The City of Armadale will be throwing its hat in the ring for one of 14 Suburban University Study Hubs up for grabs around the country.
Last year the federal government announced $66.9 million for up to 20 new Regional University Study Hubs and the 14 outer-suburban metropolitan hubs.
“Today, almost one in two young people in their 20s and their 30s have a university degree. But not everywhere. Not in the outer suburbs and not in regional Australia,” Federal Minister for Education Jason Clare said.
“I want more young people to get a crack at going to university and we know that postcode is a massive barrier for young people getting that chance.”
The Suburban University Study Hubs program aims to support underrepresented and educationally disadvantaged students from outer suburban areas with low tertiary education participation, who face increased barriers to accessing tertiary study.
Armadale almost certainly ticks each of those boxes.
“One of several reasons why the City of Armadale is interested in advocating to secure a Suburban University Study Hub is to help addressing social disadvantage that continues to challenge some parts of our community,” officers wrote in last year’s ‘Implementing Suburban University Study Hubs Consultation Paper’.
“High levels of unemployment and housing stress, domestic violence, substance abuse, youth disengagement and lower levels of education are intergenerational challenges that some parts of our community experience.”
While Armadale has a significantly higher year 12 completion rate and more people with TAFE qualifications than the national average, only one in five people within the City of Armadale had completed a university degree – much lower than the 26 per cent of tertiary-educated people around the nation.
The tyranny of distance is undoubtedly one of the biggest hurdles people in the area face when contemplating uni; students from Armadale have to travel over 20km to attend the nearest campus.
It’s not a new problem, either.
“There’s a long history to the city’s involvement with trying to achieve a bricks-and-mortar solution to the fact that we have no tertiary education facilities in Armadale,” former mayor Henry Zelones said in 2016.
In its response to the ‘Implementing Suburban University Study Hubs Consultation Paper’ in September last year, the City of Armadale said they had recently tried to entice universities into the south eastern corridor to no avail.
“The response from WA universities highlighted the reluctance and inability to build more or new brick-and-mortar campuses,” they said.
So, a study hub is a workable consolation prize in lieu of an actual campus.
The hubs will consist of ‘campus-style’ study spaces, video conferencing and computer facilities, and in-person support for students enrolled in any universities around the country.
After a short community consultation period, the city is now working on its submission to be considered for one of the hubs. The deadline for submissions is at the end of this month.
