Head of western campuses Shirley Fraser said the addition of the Bachelor of Education early childhood and Bachelor of Education P10 courses was exciting for both the campus and the wider community.

``What will be offered in Horsham will be the same as what is offered at the Mt Helen campus _ same assessments, same expectations,'' she said.

``This is an extremely exciting opportunity for people in the region.''

Ms Fraser said running the programs in Horsham should help with the retention and attraction of young people.

``Wimmera students who want to study education won't have to leave home to go to Ballarat or Melbourne now,'' she said.

``If we can get them to stay here and study then the chances of them getting work here after they have finished their degree is better.

``We have been listening to the community and this has come from that; we have had many requests to run education here.

``We will also be attracting people from other areas to study here, increasing the population of young people even more. We have already had an inquiry from a Chinese student wanting to study here.''

Wimmera Development Association regional development manager Colin Kemp said it was great to see the programs being introduced in Horsham after the Wimmera-Southern Mallee Regional Priorities project identified the expansion of tertiary

education options in the region as a key strategy earlier this year.

``This is exceptionally exciting news for the region and for people wanting to obtain these qualifications,'' Mr Kemp said.

``It will make it easier to get teachers here and will help retain young people and give locals more opportunity to upskill _ the more courses on offer here the better.''

University of Ballarat deputy head of the school of education Clem Barnett said the Bachelor of Education programs in Horsham would use new online components such as video conferencing, podcasts and social networking applications.

The Horsham campus currently offers nursing and arts tertiary programs.