More financial assistance for regional and rural students
In Summary
- Swinburne and CEF form new partnership
- Disadvantaged rural and regional students will have more opportunities to get a degree
- Financial assistance will be provided to help students move to Melbourne for tertiary study
Disadvantaged rural and regional students will have more opportunities to get a degree through a new partnership between Swinburne and the Country Education Foundation of Australia (CEF).
The Swinburne-CEF partnership will see financial assistance going directly to rural and regional students who face enormous costs when they have to leave home and travel to Melbourne in order to study at university.
Swinburne Vice-President (International and Students) Mr Jeffrey Smart says the new partnership with CEF will give more students the opportunity to undertake tertiary qualifications that will improve their employment outcomes.
“At Swinburne, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to further their studies,” Mr Smart says.
“Our Bachelor degrees are industry-linked and provide students with the opportunity to undertake paid work placements, professional internships and study tours.”
CEF CEO Sarah Taylor says the new partnership with Swinburne would make an enormous difference to young school-leavers in rural and regional communities who struggle to finance the cost of attending university in Melbourne.
“This partnership is a clear sign of the commitment that Swinburne has to improving access and opportunity to tertiary education for some of our most disadvantaged students,” Ms Taylor says.
“Already, we’ve been able to provide thousands of dollars in extra funding to students from Alice Springs, Balranald and Edward River who travel great distances in order to attend university Melbourne.”
The Country Education Foundation is a national not-for-profit organisation providing grants to help rural and regional students overcome the disadvantage of distance. Partnerships with universities and colleges like Swinburne provide extra funds for the students they support.
Rural and regional students are much less likely to attend university than their city counterparts, mainly due to financial obstacles. Those who do are also more likely to defer for one or more years after school in order to work and save money to fund their living expenses when they leave home.