INTERNATIONAL students are set to return to Mildura’s La Trobe University campus next year as a part of the Victorian Government’s International Student Arrivals Plan.
The scheme, which will allow for international students enrolled in university, TAFE and other educational facilities to enter the country, is to occur over two stages with the flow of students increasing gradually.
The number of international students has been significantly low since the start of the pandemic and this decrease has been particularly hard on regional universities.
La Trobe vice-chancellor Professor John Dewar, who is looking forward to the return of international students, says “we have very much missed our international students, who make such an important contribution to our campuses in Melbourne and regional Victoria and to the many communities around them.”
La Trobe has seen a significant decrease in the number of international students enrolled in the university noting only 20 per cent of their international pre-pandemic numbers are studying with the institute.
A La Trobe spokesperson told Sunraysia Daily, “since the start of the pandemic, the number of international students across the university has dropped – mainly because those who have completed their studies have left, and we haven’t been able to enrol students to replace them due to international travel restrictions.”
In preparation for the new wave of students, the spokesperson also said the La Trobe team was “working really hard to ensure that we can re-open our campuses so that all students – international and domestic – can have a safe and enjoyable return to face-to-face learning.”
Mr Dewar says La Trobe Mildura plans on being a fully vaccinated campus by December.
