Some 71 per cent of locals who graduate from the university are choosing to work close to where they have studied, a number that is increasing by 1.6 per cent a year. Three-quarters of CSU students are from regional areas. 

CSU's Western Research Institute prepared the report, based on what graduates were doing four months after they finished their degree.

CSU has mapped the movement of graduates and it reflects an increased demand. A  critical shortage of pharmacists in rural areas prompted CSU to introduce a pharmacy course in 1997. 

In 2000, fewer than five pharmacy graduates from the state's universities worked in rural NSW. When CSU's first graduates hit the work force in 2001, 31 out of 35 took positions in rural and regional areas.