Griffith University has announced the relaunch of the newly branded Griffith Tertiary Preparation (GTP) program, along with an extension of the application period for 2019.
Formerly known as the Griffith University Preparation Program (GUPP), GTP acts as a bridging pathway for individuals wishing to pursue tertiary studies but who do not possess the formal qualifications necessary to enter an undergraduate degree.
Available full-time at Nathan, Logan and Gold Coast campuses as well as online, the high-intensity GTP provides its participants with the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence to capably pursue their chosen field of study, Academic Director Associate Professor Suzzanne Owen explains.
“[Students] start learning about themselves in order to move forward with their lives,” Associate Professor Owen said.
“These are 20-credit-point courses, these aren’t your normal 10=credit-point courses, so they’re very high-intensity, a lot of physical contact as well as your blended-type learning programs.”
One such applicant who can attest to the positive impact GTP can have in one’s life is Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry) graduate Joshua Boudreau, who, prior to starting the program, was filled with doubt over his own potential to start, much less finish, a university degree.
“I didn’t graduate high school; I actually didn’t even graduate 10th grade,” he explained.
“I had a child when I was 18. I thought I would have to do maybe a TAFE course or something to get into uni.”
Joshua says – despite the daunting prospect of pursuing a university degree without having completed high school – GTP offered an encouraging environment, accessible courses and a smooth transitional process that left him full of belief in his own ability to follow his chosen path and succeed.
“I contacted Griffith and just asked what my options were,” he explains. “I left high school so young so I hadn’t done much algebra or chemistry – any of those basic skills that you use in science … [but] they really boosted my self-confidence in that I was going to be able to get through a university degree.”
This, Associate Professor Owen explains, is chief among the objectives of GTP: to ensure that the least advantaged in our communities are given ample opportunity to overcome whatever obstacles have previously stood in their way, so that they are able to fully realise and appreciate what they are capable of.
“I want these students to see their potential and get to the point where they can live the potential, and then move on,” Associate Professor Owen said.
“And that way, by building the capacity for them to learn for their own learning, then they can then see where they can go.”
Applications for GTP’s Trimester 1 2019 intake are open until February 10.
See the Griffith University Degree and Career Finder for more information.
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