Central Highlands residents have a chance to explore tertiary study options thanks to a program information evening due at Central Queensland University Emerald (now located at the Emerald Agricultural College).

The information evening will be held from 6pm-7pm on Tuesday, September 14, in Room B6 at the Ag College.

CQU Emerald now offers early childhood and primary streams of the Bachelor of Learning Management degree, along with the secondary stream (subject to expressions of interest).

The campus also offers the Bachelor of Business degree options of accounting, accounting/information systems, human resources management, information systems, management, marketing, or administration.

Central Highlands residents also have access to CQU’s STEPS (Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies) program.

For details about programs or to offer expressions of interest in BLM (secondary), please call Trudy Moss via 4982 8892.

Students can apply online now via www.qtac.edu.au for entry to university in 2005.

Meanwhile, students are finding motivation from recent reports showing that degrees mean more pay in the workforce.

The latest of these reports, released in August, shows that full-time workers with a university degree will earn almost 50 per cent more than their counterparts without a degree in 2004.

This report from the quarterly Economic and Market Development Advisers Age Employment Forecast, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics and research company data, also found that degree holders had an unemployment rate of 2.8 per cent compared with 10.8 per cent for those with Year 12 as their highest qualification. ENDS For details call Trudy Moss via 4982 8892.