3 months ago
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Affordability and lifestyle are consistent drawcards for students at regional universities like the University of New England (UNE).
As someone who was “an incredibly anxious person” throughout high school and was happy staying home, Laing says she is grateful to her parents and former teachers for convincing her that a regional university might be life changing. Laing has found a community at uni and in her residential college. She has even thrown herself into leadership roles she’d never thought possible.
“I became a first-year rep last year, and I’m on the leadership team again this year. If you’d told me in Year 12 I’d be doing that, I would have been like, ‘You’re making that up’.”
Laing reports having never been busier (“good busy”) and feels like there is always something going on – whether socially in and around Armidale, or at university and on campus. A recent agricultural conference at UNE featuring speakers from all parts of the industry, was something she’d never contemplated being part of, yet it was both informative and enjoyable.
“Socially, you’re always getting dressed up,” she says. “The Armidale races are huge; there are lots of sports clubs which I like. There was an agriculture ball at a pub. Everyone got dressed up, and I met a whole heap of new people.
The wider appeal of regional universities
Regional Universities Network CEO, Alec Webb.
Regional Universities Network CEO Alec Webb says life in the regions naturally fosters connection, which is echoed at university through a more personalised teaching model.
Students consistently report that affordability and lifestyle are big lures, while government-endorsed data from regular Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) surveys show graduates from regional universities not only enjoy higher satisfaction rates than their metropolitan counterparts, but also higher starting salaries as they enter the workforce.
“These are thriving cities and communities, and there are things there for everybody to do,” Webb says. “There are young people in regional Australia as well.
“We hear all the time from students who’ve moved to these communities, ‘Wow, I couldn’t believe Armidale is so lovely’.”
Webb says a high proportion of students who undertake tertiary studies in the regions stay on after entering the workforce.
Laing hasn’t decided yet, but she likes the idea of using her geoscience knowledge to travel around and educate the next generation. She knows such an ambition was unthinkable even only a couple of years ago.
“I’d like to go to schools regionally and in cities and teach kids the importance of geoscience. Educate the future generation on how much fun my degree can be.”
For more information, visit www.une.edu.au.
