Newly formed alliance supports professionals’ return to University

Announced this week, the Articulation Agreement enables ACS students who have completed its Computer Professional Education (CPE) program to gain course credits that go towards attaining postgraduate qualifications at Curtin.

The Western Australian university joins three other national institutions, including Central Queensland University, Australian Catholic University, and Chifley Business School, in forming an alliance with the industry body.

Peter Dell, a lecturer from the Curtin School of Information Systems, expects the alliance to answer a growing demand for IT professionals moving from the industry back to postgraduate study at university.

“We have experienced strong growth in our postgraduate programs in information systems, and we're not the only industry to see this - masters degrees are increasingly in demand across a wide range of disciplines,” he said.

“Having prior industry experience is also really beneficial for postgraduate students as it allows them to go deeper into their area of study than is otherwise possible, so students who return to postgraduate study after some time in industry actually get a double benefit.”

The agreement allows graduates of the ACS CPE program to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems in one semester of full-time study, or two semesters of part-time study. Similarly, professionals enrolled in a Master of Commerce (Information Systems) degree may be eligible to complete the degree in three semesters full-time.

According to Curtin’s current fee schedule for 2008 enrolments, domestic, ACS-trained professionals can expect to pay $9,100 for the completion of a Postgraduate Diploma, and $27,300 for the masters degree.

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