JAMES Cook University has revealed plans to triple the size of its Cairns campus to 10,000 students in 15 years after record high enrolments.
Business leaders have welcomed the goal and said the university will be a major driver for the region's economy and will help retain and attract professionals. The university's value to the Cairns economy is already $86 million.
Deputy vice-chancellor Dr Stephen Weller said the university had become a "serious player" in higher education and the new enrolment target was testament to the university’s rising reputation.
JCU recently ranked in the top 400 universities in the world and was one of only three Australian institutions on the 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities outside a capital city.
"It's about the growth of the campus to become the size it should be and the continued recognition that JCU is a serious player in the Australian higher education sector," Dr Weller said.
The new target is a turnaround for the campus, which received a failing mark from the Cairns Chamber of Commerce eight years ago for not meeting the needs of the community.
Dr Weller credited the university's growth to the establishment of the dental school and a focus on developing the Cairns campus after the appointment of vice-chancellor Sandra Harding three years ago.
"There was a clear strategy stated that JCU was a university in two cities. Cairns wasn't a branch campus of Townsville," he said.
The university is now two years ahead of a target of 5000 students by 2015, with 3800 students enrolled.
The new goal is 10,000 students by 2025.
