The number of first-time students at USC Fraser Coast is likely to more than double this year with 250 people receiving offers to begin study programs at the campus in Semester 1.

Offers for places at USC Fraser Coast made via QTAC (Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre) to date is up almost 120 percent on the same time last year, USC’s first year in the region.

More offers are likely to be made throughout February during further QTAC offer rounds, and day one of Semester 1 on Monday 27 February will see about 550 students on campus, compared to 353 at the start of 2016.

The Bachelor of Nursing Science remains USC Fraser Coast’s most sought-after degree, followed by Primary Education and a new Bachelor of Animal Ecology.

The addition of several new degrees at the campus for 2017 contributed to the surge in interest, with a new degree in Tourism, Event and Leisure Management and USC’s first-year program for the Bachelor of Psychology also popular with new students.

Psychology is one of five additional degrees offered by USC Fraser Coast in 2017 that will allow students the flexibility to undertake their first year of university locally. The others are Science, Social Work, Counselling and Social Science.

USC’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill said it was pleasing to see interest in USC Fraser Coast grow so quickly in the University’s second year in the region.

“This indicates satisfaction with the face-to face delivery of our programs at Fraser Coast, which has allowed USC to quickly establish itself as the university of choice for the community,” he said.

“We are committed to expanding offerings at Fraser Coast as the student numbers grow, and developing enrolment pathways that will allow many students the flexibility of splitting studies between the campuses in Hervey Bay and the Sunshine Coast.”

The total offers by USC Fraser Coast includes almost 70 places in USC’s free tertiary bridging program, Tertiary Preparation Pathway, with interest in the program increasing by 86 percent on last year.

Professor Hill congratulated those who received offers and encouraged all new students to join in Orientation activities at the Fraser Coast campus on 23 February.

The major round of offers was released online through QTAC (www.qtac.edu.au) on Monday 16 January. Enrolment information has been provided to applicants online and students are encouraged to respond to their offers by Monday 23 January.

Anyone who has received an offer to study at USC but does not receive enrolment information from an offer pack from the University within the next few days should contact USC’s Student Administration Office on 5430 2890. Study planning assistance is also available.

Those who did not receive an offer can also contact USC’s Student Administration Office for advice about further rounds of QTAC offers.

USC also has a number of alternative entry pathways to university. For more details, go to www.usc.edu.au/apply.

— Clare McKay