The future for higher education in Griffith and the western Riverina is positive with the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Griffith City Council, TAFE NSW Riverina Institute and Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Friday 24 October. The MoU aims for the three organisations to continue to actively support and develop higher education opportunities for the communities of Griffith and the western Riverina. The key aim of the project is to provide a flexible and innovative education model for higher education in the region through the Regional University Study Centre which is part of the Griffith Campus of Riverina Institute. The three organisations have been working together formally since 2007 when they signed the inaugural Memorandum of Understanding and agreed to work together as part of the Western Riverina Higher Education Project. CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Professor Ken Dillon said, "This model has proved successful in bringing higher education to rural areas, particularly in Griffith. "There are two important aspects of the study centre model – the support we provide to distance education students, particularly as we are the largest university provider of distance education in Australia, and also the opportunity to provide a smooth pathway for our TAFE students who account for one third of Charles Sturt University students."