Applications for undergraduate courses up 15 per cent at SCU

Applications for undergraduate courses at Southern Cross University for the next teaching session is up 15 per cent.

Course applications are up at SCU which means that the likely recession might increase demand for university.

In a sign that COVID-19 may be boosting demand for tertiary education, Southern Cross University reports that applications for undergraduate courses in its next teaching session, starting in July, are up about 15 per cent on last year.

“People want to upskill themselves, to be productive,” said Paul Robinson, SCU’s senior manager of student management.

He said one reason for the increase was interest from school-leavers, whose gap year plans had been interrupted by the virus. “We’ve had inquiries about students starting early who were intending to commence next year,” he said.

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The undergraduate units starting in July will still be online, as the university has already decided that it will not return to face-to-face teaching for that session.

SCU also is offering 17 of the special half-year courses offered by higher education providers this year at $1250 or $2500, which the federal government is funding as part of its response to COVID-19.

“Hopefully we will see them progress into a diploma or a bachelor course,” Mr Robinson said.

He also said SCU had a surge in applications for postgraduate courses. For the study period that starts in July, applications are up 37 per cent on last year for online intensive programs such as the MBA, and others in education, mental health nursing, information technology and business.