Graduate profile

Master of Commerce, Off Campus, 2009

Currently: Executive Coordinator Financial Strategy and Development, Gold Coast City Council

Deakin's online services allowed Jordan Reeves to juggle a Master of Commerce with an executive position and a family of four children - all without setting foot in Victoria.

Jordon followed his undergraduate degree with a CPA (Certified Practising Accountants) qualification. But when the CPA required follow up professional development, he decided a Master of Commerce was a better option. 'The Masters was a lot more useful and I decided it would be better to continue with more formal education,' Jordan says. 'I was also interested in financial planning and I did the Master's so I could further my studies in that area.'

After researching different universities and their postgraduate courses, Jordan chose Deakin because of its distance education option and its recognition of his CPA studies. 'Deakin runs the CPA program so it would give me the most credit for my CPA studies,' he explains. 'That shortened the course for me and reduced the cost.'

The Master's took Jordan two and a half years. 'It was really good,' he says of the online facilities. 'I could always get answers to all my questions and the online forums with other students were great.' In his circumstances, flexibility rated highly, he adds. 'It suited me because I have four kids. I could study at my own pace and work when the time was available.'

In Jordan's position with the Gold Coast City Council, his main responsibility lies with long term financial planning and financial strategies. He also oversees the treasury and taxation areas and any complex financial projects that impact on Council. The content of his course hit the mark in these areas, he says. 'It was definitely relevant to what I do and met all the legislative requirements from the point of view of my financial planning qualifications.'

A recent major project saw the knowledge he gained in his course put to good use, Jordan says. 'We have been setting up new water companies and merging some water businesses. There has been a lot of capital finance theory involved so what I learned helped me understand our needs with the setting up of the water companies.'

Jordan recommends the online Master's to anyone wanting the kind of flexibility he valued. 'It was very good, the way I did it,' he says. 'With Deakin's online learning system I had everything I needed to do the study and plenty of help. I never saw anybody but the help was always there.'