LA TROBE University will continue to put more of its courses online in a move it describes as giving more regional students the chance to become nurses, social workers and psychologists.
The university has unveiled its plan for its Shepparton campus, which it says is designed to help the university and regional communities recover from the Coronavirus pandemic.
In Shepparton, a new Diploma of Health Sciences will be offered for the first time in 2021, enabling eligible students to move into degrees in nursing, health science and social work upon completion.
The university will also introduce online offerings of most of its psychology courses, making them available for the first time to Shepparton students – both school-leavers, and those returning to study.
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Dewar AO, said as regional communities begin recovering from the pandemic, building a strong rural health workforce is a priority for the university.
“More than ever regional Australia needs experts in frontline and mental health, who deeply understand the issues facing regional communities, and the local services available to help people recover,” he said.
La Trobe has faced a challenging year as the supply of high fee-paying international students dried up, which accounted for roughly 25 percent of the university’s revenue. Two rounds of voluntary redundancies have taken place, mostly at the University’s flagship campus in Bundoora, in an effort to cut its total costs by about 20 percent over the next few years.
According to the university’s 10-year Strategic Plan released this year, La Trobe aims to strengthen its online course offering as a core feature of its portfolio of degrees, a move which, according to a university spokesperson, “in no way diminishes the teaching quality or student experience.”
