Notre Dame\u27s Broome Campus provides new \u27pathway\u27 to tertiary education

An innovative program which offers the opportunity to develop essential academic writing and research skills in preparation for success in tertiary studies has been launched at The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Broome Campus. The Foundation Year Program was initiated on the Fremantle Campus in 2011 and is also offered on the University’s Sydney Campus. The Program is tailored for students who may have not achieved their academic potential at high school or are mature-age students currently in the workforce and wanting to pursue tertiary education. Many of the courses are delivered off-campus which enables students from rural and remote communities across Western Australia to study online. The launch of the Program in Broome attracted significant interest from students based in various regional towns in WA including Derby, Port Hedland and Albany.Director of the Academic Enabling and Support Centre at Notre Dame’s Fremantle Campus, Professor Keith McNaught, described the Program as “a significant success for Broome”.“The Program complements our mission of providing quality tertiary education to those students living in rural and remote locations,” Professor McNaught said.“Staff will communicate with students regularly to monitor their progress and to ensure they are receiving the support they need.”Professor McNaught said the Program could assist many people in the community who, for a variety of circumstances, have not been able to pursue tertiary studies.“It meets the needs, for example, of young mothers who may have left school prematurely; the students who did not achieve an adequate Australian Tertiary Admission Rank score, and those families which have relocated to regional communities in WA causing them to be dislocated from study or work,” Professor McNaught said.“All of our students have dreams for their futures and the Foundation Year Program gives them that gateway to achieve their personal potential.”Derby resident and mature-age student, Belinda Kenworthy, says she is thoroughly enjoying her experiences so far as part of the inaugural Foundation Year Program cohort at Broome. “Having been away from a structured learning environment for nearly 20 years, it is so refreshing to be back at ‘school’ again with the benefit of life experience,” Ms Kenworthy said. “My learning has more purpose as a mature-age student and I feel the Foundation Year Program will prepare me for academic study and give me the reassurance and confidence I need to complete my Nursing degree successfully.” Students who successfully complete the program gain the necessary accreditation which allows them to enter an undergraduate course of their choice at Notre Dame. For further information about the Foundation Year Program at Notre Dame, please contact the Prospective Students Office on (08) 9433 0533 or email future@nd.edu.au. MEDIA CONTACT:Michelle Ebbs: Tel (08) 9433 0610; Mob 0408 959 138Leigh Dawson: Tel (08) 9433 0569; Mob 0405 441 09