Appointed to the board are chair, Dr John Howard, deputy chair, Dr Alison McIntosh, secretary, Lisa Proctor, treasurer, Graham Brown OAM and board members, Maurie Stack OAM and Steve Atkins.

One of the key drivers of the campus project, Member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie, said the board members helped create a formal funding submission under the latest round of the Australian government's regional universities centres program.

"They, along with the various steering committee members, have been assisting to pull together the various data, surveys and other information and support required to assist with the development of our funding application," Dr Gillespie said.

"It's an outstanding board and each member offers something different and special with their broad range of experience on so many levels."

The board will be supported by the steering committee, which will be known as the TUC Stakeholder Committee once the project is off the ground.

This committee met for the first time in September.

The campus project will move to the next phase of development if successful in the next round of funding.

This phase will include identifying a campus building, appointing a campus chief executive officer, negotiating with universities to offer degree programs via mixed mode delivery and establishing advisory committees to guide course programs.

"Already there has been a generous number of organisations and individuals, who have offered in-kind support including our new TUC board members, who are all members of the Manning-Great Lakes community," Dr Gillespie said.

"I can't begin to describe the overwhelming response we have received since I announced this initiative only a few months ago."

Dr Howard said it was a pleasure to work towards the delivery of the project for the Mid Coast area.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to support our school leavers and mature aged students to participate in tertiary education, particularly those who don't have access or the opportunity for a variety of reasons, some economic or some related to socio-economic disadvantage," Dr Howard said.

"University education is becoming essential for people wanting a secure job in our rapidly changing economy and industry structure."

MidCoast Council mayor David West said the project will "deliver social and economic benefits far beyond expectations."

"The cost of distance education is horrendous for those people who live in a very low socio-economic area such as this," Cr West said.

"This will give those people an opportunity to get a degree, to move on in life at a level that they never would have imagined."

Stay ahead with local news by signing up for the Great Lakes Advocate newsletter here.