Students explore Aussie opportunity

By Daisy Hunt

hunt01241@algonquincollege.com

It was no surprise on a chilly fall morning at Algonquin to see the chairs fill up for a KOM presentation by Griffith University, located in sunny Queensland, Australia.

 Kay Hartwig, convenor of international education programs and music program co-ordinator at Griffith, was at Algonquin on Monday Sept. 29 to tell Aussie-aspiring students all about the university that links certain programs of theirs with Algonquin through KOM.

“You can go for a surf or a run on the beach before class,” said Hartwig during her presentation. Although many students were enticed by the average of 300 days of sunshine per year, most had questions about the more serious matters of moving to Australia.

Students asked about student housing and about their degree options. All questions were answered by Hartwig with enthusiasm.

“I’m interested in going to Griffith after Algonquin because I can do my degree in one year over there instead of two more years here. Plus it would be so exciting to live in Australia for a little while,” said early childhood education student Amanda Reynolds.

The degree transfer options offered by Griffith University turns the diploma from Algonquin into a degree in one year through the KOM process. Students with a diploma from Algonquin in early childhood development can get their degree in one year at Griffith, and then one year of teacher’s college after that to complete the process.

“There are over 37,700 students at Griffith. Over 8,000 of those students are international,” said Matthew Price, a representative from KOM consultants. Price’s office is located in Hamilton, Ont., and he sets up meetings with students and parents of students who wish to attend Griffith after Algonquin.

One of Griffith’s biggest accomplishments according to Hartwig is the fact that they have so many international students.

“We really take care of our international students,” Noted Hartwig. “We help them from the moment they get off the plane to the moment they graduate.”