Charles Sturt University (CSU) will offer over 4 100 places to prospective undergraduate on-campus students for its 2006 enrolment and is tracking well for the new academic year.

 

At a time when there is a national downturn in the numbers of undergraduate students applying to attend Australian universities, NSW is faring stronger than other states by recording a small drop of 1% in applicant numbers.

 

CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor David Battersby said CSU’s high profile courses and the Federal Government’s National Priority Areas of teaching and nursing are performing well.

 

“Much of CSU’s heritage has been built on our success in producing graduates in the health and education professions and again we are seeing strong results and considerable demand coming from our country regions for these Federal Government National Priority Areas,” Professor Battersby said.

 

“CSU’s high profile courses such as Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Medical Imaging, Veterinary Science and Communication are also performing well and look very healthy at this stage of the enrolment process.”

 

Professor Battersby stressed that the next important date to keep in mind was the second change of preference cut-off for students applying to their university of choice.

 

“Students applying through the NSW Admissions Centre (UAC) can change their preferences between Wednesday 18 and Monday 23 January for the second enrolment round. This is an important time for all NSW universities and we have staff available to discuss options with students seeking to study at CSU.”

 

In Victoria, students are unable to change their preferences between rounds of offers. However, as in all states, they are automatically considered for higher preferences in later Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) offer rounds, starting 2 February.

 

In recognition of the increasing financial costs associated with going to university, Charles Sturt University has introduced a new equity scholarships scheme with $800 000 allocated to students in need of additional financial support.

 

“These scholarships are available to undergraduate on-campus students in addition to our CSU Foundation and Commonwealth Government scholarship programs. Having access to a university education is a priority for CSU - especially for our rural and regional students.”