Protestant university to open in Sydney

#1129 for broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 20 September 2015.

Since the late 1980s, universities have proliferated in Australia, including religious-based institutions. There is the Australian Catholic University, and the Melbourne-based University of Divinity, of which I am a PhD student.

Now there are well advanced plans for a Protestant university, with Sydney-based Excelsior College bidding for university status with the federal government agency overseeing tertiary education standards.

The college, whose origins lie in the Wesley Institute, aims to become “Australia’s first global Christian university,” with capacity for expansion across Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific.

Excelsior College vice-chancellor, Professor Bridget Aitchison, previously a member of the faculty of Sydney’s Morling College, said the new venture would appeal to graduates of Christian secondary schools who wanted to continue their education in a Christian environment.

She said, “There is no longer any need to separate faith and education, and we now have the capacity to grow our courses and our student numbers to meet demand.”

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.