Student dismay at uni decision: STUDENTS from Murdoch University’s Rockingham campus are resigned to the disappointment of not being able to study locally.Last Friday, Murdoch announced its undergraduate programs would move to South Street in Murdoch in time for the start of Semester 1. No undergraduate students will be based in Rockingham; the campus will instead become a research hub, while university pathway programs will still be based there. A meeting between students and senior Murdoch officials on Tuesday resulted in a stalemate, with Murdoch confirming it will not reconsider its decision. Warnbro resident and Rockingham campus student Jake Keirnan said there was a sense of disillusionment from most students about the decision. “We are dumbfounded because we cannot study at our local university,” he said. “There is not much we can do apart from hoping the Federal Government provides more funding to the tertiary sector. “Students have developed a petition, which will hopefully go to State and Federal parliaments.” Jesse Weston, from Safety Bay, said some students would consider dropping out of university. “I, like many other students, chose Rockingham because of its convenience and to support the local community,” he said. “There is disappointment of not being able to study here and there is a feeling that some students are so disenchanted that they might not continue studying next year.” Natalie King, from Mandurah, believed Peel and Rockingham campuses should have amalgamated. “Rockingham is meant to be the regional university and it could have still remained with other alternatives, such as amalgamating Peel and Rockingham,” she said. “It is a blow for the community and the whole Peel region.” University says no going back on Rockingham change Murdoch University will not reconsider its decision, with acting chief operations officer Steve Dickson said “the decision is final”. “The university has to make operational decisions based on its governance structure and statutes,” he said. “We notified students and began the consultation process the day after the university senate was notified. “We will continue to consult with students and put in place various measures to mitigate the impact of the decision, including support bursaries of $500 per student enrolling at South Street from the Rockingham area. It is $500 per year for the remainder of their full-time degree course or pro rata for part- time. There will also be equity scholarships available for students to apply for.” Despite speculation the decision was struck months ago, Mr Dickson said it was only made on July 29. Students with scholarships would not be affected. Mayor is concerned CITY of Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels has expressed disappointment following the announcement. Cr Sammels recognised that course numbers at the campus had been in decline over the past few years and said that the City would now seek to work with Murdoch in an attempt to shape its future direction. “We need to work now with the university to see if we can change the direction and courses that they could maybe offer,” he said. “The last thing I want is to see the university close down completely and that’s why we need to work quickly and closely with the institution and talk through whether Rockingham can offer some new, unique and excellent course to provide pathways for people in the area.” He believed Rockingham’s proximity to the Kwinana industrial strip and HMAS Stirling gave the university “options” to explore in offering localised specialty degrees. “There’s scope for Rockingham to pick up some of those courses, but there’s a lot of work to build up future opportunities at the university.” The future of the university library should also become clearer in the coming weeks. City of Rockingham currently shares the library with Murdoch and Challenger Tafe. dlvr.it/6ccfLK #NEWSANDVIEWSLocalNews (inMyCommunity) #perth #perthnews
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 02:03:19 +0000
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