This is exceptionally low compared to other sectors, he said, pointing to 13,370 childcare centres and 4000 vocational colleges.
Its initial course offerings will be in digital entrepreneurship, digital media, IT, allied health and education with 70 per cent of students from overseas and 30 per cent domestic students.
The evolution of Chancellor Institute from higher education provider to university will be protracted, starting with an estimated 54 students in year one, building to 500 students in year five and reaching university college status in its 10th year. It will reach university status after 15 to 20 years, starting with 12,000 students.
Investor pitch
“To be a university you need to deliver doctoral [and research] programs in three different disciplines and to have endorsement from a government department,” Mr Cenere said.
“That’s down the line. We’re starting initially with a more minimum viable product in the form of these initial courses, and then building that up.”
The idea has been in development for 12 months, with $400,000 invested in intellectual property, Mr Cenere said, with a lot of the effort going into preparing for TEQSA registration.
“We’ve also been meeting with investors, funds and family offices to finalise the capital race,” he said.
The investor pitch points to at least two recently accredited colleges, which were valued at more than $10 million shortly after securing nods from the Tertiary Education quality and Standards Agency despite not having any students or revenue.
Australia has only a handful of private universities, including Bond, which was established on the Gold Coast in the 1980s, the pentecostalist Avondale University near Newcastle, and Torrens, which was established by the for-profit US company Laureate in 2014. It was bought by Strategic Education in 2020 for $900 million.
Domestic students enrolled in private universities and colleges are not eligible for government subsidies for their tuition. While they can get government loans to cover their fees, they pay the full cost of tuition.
Newcastle University has a small campus at Ourimbah and a medical campus in Gosford.
“There’s an opportunity for a provider that is focused on pastoral care and in providing a holistic experience rather than just focusing on the more technical side of skills,” Mr Cenere said.
New model of education
“There’s a lot of students who are wanting a better experience that universities are struggling or unable to provide.”
Ann Brewer, a former deputy vice chancellor at the University of Sydney, who is chairman of the board, said Chancellor would offer a personalised model of education that would also focus on industry engagement.
“We will be aligning the curriculum with the personal and professional development of our students, particularly those who are upskilling or reskilling,” Professor Brewer said.
“It’s not just the curriculum in the sense of content, but also the application of skills and knowledge.”
It is not the first time there has been a proposal to establish a new university on the Central Coast. In 2015, Wyong and Gosford councils failed in a bid to create a multi-campus university, arguing that too few school leavers in the area went to university.
