Enrolments for La Trobe University’s Greek Studies program are “steadily increasing”

Thanks to the persistent efforts from the Greek community in Australia in 2020, the Greek language program at La Trobe University was saved for the next three years, on the proviso that certain enrolment targets are met.

Well in some recent positive news, Dr Stephie Nikoloudis, the program coordinator of Greek Studies at La Trobe University, has confirmed to The Greek Herald that she has seen a “steady increase” in enrolments.

“Our enrolments have been steadily increasing since 2018, in part due to the sustained promotional campaign that my colleague, Dr Dimitri Gonis, and I have undertaken, with the assistance of our students, visiting schools, holding information sessions, revitalising the curriculum, and generally spreading the word that tertiary Greek is available to students at La Trobe, as well as students based at other universities through cross-institutional study and stand-alone diploma options,” Dr Nikoloudis tells The Greek Herald.

“The possibility, late last year, that the program might be lost, also helped to galvanise support and brought about more enrolments.”

READ MORE: Greek language program to continue at La Trobe.

According to a Facebook post, the exact number of student enrolments has grown from 28 language students in 2018 to 70 in 2021. Dr Nikoloudis says that if these numbers continue to increase, “we can secure the future of the program at La Trobe.”

“It has been inspiring to see the whole community – people of Greek and non-Greek background – come together on this issue,” she says.

“We must not be complacent though – there is still a lot of work to be done and lots of students to encourage to take Greek at university level – whether following VCE or as complete Beginners, or somewhere in between.

“We welcome all ages and all backgrounds – our student cohort is becoming more and more diverse and this makes for a wonderfully stimulating learning environment for all concerned.”

For any further enquiries about the Greek Studies program at La Trobe you can contact Dr Nikoloudis on s.nikoloudis@latrobe.edu.au.

READ MORE: Power of the Greek language: Meg Smith’s journey from learning Greek to saving La Trobe Greek Studies.