A new certificate for migration workers could soon become the second largest postgraduate offering at ANU, based on an early response rates.
From next semester, the Legal Workshop within the ANU College of Law will offer a Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice for graduates who want to qualify as migration agents.
The Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) will require all people who want to become a migration agent to have completed this postgraduate program from mid-2006.
“We’ve had an enthusiastic response, with more than 100 enquiries from prospective students even before we start officially advertising for our first intake next semester,” Legal Workshop Director Gary Tamsitt said.
“We’re prepared for 120 students in the first round, but we anticipate more than 300 students over next year. To put this in perspective, the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice offered by the Legal Workshop currently has about 400 students per year, making it the largest postgraduate offering at ANU. We think the migration program could soon be the second largest.”
ANU is the only Australian university allowed to offer the certificate online. The University will also offer the certificate on a face-to-face basis in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne. All courses will be available in full- and part-time modes.
“We’re expecting to get a big slice of the national market,” Mr Tamsitt said.
“We’re trying to achieve what MARA wants, which is to raise the standards of education for migration agents. At ANU, we’re in an excellent position to achieve this because of our academic depth and online teaching expertise from our legal practice program.
Students will be required to successfully complete four courses to qualify for the graduate certificate, covering such topics as Australian migration law, visa requirements, and professional development.
The ANU College of Law has been teaching postgraduate courses for over 30 years. It has successfully delivered postgraduate legal education in a distance mode for several years, and its former students are now working in key positions overseas and in Australia.
“This certificate will allow people who want to qualify as migration agents to access some of the finest legal training and academics in Australia,” the Dean of the ANU College of Law, Professor Michael Coper, said.
“We look forward to working with MARA to help ensure that Australia’s migration agents are of the highest standard.”
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