THE Country Universities Centre Snowy Monaro open day last week gave people in the district an opportunity to drop in to the centre to learn about the facility and the opportunities it provides.

Staff members were on-hand to provide information about university study or any other study options; what the centre does to support current students and future students; and conduct tours of the building.

Centre manager, Nadine Holland, said several people came through the doors.

Snowy Monaro Regional Council mayor, Chris Hanna, and deputy mayor, Tricia Hopkins, called in, as well as a number of students both during the open day and prior to it, resulting in five new students signing up.

The open day invitation was also extended to the Cooma Chamber of Commerce, which held a meeting at the centre that evening. This gave local business operators a chance to look at the facility, and find out about the changes made to the centre since it opened in 2013.

“Many of them have been here before, but not for quite a few years and study has changed since then; the pandemic changed a lot of things too. It changed how people study and how they do exams, engage with lecturers; online study is booming because of that. Universities do a good job of providing distance education now,” Ms Holland said.

“Quite a few medical students have recently arrived and are registering with us so they can access the centre between 5am to 2am every day to suit their shift work.

“The centre also gives people an opportunity to remove themselves from the distractions of being at home, it provides them with reliable internet, particularly for those residents who live outside of Cooma and struggle with internet service,” Ms Holland said.

“We have younger school students coming through here too, who can receive support from our education co-ordinator, Han Worsley. Han does community work and visits local schools, helping children build their aspirations.”

Ms Holland said the centre is open on weekdays and the community is always welcome to call in any time during business hours to find out what CUC is about.

“Most of our interactions are with those people who have just dropped in, it’s not planned or scheduled - we are always happy to chat with anybody about anything to do with university, or any study, because we support anyone studying, it’s not just university studies; we have a fantastic relationship with our local TAFE as well.”