Higher education student numbers at Charles Darwin University grew an impressive 13% in 2007 on top of a 10% growth in 2006, making CDU the fastest growing university in Australia.
The Vice-Chancellor of CDU, Professor Helen Garnett, said CDU was one of only a few universities in Australia which met or exceeded its 2007 student load targets, agreed with the Commonwealth - a first for CDU.
This growth was due to a 21.7% increase in new enrolments in 2007 as well as an increase of 7.3% in continuing student enrolments.
“It is wonderful to see that with this growth, CDU has maintained its proportion of Indigenous students taking higher education courses at around 5%,” Professor Garnett said.
International student numbers grew 30% on top of a 30% growth the year before. As well, the University experienced a 100% increase in the number of PhD graduates.
Also for the first time, CDU exceeded the vocational education and training target agreed with the Northern Territory Government.
“This is great news for those seeking vocationally educated employees. Exceptional growth was recorded in delivery to remote and regional communities in the Northern Territory,” she said.
“The University delivered a massive 113% of its remote target and 122% of its regional target. In addition, the University delivered VET programs to Indigenous students through Commonwealth-funded schemes.”
This growth has contributed to the overall percentage of Indigenous students undertaking and completing VET programs in 2007 reaching new records.
In the research stakes, CDU was once again named in the top two Australian universities for competitive research grant income per academic staff member by the latest Commonwealth data.
“This is a magnificent outcome for the University and the Northern Territory and is a tribute to the comprehensive planning and hard work by all staff across all campuses and centres of the University,” Professor Garnett said.
"Charles Darwin University has come a long way in a short time. It is also due to the support of the Northern Territory community at large.”