[3] Initially focused on education courses, it soon expanded into liberal arts and social welfare due to changes in demand for places.
It opposed the merger proposal, and was supported in wanting to retain its independence by the state government and its education minister, Ron Mulock.
As a result, it was renamed the Macarthur Institute of Higher Education from 1 July 1983, and operations in Campbelltown commenced that year.
A temporary campus (initially a "Business Studies Centre") opened in the "Maryfields" monastery, which was leased from the Franciscan friars.
It was the only nursing school in south-western Sydney, and reports noted that it was expected to be one of the biggest in New South Wales once the Campbelltown intake began.
[14] In 1985, the college introduced an alternative entry scheme for undergraduate students from the Fairfield, Liverpool, Bankstown and Campelltown-Camden to assist more people from traditionally underprivileged south-western Sydney into higher education.
This allowed students who had not attained the requisite marks in the Higher School Certificate to sit a Regional Entry Test.
[1][8][9][18] A Bachelor of Business (Economics and Finance) degree began in 1987, but faced a setback when the Australian Society of Accountants initially refused accreditation to the course that June, despite it having the approval of the Higher Education Board.