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University celebrates bumper enrolments and host of new courses

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Words
Jessica Nelson
Published
5 March 2019

Southern Cross University is celebrating a bumper start to Session 1, welcoming more than 3800 new enrolments to Lismore, Gold Coast and Coffs Harbour campuses and online.

New students have begun their first week of classes for 2019 with a 23 per cent increase in fulltime student load across the University.

Southern Cross University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Tyrone Carlin said the University has experienced a stellar increase in international commencing students. Around 560 new international students will start classes this week.

“We have seen strong growth in courses including Nursing, Psychological Science, Occupational Therapy, Master of Teaching, Secondary Education, Marine Science and Management, and the University’s free and award-winning pathway course called the Preparing for Success Program (PSP),” Professor Carlin said.

“PSP is a great option for students who didn’t receive their desired Year 12 results or mature age applicants who have been away from study for a few years.”

Direct applications increased 32 per cent across all application channels for all student cohorts for Session 1 2019. STAR Early Offer – a program for Year 12 leavers who gain offer into a degree based on a principal’s recommendation – has seen a 43 per cent climb in enrolments.

International student Anni Guse from Germany is studying business and marketing at Southern Cross University Gold Coast campus.

“I’m excited for classes to get underway and I’ve already met other international students from all over the world, from Europe and Asia during Orientation week. We love the Gold Coast, especially the beaches, warm weather, meeting all the Aussies and practising speaking English,” she said.

New courses now on offer

Exciting new courses on offer from Session 1 at Southern Cross University include a new five-year combined double degree in pedorthics and podiatry at the Gold Coast campus, the combined Bachelor of Exercise and Psychological Science at Coffs Harbour campus, and the foundational one-year Diploma of Health at the Gold Coast and Coffs Harbour campuses and online which can be used as a credited pathway into any health degree at Southern Cross.

New courses now available online include the one-year Graduate Diploma of Indigenous Knowledge, the 16-month Graduate Diploma in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the eight-month Graduate Certificate in Primary Health Care Nursing.

The recently introduced Psychological Science degree (three years) and Honours level (one extra year) have proved to be highly desirable at the Gold Coast campus after many years of success at the Coffs Harbour campus. The Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology is now available at Gold Coast campus after years of success at the Lismore campus.

The one-year Diploma of Business is also now available for all students at the Gold Coast campus or domestic students anywhere across the country can complete the course online. International students can study the Diploma of Business at Southern Cross University branch campuses in the central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne.

The three-year Bachelor of Marine Science and Management is now available at the University’s National Marine Science Centre in Coffs Harbour and remains on offer at the Lismore campus and online.

The four-year Bachelor of Occupational Therapy is now offered at Coffs Harbour campus in addition to Gold Coast campus. The three-year Bachelor of Social Welfare is another new degree at Coffs Harbour campus, and remains available at Gold Coast campus and online. The two-year Bachelor of Nursing - Enrolled Nurse to Registered Nurse pathway is now offered for the first time in its entirety at the Coffs Harbour campus from Session 1, making it another course Southern Cross University students can study in-person at any campus.