Study in 2006
24 December 2005
With Year 12 results released last week, Tertiary Admission
Centres across Australia will be gearing up to make offers early in
the New Year. It can be an exhilarating or disappointing time for
those hoping to enter university depending on demand for particular
programs (degrees) and whether or not the final Overall Position
(OP) obtained was as expected.
I agree wholeheartedly with the Sunday Comment (Sunshine Coast
Sunday, 18 December) which reinforces that 'OP isn't the be-all and
end-all of life'. For school leavers who are focused on high OP
outcomes, Year 12 is probably the toughest academic challenge to be
faced in life. For those who just miss out on a preferred pathway,
you can take some solace in the knowledge that entry OPs in high
demand programs are not indicative of what is required to succeed.
They are simply a means of selecting which students take up a
limited allocation of places.
The other thing to remember is that there are multiple pathways
to any career end point. For example, there is the possibility of
enrolling in a lower demand degree and changing to the preferred
one later on. Completion of an undergraduate degree may provide
entry to a postgraduate version of the program. Australia-wide,
many students use TAFE qualifications as an entry pathway or means
of broadening or changing an established career. So if that offer
you'd prefer doesn't eventuate, dust yourself off and think about
how you'll get there via an alternate route.
Most new students intending to join the University of the
Sunshine Coast in 2006 will already have their applications and
preferences lodged with the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre
(QTAC). For 2006 we will have more than thirty additional degree
programs on offer. This reflects USC's growing maturity and the
Commonwealth Government allocation of 1,000 new places across
2005-2007, the highest number of places awarded to a single campus
in Australia. Developing new programs to support the future
well-being of the region and the career aspirations and
opportunities of our graduates is crucial to the USC mission. The
University's staff devote an enormous amount of time to selecting,
designing and accrediting new programs.
A review of QTAC preferences for 2006 indicates that the
faculties have chosen their new offerings well. First preference
applications for the University as a whole are up by 30 per cent
with most of the increase associated with the new degrees. In the
new suite of Graduate Diploma in Education programs, for example,
there are 165 first preference applications (553 preferences in
total). Other new programs with high demand include the Bachelor of
Journalism, Bachelor of Social Work (Counselling) Bachelor of Sport
and Industry, Bachelor of Food Science and Nutrition and the
Bachelor of Coastal Studies.
Nursing is an established but stand-out program as well with 166
first preference applications (335 in total). This degree is
currently offered in association with Central Queensland University
and we have now reached the point were we will be in a position to
offer the program in our own right from 2007.
While the new program developments for 2006 are exciting, they
are also merely a taste of what is to come. Unlike virtually all
other universities who maintain fairly stable student numbers and
degree offerings, USC is growing rapidly.
One strategic goal over the next couple of years will be to
build new programs in the professional areas that support the new
hospital and health precinct initiatives. At present Sunshine Coast
students have to leave home to pursue such careers and once they
do, the research indicates that few will return. This is a loss to
our community that this University hopes to turn around.
The signature message for our Ten-Year Celebration in 2006 is
'The Power of Ten'. USC began in 1996 with about 500 students and
in the coming year the number will have grown to around 5000. The
numbers have a nice feel to them!
Professor Greg Hill is Acting Vice-Chancellor of University
of the Sunshine Coast in the absence of Professor Thomas