Notre Dame first to offer ‘binge’ courses for COVID-jobless

Notre Dame is the first university out of the gates with a short, vocationally oriented course backed by COVID-19 relief funding.

Notre Dame University is first out of the gates with a short course.

Notre Dame is the first university out of the gates with a short vocationally oriented course under special funding arrangements in the federal government’s COVID-19 relief package.

The course, a graduate certificate in mathematics starting on May 18, has received 18 applications from students and is one of 18 courses Notre Dame is offering under the scheme.

So far, 15 universities have committed to offer the courses, which federal Education Minister Dan Tehan says are intended to boost the marketable skills for people who have lost work because of the coronavirus crisis.

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Mr Tehan wants universities to offer online micro-credentials such as graduate certificates, and a new category of higher education certificate, which will enable people to “binge on education”. Of the 15 universities offering the 99 mostly six-month courses for between $1250 and $2500, which are listed on the federal government’s Course Seeker website, five will start this month.

The course fees are less than normal rates and can be paid for with HECS-HELP loans. They cover areas such as health, medicine, education, IT, engineering and environment.

As well as Notre Dame, Western Sydney, Newcastle and Swinburne universities and the University of South Australia have courses that are due to start this month. The remainder are spread from June to September.

WSU, for example, is offering 12 qualifications, in areas including counselling and mental health, disability care support, environmental sustainability, STEM education, and interpreting and translation. A university spokesman said WSU had arrived at its selection of courses after taking into account its institutional strengths, the needs of displaced workers and assessed areas of workforce demand. It was expecting strong enrolments, based on expressions of interest.

The University of South Australia’s professional certificate in aged care, due to start on May 25 and aimed at helping fulfil the predicted soaring demand for skilled aged and disability carers, is also attracting strong interest.

Griffith University is offering even shorter courses than the others, with three-month graduate certificate programs in cybersecurity, and in data analytics and ­cybersecurity, available from July.