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Passing The Test...
IT WAS only a few years ago that most students who dreamed of receiving their hard-earned degree on graduation day wouldn't look past one of the more-recognised, metropolitan universities.
But times and perceptions change. Regional universities, once the poor relations of the higher education system, are increasingly seen as a viable alternative for students seeking tertiary qualifications.
Years of increasing student numbers fuelled stiff competition between unis as they battled to increase their market share. Despite a slowing of growth over the past two years, experts say some regional unis are holding their own.
The Brisbane-centred powerhouses still lead the way. Queensland University of Technology has 35,665 enrolled, the University of Queensland 34,460 and Griffith University 33,162.
But regional unis are carving out a large slice of the market with some, such as the Toowoomba-based University of Southern Queensland, having more than 18,000 students.
Among those recording growth in recent years are the University of the Sunshine Coast, the University of Southern Queensland and, in northern New South Wales, Southern Cross University
Last month, QUT announced it would close a Brisbane campus, Carseldine, at the end of the year because of lack of demand. At the same time, regional unis such as Southern Cross are opening new campuses.
As the race for end-of-year admissions heats up, all unis are advertising in newspapers and on radio and TV, promoting their attractions. Using lifestyle drawcards such as beaches, rainforest, reefs and rural scenery, combined with special courses and multiple campuses, regional unis say they're giving their metropolitan counterparts a run for their money.
The University of Southern Queensland offers bachelor degrees in wine science, creative arts and, unique in Australia, applied media.
Pitching itself as Queensland's No.1 distance-education university, it says lifestyle and smaller class sizes are the reasons students choose to go there.
The vice-chancellor, Professor Bill Lovegrove, said admissions had jumped by 36 per cent in the past four years, despite a difficult market.
"The Queensland student market is very tight and there has been very little growth," he said. "Attracting enough students is a hard game for all Queensland universities on at least one of their campuses.
"I think, for major unis, having to worry about competition from regional universities is more of an issue now than it ever used to be.
"We are heavily distance-education-based, and more and more students want a mix of work and study and we're working hard to provide flexibility so they can combine both."
James Cook University in north Queensland is trying to lure students by offering bachelor degree courses such as marine science, tropical agricultural science, aeromedical retrieval, eco-tourism and, launched on the back of the resources boom, geology.
Instead of being stuck in a lecture hall, students can use the world-famous Great Barrier Reef and tropical rural areas as their classroom. A spokesman for James Cook University said it used its surroundings to attract students and provide practical experience. "Employers comment that JCU graduates have an exceptional combination of practical and theoretical skills," he said. James Cook marine biology student Vanessa Jaiteh, 23, from Berne in Switzerland, said she chose to attend the university to enjoy a "tropical lifestyle".
"I had driven through Townsville when I was in Australia and liked it so much I wanted to study here," said Ms Jaiteh, who lives in Townsville.
"It was a lifestyle choice but it's also a very good program." The University of the Sunshine Coast, which has a bachelor of science (sport and exercise science) degree, boasts of having the first accreditation from the Australian Institute of Sport. It also has coastal studies and business tourism degrees and, an Australian first, a post-graduate course in climate-change adaptation.
Vice-chancellor Paul Thomas said USC was "one of the strongest universities in the country with respect to growth". He said: "Across the last three or four years we've gained more growth proportionally and numerically than any other university in the country." Metropolitan universities did not fear the regionals but they did "want our numbers".
"We're not big enough to frighten them," he said, but the national growth slowdown in student numbers was a problem.
"We've had to put up with a fair amount of aggressive advertising from universities who are outside our region.
"There is huge competition, and some universities are going country-wide with advertising and spending a small fortune." Prof Thomas said many of the university's students were lured to USC by the small scale of the campus at Sippy Downs, near Buderim, where they received personal attention.
"The Sunshine Coast is a growth area but we've also got an interesting product. It's a beautiful campus and a very natural environment, and has some wonderful architecture for which we've won prizes," he said. "The Good Universities Guide has pointed increasingly to areas where we are five-star. So we, too, can be a university for the real world. "There are no significant disadvantages to this place other than the range of subjects compared to major metro universities, and the reputation."
Nursing student Stevie Gatti, 20, from nearby Mountain Creek, chose to attend USC "to be close to the beach": "It is a lifestyle decision, but I'm happy with the quality of the course here and it's very professional and hands-on," she said. "Because it's smaller and there are less people, it's a lot less intimidating."
Bond University on the Gold Coast, despite having fewer than 4000 students, says it offers one of the best law courses in the country, securing three out of seven High Court judge associateships this year. It does not classify itself as a regional university but an "international university".
Vice-chancellor Robert Stable said that, because it was smaller, the university could offer "a more personalised academic environment where lecturers know students by name".
"Our unique approach sees us stand out from the larger 'sandstone' universities," he said. "The product we offer is different, in that it's small, non-government and non-profit, whose sole purpose is for education and research." Central Queensland University, centred on Rockhampton, spent about $5 million last year on marketing to convince students to sign up to courses such as aviation technology, co-op engineering and property.
Vice-chancellor John Rickard said students were attracted to the "flexibility" of studying there. "I think we've always been strong in terms of distance education," he said. "The desire to study at regional universities has always been there but in the last couple of years we've seen greater flexibility in access.
"I think, over time, companies have become confident with Central Queensland University. There is no doubt we are giving major metros a run for their money." Across the border, the University of New England, in Armidale, and Southern Cross University are also trying to plunder Queensland's metropolitan tertiary market. UNE courses have a rural and regional flavour including a bachelor degree in livestock science, the only one in Australia.
Lismore-centred Southern Cross offers a diploma in sport management/ surfing studies or a bachelor course in clinical science/lifestyle medicine.
Southern Cross University vice-chancellor Professor Paul Clark said his institution was increasingly poaching students from southeast Queensland. "Southern Cross University is the seventh-largest provider of distance education nationally," he said. "For many people based in metropolitan areas, our distance education courses are a very attractive option allowing them to combine study, work and other commitments."
Universities Australia chief executive officer Professor Glenn Withers said regional universities were "holding their own and in some cases increasing their share of the market". He said: "It's not dramatic, and generally the tertiary sector has been expanding fairly uniformly, with some bigger increases in Queensland and Western Australia."Prof Withers said that after five years of growth, thanks to an increase in government-funded places, the past two years had resulted in little expansion in student numbers.
"Regional unis have become more competitive in a number of ways and are positioning themselves better, otherwise they wouldn't have held their own," he said. But he warned a predicted drop in young school-leavers from 2009 would affect the numbers going to uni: "The number of young school-leavers will plummet for a decade, and for domestic students it's really going to be hard for universities to keep growing unless school completion rates increase a lot or unless mature-age students increase their enrolments."
A Griffith University deputy vice-chancellor, Professor John Dewar, said the institution was quite happy with its progress, and saw metro unis everywhere as its main competition. "Southeast Queensland is a highly competitive higher education market and you have some of the best universities in the country located in this part of Australia," he said. "Because it is competitive, we all have to be as best as we can be to get the students in.
"There are some regional universities in some areas who are regarded as very competitive, like James Cook, but I would not say that across the board.
"We're bigger, and that means we have a scale they can't match, which is reflected in the quality of facilities, and we're much closer to major employment centres. And there are the attractions of an urban environment you just can't get in a regional area."
Article from: 
Date: June 29, 2008
