4 June 1998 Lynette brings Lincoln Regional Education message to Central and South Canterbury

Central and South Canterbury residents have two opportunities to hear about the new Regional Education opportunities offered locally by Lincoln University.

On hand on both occasions to describe and explain Lincoln's new enterprise will be the University's Project Manager for the innovative undertaking, Dr Lynette Hardie Wills.

Lynette, who holds a doctorate in Education, will be present to meet Central and South Cantabrians at a special Lincoln University Regional Education Information Evening at the Ashburton College Community Learning Centre, Walnut Avenue between 5.00 - 9.00pm on Wednesday 10 June, then she will be back again on 22 June for the South Canterbury Rural Women's Day at Fairlie.

On this day, organised by the Women's Division of Federated Farmers, Lynette will be a participant in the main programme at Fairlie Community Centre and she will again talk about Lincoln's new Regional Education opportunities.

Regional Education by Lincoln, which starts with Semester II on 6 July, enables people to study part-time away from the University campus. Initially there will be two venues for doing this in Christchurch – Papanui High School and Hagley Community College – and one in Central Canterbury, at Ashburton College.

The Director of Community Education at Ashburton College, Duncan McMillan, says the programme will fill a demand for university study that does not require correspondence or travel to and from a tertiary campus.

As Lynette will explain personally when she speaks in Ashburton and Fairlie, Ashburton College will initially offer five papers – Computing, Business Financial Administration, Economics, Introduction to Bio-technology, and Social Psychology. Each paper will include two hours of tutor contact time per week. The papers may be taken as stand-alone one-offs or as credits building towards a Lincoln diploma or degree.

Long-term Lincoln University hopes to be able to offer distance-learning using a combination of technology, self-study, student interaction and classroom-based learning at venues throughout New Zealand.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand