Growing opportunities

Vice-Chancellor

Looking back on some of my past comments in this publication, a few definite themes have emerged.

One of those themes is my interest in growing educational opportunities for anyone who wants and deserves them. This is something I've always felt very strongly about: geographical isolation or social disadvantage should not prevent students from obtaining a higher education.

Since early in my time here, the University has pursued a strategy of growing educational opportunities in the state to great effect. In fact, over the past decade we have grown significantly in student numbers.

We plan to continue this growth and to whole-heartedly embrace the Federal Government's current emphasis on access, and on aligning our academic programs with national and state priorities and the demands of industry.

I am firmly of the view that recruitment of greater numbers of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds should not be limited to the VET sector or less research intensive institutions.

Of course, the University's track record in trying to break through the barriers of social disadvantage or geographical isolation significantly pre-dates my term as Vice-Chancellor. For example, Adelaide's Fairway Scheme was a pioneering low socio-economic status access scheme almost 20 years ago.

But now we want to create new pathways and opportunities for entry into the University of Adelaide for students who may have previously been denied them, while at the same time continuing to maintain the highest standards.

We've already started doing this: the Fairway Scheme has this year been extended to all Year 12 students eligible for a School Card or Youth Allowance; we are working with TAFE SA to expand our articulation, credit transfer and resource sharing agreements so that students can more easily continue their education to degree level; we're making changes to admissions processes and credit transfer policies to maximise recognition of prior learning.

Our recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Kaplan Inc. is the start of an innovative partnership that will help us in our aims to become a much more student-centred university, with increasingly flexible options for the delivery of our programs and an increased focus on the student experience.

This agreement with Kaplan will allow us to create even further opportunities for education in this state and beyond, widening our access to students who might otherwise have missed out.

We expect that there will be new articulation pathways from Kaplan programs to entry into University of Adelaide courses; and Kaplan's expertise in online learning technologies will help us develop our own online learning and resources, helping us to expand our offerings to rural and remote regions. This will also offer more flexibility in the delivery of our programs for the benefit of those already in the workforce.

The University of Adelaide, the state and the Australian community will benefit greatly from the entry of Kaplan into the Australian higher education sector. We have much to gain from Kaplan's worldwide recruitment network, its exemplary record in student outcomes and its strong focus on student support services.

The University of Adelaide is proud to be able to contribute in this way to the aims of the State Government's 'University City' strategy and to help meet both the State and Federal Government's goals of increasing access to quality education.

And we're pleased to be growing opportunities for education at a time when our nation needs it most.

PROFESSOR JAMES A. McWHA
Vice-Chancellor and President