The University of Western Sydney today announced plans to locate a growing suite of academic and professional development courses next year on the UWS Nirimba Campus in Blacktown.

This move will in future see thousands of students take the first year of some of the University's most popular undergraduate degrees on the Nirimba Campus, as part of an expansion of the UWSCollege's pathway programs.

Initially, the campus will offer the first year of degrees in business, information technology, engineering and possibly science to at least 400 hundred students in 2009. The University plans to significantly expand the range of courses and build its professional development programs on the campus.

Students who have successfully completed their diplomas on the Nirimba Campus will be eligible to enter the second year of the corresponding UWS undergraduate degree.

Today's development follows last year's announcement that UWS would transfer its undergraduate program in business studies from the Campus due to falling student demand.

UWS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Janice Reid, says this transfer will still proceed as planned. This has presented an opportunity to reinvigorate the academic profile of Nirimba Campus.

"With the welcome support of the Commonwealth Government, students are now able to enrol in university HECS places and study at UWSCollege. This opens up the way for expansion of courses into the foreseeable future at Nirimba," she says.

"Nirimba is a unique site because of the co-location of a TAFE College, two senior high schools and a University. We believe that consolidating and expanding our diploma courses on this Campus will attract more students and will enable us to provide a more supportive environment for students who are in transition to university.

"I am delighted that University has been able to develop this long-term, viable solution for the Nirimba Campus.

"The University has a passionate commitment to Greater Western Sydney. Last year, we opened the new Blacktown-Mt Druitt Clinical School which is helping to train much needed doctors for this area. We will soon build a brand new clinical school facility at the Blacktown Hospital," Professor Reid says.

John Della Bosca, NSW Minister for Education and Training, welcomed today's announcement.

"This is a positive development for students and the regio," Mr Della Bosca says.

"By expanding courses taught on the Nirimba campus, the University is able to open up higher education to more students in Western Sydney," he says.

Professor Reid says the University is looking forward to expanding the UWSCollege's course offering in the future.

"The course taught by UWSCollege are part of the University's academic pathway program designed for students who might not qualify for direct entry into a three year undergraduate degree. These students are provided with the additional academic support they need in order to make a successful transition to university.

"We are looking forward to working with our education partners at the Nirimba precinct on this project with the aim of developing more opportunities for students," Professor Reid says.

UWSCollege will be housed on both the Nirimba Campus and the Macquarie Boys High School site adjacent to the Parramatta Campus. The Parramatta site will initially offer the College's English language courses and other education programs, and it will link into the Lachlan Macquarie College which is a partner with UWS in an exciting science and maths education initiative for local schools.