By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
CASEY students are set to benefit from a Federal Government feasibility study into university services in the state’s south east which was announced this week.
Minister for Higher Education Senator Kim Carr committed $500,000 for an independent feasibility study into expanding the university services in the region, leading to the potential opening of a university college in 2015.
Senator Carr said the aim of the proposed college would be to not only give people an opportunity to study at university but to ensure they graduate.
“A university college here can encourage students to stay at school and ensure they can access, and succeed at, higher education in the future,” Senator Carr said.
The study, which was announced at Monash University’s Berwick Campus on Monday, will investigate the needs of students in outer-eastern Melbourne, including Casey which has a 23 per cent university attainment rate, nine per cent lower than the national average of 32 per cent.
Mr Carr recognised that students would be interested in a range of institutions, not just Monash, and said the study would be pivotal in exploring the links between universities and also TAFES.
“There clearly might well be other institutions that people want to study at as well,” he said.
“We want to know what the linkages are into TAFE. How do we actually improve the success story of people going from TAFE into the university system and vice versa?”
Director Business Strategy at Monash David Hanna welcomed the announcement, along with La Trobe MP Laura Smyth and Holt MP Anthony Byrne.
Ms Smyth said resources needed to be committed to tertiary education, especially to help those students who were the first in their families to attend universities.
“Now’s the time to really be focused not only on investment in primary or secondary school but making sure that there is that proper pathway for people first from their family to be the first graduates as well,” she said.
Turning her attention to the Federal election, Ms Smyth predicted another tightly-fought contest in her seat of La Trobe.
“I think La Trobe’s been one of those very marginal seats that we’ve really battled for for a long time.
“It certainly wasn’t easy to succeed in it last time and it will be the same again this time,” she said.
“I’m getting a good response from people locally and I just hope that continues on.
“I think that it’s a seat where people are willing to engage in a bit of the political debate, they see it as important because we’re in the growth corridor.”
