Campus bucks State enrolment trend

Mature-age students are still flocking to Geraldton Universities Centre, despite a significant drop in applications across the State.

Figures released by the Tertiary Institutes Service Centre show applications from WA non-school leavers, a group mostly made up of mature-age students, have dropped by 27 per cent since 2013.

GUC has bucked the State trend, with mature-age applications making up more than two-thirds of the school’s intake since opening in 2001. GUC director Natalie Nelmes said the school was popular with older students because it gave them the chance to complete their studies without leaving Geraldton.

“A lot of young people who are keen to explore usually look for ways to study outside of Geraldton but it’s not easy for those who are settled here,” she said.

“Previously, people who were looking to upskill didn’t have the opportunity to receive a face-to-face tertiary education.

“We’re constantly hearing from students that they wouldn’t be studying if GUC wasn’t here.”

Last year 149 out of 226 students enrolled at GUC were more than 20 years old — which TISC classes as mature age.

According to Ms Nelmes, the ratio of mature-age students at GUC has been consistent, despite economic factors affecting State averages.

“Generally, the thinking is that in a time of economic downturn more mature age students wanting to upskill enrol at universities, but that doesn’t appear to be happening right now in WA,” she said.

“We’ve always had the same proportion of mature-age students here at GUC.”

Shaun Chester, a 21-year-old psychology student at GUC, said relocating to Perth for study was never an option.

“I have a job and a place to live here and with the high cost of living in Perth it wouldn’t be feasible,” he said.

“If I couldn’t go to GUC then I’d be studying online, but I don’t think I’d enjoy that. I love studying here … you get the one-on-one contact in the smaller classrooms.”