Uni reveals grand plans
SOUTH Gippsland Shire Council and businesses could help train university students.
Council’s acting director of community services Ned Dennis said council would work with Federation University Australia’s Gippsland campus at Churchill to establish links with the South Gippsland community.
The university’s head of campus Dr Harry Ballis updated council about the institution’s first six months at last Wednesday’s public presentation session in Leongatha.
The university was formed by the merger of the Monash University Gippsland campus and University of Ballarat.
Dr Ballis said the change to Federation University would benefit Gippsland. The university and the newly formed TAFE institute Federation Training would provide vocational and tertiary training.
Dr Ballis said Federation Training would retain the Leongatha campus.
“We are devising a platform of education so that we’re going to see more and more happening for this end,” he said, referring to South Gippsland.
“Students will be able to use the Leongatha campus as a portal to a degree.”
South Gippsland Secondary College at Foster will be involved with the university’s Phoenix program, allowing students to study first year university subjects in a bid to encourage future study at university.
Dr Ballis said staff could receive credit towards degrees based on previous workplace training, and students with a diploma would receive a credit of one year towards an undergraduate degree, rather than the six months previously offered by Monash.
Federation University enrolled 835 undergraduate students at the start of this year, including 43 from South Gippsland.
Monash’s average total yearly enrolment was 350. Federation University will enroll a further 160 during its mid-year intake.
Of the new enrolments, 82 per cent are from Gippsland and more have come direct from completing Year 12.
Federation University will continue to offer flexible learning and for the first time in 25 years, more programs are being offered at Gippsland, with new courses based on agribusiness and sport science.
Three boards of management oversee the Gippsland campus, with one of those representing South Gippsland and Baw Baw shires. The other two represent Latrobe and East Gippsland.
“We want to work in with the relevant industries and be able to contribute to the communities,” Dr Ballis said.
Possible opportunities: South Gippsland Shire Council’s acting director of community services Ned Dennis (left) discusses the potential for close ties between the council and Federation University with Gippsland head of campus Dr Harry Ballis.
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