“The news that the Federal Government has provided 40 new places to the Bachelor of Clinical Sciences degree at Charles Sturt University (CSU) is a strong recognition of CSU’s role in education and recruitment of rural health practitioners,” said Professor Mark Burton, CSU’s Dean of the Faculty of Health Studies. He was responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement late last week that CSU has been successful in its bid for additional university places in health-related disciplines in 2007. The new Bachelor of Clinical Sciences degree will stream rural and regional students into guaranteed places at Sydney University’s dental and medical degrees. “CSU has a strong track record of working to solve issues in regional communities. Our pharmacy graduates have already shown their commitment to stay and work in our regions and CSU’s collaborative arrangements with health agencies including the Greater Area Health Services has improved the critical shortage of Registered Nurses in rural and regional areas,” Professor Burton said. The Federal Government also announced 10 additional Clinical Psychology places at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus. Professor Ben Bradley, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts, said the new places will allow CSU to extend its flexible delivery of clinical training for psychologists who prefer to study at a distance. “They are already working in rural and remote Australia where there is an urgent need for psychological expertise to deal with the nation's growing burden of mental illness” Professor Bradley added.