Katanning one of 10 Aussie towns to get a regional study hub

The Federal government this week announced the locations of the 10 new hubs across the country that aim to bring universities closer to students living in rural regions - being Katanning and Tom Price/Onslow, along with four in Queensland and one each for South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Northern Territory.

They are additional to the 34 existing hubs nationally.

Katanning Shire president Kristy D'Aprile said they had been working towards a hub in town for close to 10 years.

"Being able to provide tertiary education solutions for our community is significant and it really adds to the liveability of the area," Ms D'Aprile said.

"We know that it is really important, but hard, for our community members to access tertiary education, so this announcement is really significant for the whole of the Great Southern, not just Katanning."

Ms D'Aprile recognised the many opportunities the hub would provide to locals of all ages seeking higher education, knowing of many mature age students who have struggled with studying and remaining in the region, not just school leavers.

"The hubs offer a marvellous opportunity to retain people in the regions, because often we lose people, they have to move, they want to stay, but they can't if they need to further their education," she said.

"The hub means that we can retain all those new skills and retain the people that are so important to our community.

"All the things that make regional living challenging - internet access, access to education, resourcing, availability of space - all that gets delivered in this one project."

The announcement was welcomed by Regional Development Australia Great Southern (RDASA) and the Great Southern Universities Centre (GSUC), who have worked together with the Shire on the application process for the best part of two years.

GSUC will operate the Katanning hub in addition to the existing hubs in Albany and Denmark.

GSUC director Mike Eastman said local business leaders, community leaders, students, all who appreciated the potential of having the university hub in Katanning actively supported the application.

"We are so happy with Katanning being one of only 10 from all over the country to be announced as a hub location," Mr Eastman said.

"It was a lengthy and competitive process, you work on it for months, you get it all together and then this happens and you look back and say that was really big."

The hubs offer students in the Great Southern support to work towards achieving a tertiary education without having to leave family, support networks and the local community, and are free for registered students to use 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

They also have a student support officer on hand to assist with individual student advice including exam preparation, study planning, academic writing and referencing plus conduct tailored study skills workshops.

GSUC has had 300 students access the hubs since the Albany one opened in 2020, with 276 students currently registered across both.

"We can draw on the years of experience and lessons learned from the existing hubs in Albany and Denmark," Mr Eastman said.

"The hub in Denmark has gone gangbusters this year which is great, we always knew that Katanning was a prime target for the next one."

Federal Member for O'Connor Rick Wilson said the decision to grant the funding to Katanning had far-reaching positive implications for his hometown.

"Tertiary students from country areas deserve and require comparable services to those available in metropolitan areas," Mr Wilson said.

"Having a university study hub in Katanning will be a game changer for students in the Upper Great Southern who wish to study for university degrees at home, and stay in the community in which they grew up."

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the Universities Accord made it clear the need was there for more people from the regions and outer suburbs to get a university qualification and said there is evidence that where University Study Hubs are, university participation goes up.

"Today, almost one in two young people in their 20s and their 30s have a university degree," Mr Clare said.

"But not everywhere, not in the outer suburbs and not in regional Australia.

"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.

"Bringing university closer to where you live will encourage more people who otherwise might decide not to go to university at all to give it a crack."

Mr Eastman is reluctant to pinpoint a date the Katanning hub is likely to begin accepting registrations, but is targeting the end of this year.