’ tasks are undertaken.
Scholarship is employed in all areas of her teaching practice with the results used to enrich student learning. Her current research undertaken with Dr Latukefu seeks to explore musicians career trajectories in relation to knowledge, skill and identity formation, with the findings disseminated internationally, impacting pedagogy and curriculum development in an ongoing fashion at Excelsia College.


Annual / Financial Reports
Excelsia College (ACN 110 639 435) is a registered public company limited by guarantee in the State of New South Wales, Australia, under the Corporations Act 2001.
Excelsia College is registered as a Not for Profit Charity and all annual and financial reports are submitted to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)
For the latest Annual Reports on Excelsia College please visit https://www.acnc.gov.au/


Excelsia College is committed to recruiting and selecting staff with the capabilities, experience and potential required to achieve the College’s strategic goals, find out the career opportunities we have for you…


Education is an important mission field for Christians today. We recognise that we have a distinct opportunity to make a significant impact on the next generation and we invite you to partner with us in God’s work.


Excelsia College is a Higher Education Provider registered with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, approved to offer FEE-HELP, Youth Allowance, Austudy and Abstudy, and registered to offer courses to international students (CRICOS Provider Code 02664K).


Excelsia College’s student centre provides a place of retreat for students between classes. The student centre is fitted with modern furniture and lounge areas, creating a relaxed atmosphere for students to catch up, study or have lunch. Facilities include vending machines, microwave ovens and kitchen area, Free coffee machines, massage chair, and games tables. Throughout the year, the student centre is used for various student and alumni events and functions.


Excelsia College has a wide range of academics available for comment on a range of topics and disciplines, including the current coronavirus pandemic.
Excelsia College > Study > Enquire
submit a course enquiry
Got a burning question?
Interested in studying at Excelsia?
Confused about your study options?
Overwhelmed by all this information?
Enquiry form
Courses you might be interested in:
Excelsia College > Staff
Excelsia careers and staff benefits
We are thrilled to announce that Excelsia College is certified as a Great Place to Work®
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. A mission-driven culture, solid leadership and career opportunities are the attributes that define what makes a great workplace. At Excelsia we aim to empower all employees to recognise and showcase the very best of their potential, and to go on to achieve their career aspirations, whatever they may be. Learn more about our certification.


Why our staff love working at Excelsia
Reward and recognition programs, and staff benefits
Staff Information
Staff Handbook
Our Staff Handbook outlines important information for our staff members at Excelsia. Click here to download an electronic copy.
HR policies and procedures
To view our library of HR related policies and procedures, please visit our Policy Library here.
HR policies and procedures:
Recruitment and Selection
Excelsia College is committed to recruiting and selecting staff with the capabilities, experience and potential required to achieve the College’s strategic goals, and who demonstrate attributes that are consistent with the College’s vision, mission and values.


View our jobs board, with information relating to available positions here.


Remuneration & Salary Packaging
- Staff salaries are reviewed on an annual basis in accordance with the Excelsia Salaries and Wages Policy and Procedure.
- Salaries are reviewed in accordance with CPI, Industry Benchmarking and individual performance.
- Permanent staff may also access a wide range of Staff Benefits from Additional Leave, Excelsia Higher Degree tuition and Salary Packaging.
- Click here to view our Staff Benefits and eligibility for Salary Packaging.


Lifelong learning
As one of our Organisational Values, Lifelong Learning is not just encouraged for our students, but also for our staff. At Excelsia we have rolled out Excelsia Lifelong Learning (ExLL). ExLL, an online Learning Management System powered by PeopleStreme, draws on content from GO1, Australia’s largest aggregator of online learning. ExLL is available to permanent staff and their managers as a tool to engage in a wide range of e-learning content to build skills and knowledge in accordance with individual development plans.
- Click the link to visit //www.go1.com/ learning library.
- Click here to use Excelsia Lifelong Learning (ExLL).


Midday Musings
As an educational institution, Excelsia has the advantage of having many knowledgeable and passionate educators on staff, as well as connections with various experts across many fields. Throughout the year, staff are encouraged to attend some, or all, of our Midday Musings sessions, where a guest speaker will present their thoughts, observations and learnings on various topics pertaining to education.
Development and performance
Did you know that 70% of vocational learning and development happens on the job? In addition, 20% is often supported through coaching and mentoring and 10% through formal class or course-based training.
Our Learning and Performance modules facilitate access to online training resources and act as a collaboration base for managers and employees to co-develop development plans to reach their goals.
Development and performance are consistently supported and invested in at Excelsia. With goal setting and development assistance, we seek to support all staff lead fulfilling and meaningful work lives as they tackle and overcome the various challenges of their roles.


Staff Campaigns
Campaigns and Events Page
- • Ergonomic Workstations
- • Access to discounts at Anytime Fitness
- • Opportunity to join the Excelsia Eagles sporting teams
- • Access to mental health and wellbeing support through Uprise


People and Culture News


Staff Retreat 2021
Pizza and Picasso




Make my Day
Staff Christmas Party 2019


Excelsia College > Current Students
Excelsia Online (ExO)
At Excelsia College, one sign-in will give you access to three systems:
Current Student Support
More Information for Current Students
Excelsia College > Alumni
Excelsia Alumni Community
Welcome to your alumni community of more than 5,000 graduates. Your relationship with us continues long after your graduation day. Our alumni are incredibly important to us. As an alumnus, you are a vital part of ensuring our college continues to evolve and bring depth to the student experience. Excelsia Alumni Committee will provide all graduates of Excelsia College with opportunities to network, attend events, give back and stay connected.
40TH Anniversary Celebrations
Alumni blog


From Theology to Theatre: Luke Edward Smith’s Transformative Journey at Excelsia College


Erica Brooks – A winning combination of faith and creativity


George Zhao – Acting his way to the top


Hailey McQueen (nee Barrett) – From student to teacher


Lusi Austin (nee Vuki) – A woman that embodies creativity


Ruth Kost – On becoming in tune to her passion for music


Esther Williams’ future is looking sky high!


Nada Appleby – A heart for pastoral care and student wellbeing


Lara Pilcher – Advocate for artists


Raising up students to reach their potential – Tracey Deal


A degree that expanded her mindset and career outlook – Alison Crooks


Esther Moran and Casual Fan reach new heights at Lost Paradise!


Darren Walker and why the transformation of education begins with teachers


Willem New – How one friend’s encouragement was the catalyst for a career change


Declan Montgomery on his Pinch Me film nomination


A listening ear and calling from God led Vonnie Ho to become a counsellor


Karen Anson – How growing confidence in her musical abilities led to a winning tune!


How a Christ-centred learning environment helped shape Anthony Barden into the teacher he is today


God works in mysterious ways, just ask Yumi Schaefer (nee Lee)


Tim Lim on 18. The Book of Job
Stay in touch with us on social media
Professional Development in Excelsia
Excelsia graduates are part of a diverse and talented global community rich with skill and expertise to tap into. We are here to help you develop the knowledge and skills you need to thrive in your career long after graduation.
Excelsia’s Professional Development online short courses are designed to enhance your skills and knowledge in the workplace and help you meet training requirements across a range of disciplines.
Learn more about these opportunities below:
Alumni Testimonials
Excelsia Alumnus: Lisa Champion


‘Studying online created a fantastic opportunity for me to study, work part-time and still be able to enjoy all aspects of family life. The workshops provided wonderful opportunities to meet other students, which resulted in ongoing collaboration and discussion through forums and personal communication. I chose to study at Excelsia College because I wanted a superior qualification and I could do this by incorporating my Christian beliefs and values.’
Excelsia Alumnus: Sophya Spann


‘The Excelsia College Master of Counselling program was a rich learning experience that grounded me in the skills that I needed to advance my counselling career. The best things about the program are its diversity and small classes, which allow for a personal touch, a better perspective and an interactive way of learning.’
Excelsia Alumnus: Nigel Vaux


‘After many years after working for a church and another Christian organisation, I came to the realisation I’d like to become a school chaplain. As I looked around I saw that Excelsia offered the best degree to achieve my goals and equip me for teaching primary students.’
We are so proud of your achievements!
Awards fOR OUR alumni
Declan Montgomery on his Pinch Me film nomination
Declan Montgomery is a Bachelor of Dramatic Art alumnus from Excelsia College and has been nominated for best actor for his role in Pinch Me, which has also been nominated for best Australian film 2022 at AFIN International Film Festival run in Brisbane.
A Tea Party For Sad People – Italian Film Festival | Best Comedy
Excelsia College is delighted to announce that internationally recognised director Michael McLennan’s short film, A Tea Party for Sad People, was awarded the prestigious prize of Best Comedy at the Italian Assurdo Film Festival. Assurdo is an international cinema festival celebrating alternative and independent cinema.
Standby - Prestigious Award at the European Cinematography AWARDS (ECA)
Excelsia College is delighted to announce that Michael McLennan’s short film Standby was awarded the prestigious prize of Best Drama Film at the European Cinematography AWARDS (ECA) August 2020.
Excelsia graduate a finalist in local business award
With intelligence, thoughtfulness and a strong sense of self, Monique Warokka’s distinct creativity and drive has helped her carve out her own identity in the music industry. Since graduating from Excelsia with a Bachelor of Music, Monique set up her own business ‘Roar Music’.
More stories from our inspiring alumni
You are in great company as an Excelsia graduate. Our alumni networks include successful people working in an array of sectors, professions and careers across the world. Hear their inspirational stories below:


Master of Counselling Student Story
Whether your dream is to properly care for or diagnose and treat people who have mental illnesses, make a real difference to the lives of


Alumni Profile – George Zhao
Actor and Bachelor of Dramatic Art graduate George Zhao is impressing audiences around the world with his acting work and character portrayals. With wit, charisma
Alumni Profile – Alison Evans
Do you have a story to share?
We love hearing what our graduates are up to. Wherever life takes you, be sure to let us know where you are and what you’re up to.
Join our Alumni Community
Get involved! All our graduates are invited to join Excelsia’s Alumni Engagement Working Group. The purpose of this group is to connect recent graduates with each other and former students with valuable work and life experiences.
Join our Alumni Committee
Want to keep in touch and help shape the futures of more students? Why not join our brand new Alumni Committee?
Contact info@excelsia.edu.au for more details.
We can’t wait to hear from you!