Students urge school leavers to study at uni

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Saturday, 26 August 2006

The University of Adelaide is taking a leadership role in promoting higher education in South Australia, with a new TV commercial aimed at raising awareness among school leavers about what it's like to study at university.

The new advertisement will appear in a 60-second "road block" on all commercial TV screens in Adelaide on Monday night. It features students telling their own stories about studying at university.

The new ad is an extension of the University of Adelaide's highly successful Life Impact campaign, which began in 2003.

"At the time we started our campaign, figures showed that the university participation rate in South Australia had been declining for about a decade. Although the University of Adelaide was not experiencing this decline - in fact, our student numbers were increasing year on year - we realised we needed to be innovative about promoting higher education in order to achieve a long-term gain for South Australia," says the University of Adelaide's Vice-Chancellor, Professor James McWha.

Until this year, the University's Life Impact advertising campaign has focused on the stories of Adelaide graduates who are now using their skills to make an impact on the world.

The new advertisement shows current University of Adelaide students talking about their experiences. This was filmed by the students themselves as part of the University's Life Impact on Campus student project.

"This new commercial is the culmination of a three-year campaign, and it is the most down-to-earth out of all of them because it is developed by students, about students, and for students," Professor McWha says.

"One of the biggest issues faced by school leavers is the lack of understanding about what it's like to study at university, and what the benefits are. Our latest campaign aims to give South Australia's next generation a taste of university life that young people can identify with."

The new TV commercial will run twice on Monday night in a "road block" - ie, at the same time across all commercial TV stations in Adelaide - capturing an audience of more than 386,000 viewers each time. More than 38,000 of those will be a key demographic - viewers aged 16-24 - with another 210,000 aged 25-54, representing the parents of potential students.

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