La Trobe University announces its commitment to country Victoria under its 'Vision 2015' Strategic Plan when the Vice-Chancellor and University Council members travel to far NW Victoria.

Transcript

Narrator:

La Trobe University has expanded its commitment to regional Victoria. It's part of a plan to boost undergraduate enrolments by 30 per cent over the next five years. The 'Vision 2015' strategy was launched when Vice-Chancellor Paul Johnson and members of the University Council visited far NW Victoria in mid September.

Professor Paul Johnson:

It's really important for people in Mildura to have access to a university education right here on their doorstep. It's incredibly expensive to go down to Adelaide or Melbourne to study.

Narrator:

Mildura will benefit from more courses and an extra 260 student places, taking numbers to around 700 students.

Professor Paul Johnson:

In health sciences over the next two years there will be new entry pathways for students studying para-medicine, podiatry, speech pathology and physiotherapy. The arrangement will be they will start their degree here and then they will go down to Bendigo.

Narrator:

La Trobe is also developing a new first year general science course and creating new pathways for people to come into the University, particularly through Sunraysia TAFE.

Professor Paul Johnson:

We already have some working arrangements with Sunraysia TAFE and we are going to expand those very very significantly, so students can start out in TAFE taking some certificates and diplomas and then moving on to a degree program within the University and bringing credit from the TAFE to their degree program. This again is very very important for people who want to try out some tertiary education, don't want to commit to a full three-year degree program at the outset, so they can do it in bits, they can start off, see how well they do, get the confidence to go on and get a degree for themselves.

Stefano de Pieri:

That is fantastic news for Mildura and for this part of Victoria. You cannot have a regional centre without an appropriate level of competent tertiary education. We have been asking the University and the government in essence to recognise that this is a growing city, not only in terms of it's numbers, it's important economically.

Narrator:

La Trobe University has been part of the Mildura community since the early 1990's. It has a city presence in central Deakin Avenue and opened up its main Benetooke Ave campus in 2003.

Professor Paul Johnson:

We've also got a whole load of scientists in the MDFRC who are undertaking work that is absolutely fundamental to the health of the Murray River, and the sustainability of the Murray Darling Basin, both in terms of the ecology and in terms of agriculture.

Narrator:

La Trobe supports the region's vibrant cultural life, its arts, music and writers festivals says Mildura campus head, Neil Fettling, a recognised artist in his own right.

Neil Fettling:

La Trobe are a major sponsor of that festival program and of course this directly links into the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in visual arts and graphic design and of course the arts program.

Narrator:

While in Mildura, University senior officers met staff from Sunraysia Institute of TAFE and Dulka Yuppata Koorie Cultural Centre. Some 130 local TAFE students, including eight Aboriginal students have already gone on to complete La Trobe University degrees over the past five years. Under the new 'Vision 2015' strategy those numbers look set to increase.

Stefano de Pieri:

In terms of the economy of Mildura, it is also important to understand that the more students we keep here, the more financial and economic benefits there are for the region itself. So the money, instead of flying out, stays in, and that's very important to us.

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