IT'S official - Muresk is open for business.
Training and Workforce Development Minister Terry Redman has confirmed this week that the transitional funding required to seal the deal between CY O'Connor Institute (CYOC) and Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be delivered by the State Government.
The announcement ends four years of uncertainty as to whether the institution would ever offer a tertiary agribusiness course again.
CYOC and CSU will be delivering the three year Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management to commence in semester one, 2014.
The Department of Training and Workforce Development commitment to deliver $350,000 immediately will allow CYOC and CSU to start up a marketing program, to support staff in the course development and to carry the first cohort through.
With funding guaranteed the agreement between CSU and CYOC is expected to be signed within days, meaning enrolments for next year's course could open as early as the end of the week.
CYOC is now set to start an intensive marketing phase to attract and enrol students.
Since April, when the institute started asking for expressions of interest, it has registered more than 50 names, with at least 20 considered likely to enrol next year.
The Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management will have strong links to the farm at the Muresk Institute as well as commercial farms and agribusiness enterprises.
Training and Workforce Development Minister Terry Redman said in securing the funding, CYOC can go out, with confidence, and do the marketing they need to do to see students enrol for 2014.
He said there was still work to be done around the full business case for Muresk as a whole, which would be the next step.
"But given we are pushing towards the end of the year we saw it was important to give some certainty to CYOC," Mr Redman said.
The Minister was now calling on the agricultural and agribusiness community to show its support for the course.
"It is really important that the agricultural sector get behind this and use their networks to promote Muresk as a strong and viable pathway for tertiary training in agriculture to ensure the growth and development of the agricultural sector," Mr Redman said.
The Muresk Old Collegians Association (MOCA), which has worked tirelessly to gain government support to resume tertiary agribusiness education at Muresk, was extremely supportive of the alliance between CYOC and CSU in delivering this degree.
MOCA president John Hassell was relieved and excited to finally hear some good news on the on-going issue at Muresk.
"It was such a terrible indictment on the education system in WA that this hasn't been able to happen before," he said.
"Until now the universities have not been addressing the problem and have no drivers to address industry shortages.
"CYOC and CSU have pulled this off and it is fantastic."
Mr Hassell said MOCA would now call on industry bodies to support the course and offer up scholarships to encourage interest and enrolments.
"There are a lot of people who have put a lot of effort into this, mostly on a voluntary basis and a success like this is a testament to all of those people," he said.
