The 65 extra university student places to be allocated to the Albury-Wodonga Campus in 2004 reinforce Charles Sturt University’s commitment to the region, says Head of the University’s Albury-Wodonga Campus, Professor David Battersby.

Most of the places will be made available for the new Bachelor of Education (Middle School) degree, announced in March this year, and for a new double degree combining teaching and speech and hearing science. These new courses will commence in 2004.

“These exciting initiatives have arisen from careful investigation of the growing demand for education and health courses and the Albury-Wodonga Campus was the logical place to offer them,” Professor Battersby said.

The new middle school teaching course will focus on Years 5 to 9 in primary and secondary schools in Australia. It will deal with the specific needs of young adolescents and their transition into high school, qualifying graduates to teach in primary and secondary school systems and allowing them to specialise in English, mathematics or information technology.

The proposed course has already received strong support from NSW, Victorian and ACT education departments as well as from the private school sector. 

The other new double degree course in teaching and speech and hearing science will be the first of its kind in Australia.  It will produce graduates who can assess and recognise children’s speech and hearing needs and work with them in educational settings. The double degree is a four-year full-time course.

CSU has also allocated additional places in the occupational therapy and physiotherapy courses. “This is in response to the strong profile and increasing demand we are experiencing for health sciences courses at the Albury-Wodonga Campus,” said Head of the School of Community Health, Professor Gail Whiteford.

“The increased places reflect the urgent need for more allied health professionals educated to work effectively in regional Australia.”