Arts & Education in the Regions

Letter emailed to La Trobe University Vice Chancellor John Dewar, 15th November 2020.

Dear Professor Dewar,

I am sure it will come as no surprise to you that I am angered by your proposal to offer regional students the Bachelor of Arts as a purely online degree.

I enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts at Bendigo in 2013 and my experience since has been nothing short of life changing. I cannot emphasis enough how significantly my academic success at La Trobe was influenced by the supportive face-to-face learning environment at Bendigo, such that I am now close to completing my doctorate.

I am the first person in my family to attend university and a significant factor in my academic accomplishment is my access to face-to-face learning on a regional campus in my hometown, where I am also the carer for a parent with multiple disabilities.

Regional students and staff alike have managed the sudden shift online during the COVID crisis remarkably well, despite the extreme stress of external factors. The leveraging of that outstanding effort to remove face-to-face learning altogether is a cynical slap in the face for those who held onto the hope of eventually returning to an educational environment beyond our front gates.

Regional students thrive in face-to-face learning environments, and the opportunity to experience and contribute to a genuine learning cohort should not be denied based purely on their location. This is clearly a matter of equity in access.

I urge you to rethink your proposal. Please also be aware that I have shared this letter on social media.

Regards,

Tash.

PhD Candidate

La Trobe University Bendigo