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External students get on-campus experience

January 31, 2006

ResJan.thumb.JPGBy Stephanie Hubbard

Residential schools for external students are in full swing at The University of New England. More than 350 students from throughout NSW and beyond have converged on the Armidale campus this week to attend the schools, meet lecturers, and discuss their studies with fellow students.

One of the lecturers involved, Dr Gudrun Dieberg, says there are many reasons for holding residential schools. "I think they are important because they bring students into personal contact with lecturers and other students," she said. "They also help students focus on the work in the unit."

Dr Dieberg, a Lecturer in Human Biology, is teaching a school unit included in UNE's Health Science degree program. The students attending her classes are all practising health professionals. Jen Hodge, from Sydney, is a sports and remedial massage therapist who is completing her Bachelor of Health Science degree externally. She says she enjoys residential schools because they "kick-start the learning process" and help external students to feel less isolated from the student community.

Antony Lamb, from Wollongong, is also a remedial massage therapist studying for a Bachelor of Health Science degree. He says he enjoys residential schools because they "provide a rare opportunity to meet others in the profession". He adds that, by doing his degree externally, he has the flexibility he needs to keep running his business.

As part of an intensive four-day schedule, the students involved in this unit are required to attend lectures, tutorials and practical sessions, as well as training sessions on the use of on-campus resources such as the Dixson Library.

The external students at UNE this week - many of them enrolled in teaching or nursing degree programs - are attending classes in a total of 21 different units.

UNE is recognised for its leading role in the development of distance education in Australia. The nation’s first regional university (with a history extending back to the 1930s), UNE was recently ranked seventh among Australian universities for teaching performance – ahead of many larger metropolitan universities.


The photograph displayed here shows UNE lecturers Dr Gudrun Dieberg (left) and Dr Pierre Moens (right) with Health Science students Antony Lamb (from Wollongong) and Jennifer Hodge (from Sydney).

Posted by Jim Scanlan at January 31, 2006 04:15 PM