LA TROBE University has given financial support to about 1250 students so they can continue to study during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
An emergency bursary of $3000 per student has been delivered as part of the university's $12 million student support program.
Shannon Smith, 36, was halfway through a business degree at the Bendigo campus when the coronavirus outbreak started.
Miss Smith, who has a blended family of seven children, said without the financial support, she would have had to give up her studies.
"I had made the decision that I was going to defer and that I would have to look for a casual job," she said.
"I emailed my course coordinator and they said there was a financial assistance package that I should apply for. That changed everything."
Miss Smith said her husband's carpentry business had taken a hit in the pandemic.
The $3000 bursary ensured the couple could pay bills and support their seven children during remote learning.
La Trobe's Deputy Vice-Chancellor Jessica Vanderlelie said along with the bursary, the university was also providing technology support and rent relief for those who were living on campus.
"We know that La Trobe has a significant proportion of students who come from a low socioeconomic background," Professor Vanderlelie said. "We knew this crisis would hit those students hard."
Professor Vanderlelie said the COVID-19 pandemic had also impacted international students.
Those students will now receive additional support from the state government in the form of $1100 relief payments.
"We're absolutely thrilled the Victorian government has not only recognised the contribution of international students to the economy but also the community," she said.
"The extra $1100 will get a number of those students across the line for a short period of time."
Professor Vanderlelie said it was disappointing the federal government wasn't lending the same assistance.
"The federal government is under incredible financial pressure and other pressures to manage the situation," she said.
"Universities across Australia have been quite vocal in their disappointment that the federal government has not been able to recognise how important international students are.
"Every university is working hard to take funds and redirect them to all students at a time when our own budgets are under extreme pressure.
"We do recognise that the federal government has provided some relief to universities. That has helped, but there is certainly more to be done."
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.
Tara Cosoleto
Journalist covering courts and general news at the Bendigo Advertiser.
Journalist covering courts and general news at the Bendigo Advertiser.
