St Columba has formed an exciting partnership with Charles Sturt University that has led to the creation of The Bridge Program.
The Bridge Program will allow our students to experience university study at Charles Sturt with a choice of subjects offered across each faculty. Successful achievement will allow students to gain credits towards further study of subjects in a degree course at Charles Sturt on completion of Year 12.
Students in Year 10 and 11 have been offered the opportunity to complete the unit “GEN 173 – Preparing for University Study” as a prerequisite for single subject study. This unit is mandatory for those students wishing to continue the Bridge Program in Year 11 (2022) and 12 (2023) across differing faculties. This subject will give our students a taste of what it’s like to study at CSU and prepare them for the academic requirements of an undergraduate degree. The focus of the course is on students acquiring foundational knowledge and applied skills necessary for academic success, including time management, academic integrity, basic computer literacy, independent learning skills, skills to understand and complete assessment tasks and career planning. It is expected that this course will improve students’ familiarity with the university system and boost their confidence in undertaking their chosen undergraduate degree.
Our current Year 11 students have been offered the opportunity to complete one subject this year in Session 60(2) 2021 and a second unit in 2022. These single subject courses will be offered on campus and online. These subjects include An Introduction to Research, Ethics and Reasoning, Business Economics, Organisations and Management, Digital Media, Foundations of Psychology, Introduction to Database Systems and An Introduction to Intelligence. For students already in Year 11, and exemption to enrol without the need to complete GEN 173 has been allowed for these courses this year.
The Bridge Program will aim at ensuring that our graduates have access to tertiary study and are fully prepared for university learning. This is a first for a regional school in Australia and will offer our students an ideal platform for the next stage of their learning and career development.
Today some of our senior students attended their Orientation Day at Charles Sturt where they had a tour of the University and met some of their tutors.
