UNIVERSITY
Welcome Our mission for a better Tasmania remains undimmed during a turbulent time.
Well before COVID-19 arrived, the University of Tasmania
In the North-West applications increased by 34 per cent,
had determined to set off upon a different path to the
in the North by 14 per cent, and in the South by 25 per
one it had been on.
cent. That has converted into significant growth (almost
Rather than pursuing the increasingly typical higher education model in which success is measured by scale – which logically distracts institutions such as ours from serving our place – we determined to be a University for Tasmania and, from here, make a contribution to the world. It is a very different path to the one we were travelling, but we set off with a sense of excitement about what it could mean. Months later COVID-19 did arrive and we know it has been profoundly challenging across the globe. Our thoughts have been with many in our alumni family who have faced this challenge and been impacted in recent years. However, this renewed University focus of being both for and from Tasmania has meant that we have focused
8 per cent) in Tasmanian students in higher education, including a 30 per cent increase in students with a disability.
We know we have more to do. Financial need is a still a major barrier. There are 1000 Tasmanian students who couldn’t join us because of challenges with money. Responding to this, we have transformed our scholarship approach to make it easier and more targeted. Since opening in August this year, the Support to Study Scholarship Package has had a great response from potential students, already attracting 1000 requests for assistance with finance, relocation and accommodation for 2022 within weeks of opening. There is clearly huge demand here and we will need
our efforts on the needs of our community and, working
to attract more donor support to meet this.
together, have been able to make a real difference.
What we are doing will be a generational change that’s
Creating better pathways for students We have transformed our courses and expanded our offering. We have dramatically simplified our course
dependent on the support of both the university and those who can assist, to ensure we can create clearer pathways to study for so many Tasmanians.
structure making it much easier for students to
Supporting our distinctive regions
understand and much more flexible to meet their needs.
Importantly, we also approach this vital mission about
We are introducing course areas of Tasmanian need
access in a way that supports the needs of the regions
like physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech
where we operate.
pathology. We have redesigned our courses to better
This was strongly evident in the community excitement
develop the professional skills Tasmania needs and we
and celebration of the opening of the Field Building on
have focused on making them distinctive.
the Cradle Coast.
We have made a real breakthrough in transforming
This part of our mission is not just about new buildings,
Tasmanian access to higher education. The
but the things they enable us to deliver. For instance,
introduction of the Schools Recommendation
nursing is now being taught in Burnie, meaning
Program has seen a dramatic growth in interest
students don’t have to travel to Launceston or Hobart
for higher education in communities where access
for their study. This removes cost and loss of community
has been a challenge historically.
networks as barriers to study.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Rufus Black, centre, with Chancellor Alison Watkins and TIA Research Fellow Dr James Hills.
