Just one week remains to get a head start in gaining tertiary qualifications through the University of Newcastle's Intensive Open Foundation program.
Open Foundation is a tertiary preparation program for people over 20 years of age, which provides a qualification that can be used to gain entry into university.
"With the job market tightening as a result of the global economic squeeze, now is a perfect time to gain an edge in your career by completing further training and boosting qualifications," Deputy Director of English Language and Foundation Studies, Dr Keryl Kavanagh, said.
"The University of Newcastle is the leader in providing pathways to tertiary education, and in the 34 years we've been offering Open Foundation we've helped thousands of people make the transition to university study.
"Intensive Open Foundation means prospective students do not have to wait until next year to start on the path to achieving a university degree."
Applications close on Thursday 25 June for the Intensive Open Foundation program. The program, which starts in late July, provides a qualification for entry into a degree program in 2010.
Students undertake a full-time program of study across 13 weeks. They choose two subjects from a range of areas including history, English literature and film, science, maths and philosophy.
Dr Kavanagh said making the decision to return to study was not always an easy one, and many people had doubts about their abilities.
"While the thought of returning to study after a considerable break may be daunting to many people, they are not alone and a wide range of support is available.
"We offer face-to-face assistance, online support, library tours, research skills tutorials, essay assistance and many other services to assist in settling in to the learning environment and help students become more confident."
Intensive Open Foundation is offered at the Callaghan and Central Coast campuses of the University of Newcastle.
Most classes are held during the day and the program requires 10 hours of face-to-face attendance each week.
For further information visit www.newcastle.edu.au or call 4921 5000.
