Charles Sturt University in Dubbo welcomed their new students on Thursday

A total of 31 students have been welcomed to the campus in Dubbo with the majority studying either nursing or social work.

More than 70 students will also be studying online through the Dubbo campus and will undergo their studies via distance.

First-year social work student Charlotte McCaughan admitted she had never even visited the campus before moving to Dubbo.

"I'm from a place called Eastwood, it's about six hours away from here," she said.

"I've never been to Dubbo, the furthest I've gone is to Bathurst because my sister goes to CSU there.

"I kind of just chose this as a why not and I'm playing netball as well as working at the RSL as a swim teacher."

For Ms McCaughan, she believes her passion for issues led her to choose a Bachelor of Social Work as a degree.

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"I just really like helping people and I like being vocal about issues, speaking out," she said.

"I've got a good voice so I use it a lot, even at school I was a social justice leader at my school.

"I really enjoyed it there so I thought why not carry it out as a degree."

While she had been to Bathurst before, Ms McCaughan said her sister was a big reason she chose CSU and feels Dubbo's delivery of her course was also an attractive factor.

"Honestly my sister (is the reason I chose CSU), she really enjoys CSU in Bathurst and I thought 'why not?'," she said.

"So I decided to go a bit further than her. I also heard that the social work degree is pretty good out here and because they need people here there are more work placement opportunities for me.

"People are nicer and it's a bit of a slower-paced living."

Charles Sturt director of external management in Dubbo James McKechnie said it was also an exciting time for the staff of the campus, who were on hand to welcome their new students to town.

"We're a smaller campus but that gives an intimate education experience," he said.

"The availability of staff and the community of this campus is really good, so we try to encourage that."

While Dubbo's campus is traditionally smaller than other CSU campuses like those in Bathurst or Wagga Wagga, Mr McKechnie believes it makes the students and staff a lot closer.

"Everything has its positives and negatives but we've got to make the most of those positives," he said.

"The cohort will not take long to assimilate and get to know each other.

"As well integrate them into the community as well and the town of Dubbo."

Mr McKechnie admitted he was pleased to see some of the new students moving from places outside of Dubbo, where the majority of the campus' students come from.

"I just spoke to them then and we've got a few from Sydney and Bathurst," he said.

"That's our rural focus. While our ambition is to retain local students, to hear those stories of people coming away from Dubbo is something you don't hear all that often.

"It's really nice to hear and know that it is actually happening."

Dubbo's campus will continue to grow with multiple research and industry initiatives on their way while a deal with Marathon Health will give the campus a chance to explore options for allied health workforce needs.

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