Marcus Oldham College Prepares for Expansion of Agribusiness Program
Marcus Oldham College, Australia’s leading independent agribusiness and agricultural business management educator, has announced plans to expand its highly sought-after Agribusiness program. This strategic decision comes as part of the College’s ongoing commitment to meeting student and industry demands while maintaining its unique teaching model and exceptional graduate outcomes.
In recent years, the College has experienced a significant increase in applications for its Agribusiness and Agriculture accelerated degree programs, with demand consistently outstripping available places. Despite long waitlists, Marcus Oldham has deliberately maintained small class sizes and high levels of interaction between students and lecturers, ensuring the continued delivery of its unique applied learning model.
The decision to expand the Agribusiness program follows a detailed review of future opportunities for the College and the broader industry. In early 2024, an independent consultant was engaged to assess unmet demand in the Agribusiness and Agriculture programs.
Concurrently, the College Council conducted a comprehensive review of the Equine Business Management program, which has seen a sustained decline in interest and enrolments over the last decade.
While the Equine program has played a valuable role in the College’s history, the College Council has made the difficult decision to discontinue the course after the 2025 intake. This move ensures that resources are focused on areas of greatest demand and impact.
Plans are already underway to increase opportunities for students in the Agribusiness program from 2026, aligning with the needs of rural industries and communities across Australia.
“The decision to discontinue the Equine course after 45 years was not made lightly; however, it will allow another class of students each year the opportunity to study Agribusiness,” said College Council Chairman and College graduate Rob McGavin.
“This decision is absolutely in the best interests of Australian agriculture and, by extension, the bush. Many of our graduates return to regional Australia and make vital contributions to their local communities, communities which are critical to the nation’s future.”
“Marcus Oldham is proud to be ranked second in the country for student satisfaction among all higher education institutions and to hold the highest graduate employment rates nationwide,” said Andrew Baker, Principal of Marcus Oldham College.
“These achievements reflect our unwavering commitment to delivering an exceptional learning experience and preparing our graduates for success. The combination of these outcomes is truly remarkable and would be the envy of any educational institution globally.”
“We are looking forward to further developing the Agricultural and Agribusiness programs in the coming years so that we can offer more young people the opportunity to excel in our wonderful and essential industry.”
The College remains committed to its unique Marcus Learning Model, which combines small class sizes, blended applied learning and theoretical study, industry engagement, and immersive study tours. By sustainably expanding its Agribusiness program, Marcus Oldham aims to ensure it continues producing graduates who make a meaningful impact on rural industries and communities, while preserving the high standards which have repeatedly seen the College recognised for excellence.
This has been reflected in industry-leading results for graduate employment, student satisfaction, and learning outcomes in national studies, including the Quality in Teaching and Learning, Student Experience Surveys, and Graduate Outcomes surveys
More information about the expansion plans will be announced in the coming months.
For further information, please contact:
Andrew Baker
Marcus Oldham College Principal