The University of South Australia has been marketing new online courses for weeks (CMM August 10 ) but formally launched “a suite of 11 career-focused degrees,” yesterday. “Each of UniSA Online’s new bachelor degree programs is designed specifically for online education and will be rolled out with a suite of unrivalled dedicated student supports to enable successful learning,” the university states. The 11 all-on-line degrees cover IT, business and health disciplines.

“UniSA has a long and proud history of reaching out and bridging barriers to educational access, dating back to the 1990s when we were one of the largest providers of distance education in Australia. A few generations on and UniSA Online is a next step in that evolution,” the university states.

But where does that leave the online breakthrough provider and UniSA partner Open Universities Australia? “We are still working through OUA and see it as a wholly complementary channel to UniSA Online,” VC David Lloyd says.

“There is no real threat to OUA from UniSA’s move to set up an internal online education unit” OUA CEO Paul Wappett adds.

“(UniSA) will continue to sell through OUA all of the existing subjects and degree programs that they have traditionally offered through us, and we are negotiating with them about how they might offer those new online degree programs through the OUA marketplace as well as through their own direct channel. “So, we are delighted for UniSA (and for us),” Mr Wappett says.