17 July 2014
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Macquarie University is to end an 18 year association with private provider Navitas to establish its own c ollege for domestic and international students seeking a pathway from high school into university..
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The University’s pathway programs are currently managed by the private higher education company Navitas through the Sydney Institute of Business and Technology (SIBT), which operates the university’s city campus.
SIBT has been providing pre-university Certificate and Diploma Programs. Upon successful completion of a SIBT Diploma, students can enter the appropriate Macquarie University Bachelor degree program as a second-year student. Over 20,000 SIBT graduates have gone on to graduate from Macquarie University since 1997.
According to the university Macquarie has matured into a well-known and highly regarded research-intensive university:
Given our trajectory and our new strategic framework under the guidance of a new Vice-Chancellor and leadership team, it makes perfect sense to invest in our own pathway college, as many other prestigious universities have done before us.
Students enrolled in SIBT prior to the opening of the new College will still be eligible to transition to Macquarie University upon successful completion of their pathway studies.
Navitas has pathways arrangements with 10 other Australian universities and a number of universities globally as well as owning full degree-granting private colleges.
Meanwhile Navitas has been selected by Perth-based Central Institute of Technology (CIT) to provide English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS). Navitas already provides CIT with employment pathway, workforce training and development and Adult Migrant Education Programs. CIT says the new partnership is a “win-win” for the education sector in WA.
At present, around 50% of CIT’s ELICOS students continue their studies either with CIT or with other state training providers in WA, so we hope that we can bring Navitas’ scale and long experience to the partnership and help to grow the international student market here in Perth.
The Macquarie announcement saw Navitas’ share price in plummet 31%or $2.18 to $4.86, wiping $840 million off the share value of the company.
