Prospective students check out info day at UC

Vanessa Lam

01 August 2014: People wanting to change direction in their careers, specialise in their fields, or feel ready for something new, reaped the benefits of the University of Canberra's first mid-year enrolment information day on 15 July.

Over one hundred prospective students were able to explore their study options at the event, held at the University's INSPIRE centre.

Public servant Paul Kelloway is set to begin his UC degree in Semester Two. Photo: Michelle McAulay.

The event allowed people to meet with the University's academic staff to learn more about the courses on offer and obtain help with applications, enrolment and alternative pathways to study.

Canberra public servant Paul Kelloway, who plans to begin his Bachelor of Gender and Diversity at the University in Semester Two, was pleased that there was an event such as this.

"The public service is undergoing a lot of restructures at the moment, which can make it sort of challenging, even for a low-level worker like me. And then the government's proposed changes to universities gave me a bit of a shock and I realised that it's about time that I took care of this in my life,' he said. "I'm a mature-aged student and I'm not getting any younger."

Colleagues Kate Sullivan and Melanie Ryan, who are also public servants, are looking into expanding their studies next year and said although the prospective of going back to study after working full time is daunting, it is also exciting.

"There seems to be some really great stuff out there and it's really interesting to find flexible study arrangements, especially for postgraduate study," Ms Sullivan said.

"If you work full time, it's important to be able to study online or have after-hours opportunities and from what I've read and seen, so far, there seems to be a lot of options for post-graduate students which is really positive because it's really hard to find," she said.

The event also featured free personalised career-advice sessions provided by Cantlie Recruitment specialist career coaches. 

Prospective students who brought along their relevant documentation were able to apply on the spot and also receive an initial assessment and conditional offer on the day.

The University of Canberra still has places available for the mid-year intake for undergraduate and postgraduate courses beginning on 11 August.