March 16, 2017

NRL players welcomed to UOW

Highest number of league players enrolled at UOW. 

The Graduates of League program is off to a flying start for 2017, with 33 current National Rugby League (NRL) players enrolled in classes at the University of Wollongong (UOW).

The Graduates of League (GOL) program was established in 2012 as a way to increase the university entry, retention and completion rates of elite athletes and professional sports people. The program provides athletes with support from the university as they balance rigorous training schedules and travel commitments with tertiary studies.

Over the past five years, the UOW GOL program has supported 62 student-athletes, employed 76 students as peer mentors and had nine graduations (with eight more expected in 2017). In 2017 UOW is also welcoming the first postgraduate GOL student.

Graduates of League Head Tutor Holly Scheeringa said the program aims to provide athletes with the support needed to work around their demanding schedules.

“We provide players with administrative support so that they can focus on training and study,” she said.

“We’ve had a fantastic retention rate over the past five years and we want to see that continue.”

In a special event to welcome players on Wednesday 15 March, National Rugby League (NRL) Education, Training and Employment Manager John Hutchison reinforced the importance of knowing what resources are available to players.

“The Graduates of League program will work if we are all talking to each other and communicating,” he told the audience of players.

“We’re here to get you through the next one, two, five years at University.”