Curtin University will close its Sydney campus in 2017 while education provider Navitas, which manages the campus and delivers the programs, will consolidate its services at La Trobe Sydney.
Curtin University will close its Sydney campus in 2017 while education provider Navitas, which manages the campus and delivers the programs, will consolidate its services at La Trobe Sydney.
Curtin vice-chancellor Deborah Terry said although the Sydney campus was returning a profit, the university had come to the decision that a presence in Sydney did not fully align with its current focus or vision.
The decision was based on the outcome of two independent expert reviews.
Professor Terry said students due to complete their degree before the end of the second trimester in 2016 would be unaffected by the closure, while other students would have the option of completing their courses at another Curtin campus, or in an equivelant course at the University of Technology Sydney or La Trobe Sydney.
Navitas has provided its education services to Curtin University Sydney since its doors opened in 2005, and also operates at Curtin College in Perth and the Curtin Singapore campus.
“Curtin has enjoyed a strong relationship with Navitas in the operation of the Sydney campus over the past 10 years and I thank the staff for their continued support of students during this transition,” Professor Terry said.
“We look forward to continuing to develop our partnership with Navitas in other areas of our operations.”
Navitas chief executive Rod Jones said the company’s priority now was to keep supporting Curtin University Sydney students during the transition, while continuing to progress its relationship with Curtin.
“We will also work with our other Sydney-based institutions, in particular La Trobe Sydney and Western Sydney University, to meet student demand for high quality educational options in Sydney and anticipate efficiencies from this consolidation,” Mr Jones said.
Navitas said it planned to build on its partnership with La Trobe University to develop a larger campus in Sydney’s CBD.
Recruitment of new students at the Sydney campus will cease next year, however given its alignment of operations in Sydney, Navitas doesn’t expect the gradual closure of the campus will have a material earnings impact.
Navitas shares were 0.7 per cent lower to $3.95 at 10am.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Christopher Pyne announced today that new legislation had been introduced to streamline regulation, remove unnecessary requirements, and cut red tape for Australia’s international education providers.
Mr Pyne said the amendment Bill removed duplicative regulations and cut unnecessary red tape to allow Australian institutions to focus on their core business and become more competitive in offering world-class education.
“The Bill I have introduced today will generate an estimated $76 million a year in deregulatory savings for our education institutions,” he said.
“This Bill demonstrates the government’s commitment to cutting red tape while improving Australia’s reputation as a high quality, world-class destination for international students.”
Mr Pyne said the reforms to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act would create a more appropriate and efficient regulatory framework.
