Student numbers at SIT Queenstown triple in less than a year

Author: Southern Institute of Technology
Date posted: 21/10/09

Southern Institute of Technology's (SIT) Queenstown campus enrolment numbers have exceeded expectation in the past year signalling the area is fast becoming an education destination as well as a major tourist town.

SIT's enrolments are currently around 300, over three times that of 87 when the new campus in the Remarkables Park shopping centre opened in February 2009.

"We knew there was a need for the campus in Queenstown however the demand has been incredible. Next year we also plan to have an intake of international students. We have grown from offering 2 fulltime courses this year to 8 in 2010", said campus Manager Pam Hulls.

Students are attracted to Queenstown as a place to study because it also offers the outdoor lifestyle in a beautiful environment.
"Our popular Zero Fees scheme makes it affordable for students to consider Queenstown as their place of study while also taking full advantage of the incredible environment", said Hulls.

The courses at SIT have been closely aligned to the food and beverage sector, however due to popular demand the organisation has also partnered with the Queenstown Golf Club to move into high performance sport and personal training.

SIT will also offer full time courses in Tourism Management, Tourism (Guiding), Business, Café & Bar as well as continuing with another Beauty Therapy intake. Short courses in hospitality and IT will continue in 2010.

SIT CEO Penny Simmonds says, "the Queenstown campus allows us to extend our offering in particular to international students who want to gain a tertiary qualification and also experience some of the best tourism activities New Zealand has to offer. We are very pleased with the growth in this sector of our business."