Central Queensland University and University of New England are the first two institutions to link up with Taree Universities Campus (TUC) ahead of the first roll out of courses in 2021.
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Expressions of interest are encouraged from potential students wanting to study nursing, business/accounting, agribusiness, agricultural science and rural science, arts and education (early childhood, primary and secondary).
TUC chief executive Donna Ballard encouraged interested students to visit www.tareeuni.org.au to indicate their choice of courses.
"TUC is all about ensuring we deliver what the community of our Mid Coast region wants and needs," Mrs Ballard said.
"Now is the perfect time to plan your 2021, and we want to hear from you."
The campus will provide a range of services for students such as face-to-face learning, administrative and student support.
"If you have a local job you want to keep, then you can enrol in a course through the Taree campus and do a unit of study after work," Mrs Ballard said.
"You don't need to travel far, find accommodation or give up your income and you don't need to be a full-time student.
"If you're a parent or carer, you can upskill or re-skill yourself after hours all from a dedicated campus in Taree.
"If you're a local business and you have staff interested in retraining, encourage them to study through the TUC so they can still work with you while studying."
The campus, situated in the Stacks Finance building on Pulteney Street, will be fitted out in the coming weeks. An official launch will be held before Christmas.
Negotiations are continuing with other partners to deliver university degree programs from next year.
Meanwhile, acting campus chair Dr Alison McIntosh is confident the campus model will help address an abysmal completion rate for students studying online. Just 18 per cent of Australian students finish their online courses.
"It's a known fact when studies are purely online the rate is going to be very unsatisfactory," Dr McIntosh said.
"A lot of students these days are studying completely online. We've got to do better than that for the Mid Coast."
Dr McIntosh said the project continues to be supported by the community. Many locals will be called on as tutors across a variety of disciplines.
"Local industry and businesses are going to be so crucial," Dr McIntosh said.
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