GradSchool is top of the list with business and students

GradSchool was a first-mover in entering the postgraduate online learning market in 2000. It was a time when course delivery was still mired in the old correspondence model and only one in three Australian households had access to the internet.

This was the beginning of over a decade of great achievements for GradSchool as it maintained its competitive edge and earned its status of being a leader in the field of postgraduate studies and coursework online. Today GradSchool provides assistance to more than 3500 UoN students drawn from across 60 programs.

Strengthening communities

Catering to global communities is important and represents a new way of doing business and meeting demands for flexibility in a rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected environment.

At the local level, GradSchool is a leader in developing strong partnerships with professionals, which is central to meeting the educational needs of our regional community. Hunter Business Chamber Chief executive Officer, Kristen Keegan agrees.

“As a chamber, we have a clear focus on the skills that are needed in this region and identifying the key organisations that can equip our workforce with those professional skills. GradSchool is at the top of that list.

“For a lot of businesses in the Hunter, it is a priority to not only attract the right staff but to retain and upskill those people - getting someone in the door and behind a desk is not the end of the story”, Kristen said.

Helping UoN staff thrive

Many University staff have chosen to study online through UoN to advance their career while fitting this in with their working and family lives. For students like Natalie Downing, Faculty Associate Director at the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, the experience has proved very rewarding.

“I put a fair bit of effort into the courses I do, but I can do my studies when it suits me. I couldn't fit study in any other way”, Natalie said.

“I expected online study to be a fairly solitary experience and that I would essentially have to do everything on my own. In reality it's quite the opposite! There's a thriving online community out there”, she said

These benefits don't have to come from a degree program either. Many UoN staff, together with local professionals, have completed short courses, such as the six-week e-Business Marketing program .

GradSchool can create tailored courses for business groups and offers single courses online for professionals who just want to top up their knowledge.

GradSchool is now located downstairs in the refurbished Industry Development Centre at Callaghan campus.

Find out more about GradSchool here