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Over 20 students from around NSW and Victoria have received a chance to commence university studies with Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Pathway Program which started last week in Albury and Wodonga. CSU course coordinator Dr Richard Taffe says the students, who have enrolled in CSU’s one-year University Certificate in General Studies, are studying in the first half of 2010 with Wodonga Institute of TAFE and then with CSU in Albury-Wodonga. “Charles Sturt University is committed to giving students from rural and remote areas the opportunity to get a university education and a professional degree,” Dr Taffe said. Wodonga TAFE CEO, Mr Mike O’Loughlin, said the program highlights the collaborative partnership being developed by CSU and Wodonga TAFE that provide sustainable pathways for students into tertiary education in regional Australia. The first group of students come from as far as Nowra, Griffith and country Victoria to study for the University Certificate, which is one of a number of transition programs being offered by the University.

Through a new initiative between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and higher education partners, TAFE graduates have secured scholarships to help them begin study at CSU. Ms Gemma Paul from TAFE NSW Riverina Institute in Wagga Wagga commenced a degree in accounting after completing an Advanced Diploma in Accountancy at Riverina Institute. “Receiving the scholarship is a huge relief as my course requires many books that are quite expensive. University will be an exciting experience for me and this scholarship will keep me motivated and focused,” she said. Ms Paul is one of 10 former TAFE students to win scholarships in 2010 provided by the University through the CSU University Pathways Scholarship, which in partnership with Riverina Institute, Canberra Institute of Technology and TAFE Western.  Riverina Institute’s acting Institute Director, Mr Graeme Stutchbery said, “We are thrilled to be able to offer our students such a brilliant learning pathway.  This partnership is about ensuring students from throughout the Riverina have access to further study and a career of their choice.” CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers said the program is part of the University’s ongoing commitment to create strong education pathways and collaboration from TAFE to University in its regions.

International food manufacturer Mars Petcare is helping put more ‘real life’ experience into Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) accounting degree by providing two CSU students with internships at its Wodonga headquarters. Mars Supply Finance Manager Mr Nathan Quinlivan said the company was happy to provide opportunities for local people to experience work at a global leader in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. “Charles Sturt University accounting students were invited to submit applications to undertake internships and were then short listed for interview and selection by Mars, with Mr Brian Kemp and Mr Mark Wilde chosen for the internships,” Mr Quinlivan said. Head of CSU’s School of Accounting, Associate Professor Ross Wilson, said the internships are part of the new work experience in industry subjects developed by CSU’s Faculty of Business. He said the new internships were timely given the release of an Australian Council for Education Research report which called on universities to provide more internship opportunities for undergraduate students, showing CSU was ahead in identifying the need to offer hands-on work experiences that better equip graduates when they finish their degrees. Students who complete the structured internships also receive credit for an elective subject in the CSU accounting degree program. Professor Wilson thanked Mars for its initiative and called for other regional firms interested in providing similar opportunities to local students to contact the School of Accounting at CSU in Albury-Wodonga.

Undergraduate business students from South Korea and China who will study business at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will be welcomed at a special morning tea  on Wednesday 24 March. The Acting Head of the School of Business, Dr PK Basu, said the students will spend at least one year completing the CSU undergraduate business degrees they commenced at Donggkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, or at Jilin University in Changchun, China. “This is the first group of students from Donggkuk University to study at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, and they chose this campus because of the climate and the access to Sydney,” Dr Basu said. “Students from Jilin University have been studying Charles Sturt University business courses for the last decade, and its academics and students regularly visit the University’s campuses in Australia. This year we have 12 Chinese students studying in Bathurst. Both groups of students have said they are enjoying their educational experience and the rural and regional setting,” Dr Basu said. It is expected that the number of students from Korea and China studying at CSU in Bathurst will continue to grow.