Parents & Partners

Once your student has accepted their offer they will need to enrol. Enrolling is basically registering for their subjects, which they will need to do each year. To assist first year students in this process, they will be invited to attend an enrolment day. Details of this day would have been received with their offer. To find out more you can visit Enrolment. This page will also give you all the details about what your student should bring to enrolment, the process on the day and why it is crucial that they attend this day.

Orientation is a program run across the university in the week before classes start. It is designed to introduce new students to the UOW community and provide them with information to help them settle into uni life. It is highly recommended that students attend orientation week. Across orientation week (or O-week) there are numerous activities that any student can get involved with including clubs and society event days, library tours and entertainment and music events.

Each faculty will also run an orientation day that will give your student specific information about their course and will generally outline expectations of that course. Faculty orientation days and other O-week events are a great way for your student to meet people in their course and become familiar with campus. To find out when your students faculty based orientation and other O-week events are on visit Orientation.

The first six weeks at UOW will be a period of great transition for your student. There are lots of new rules, expectations and skills for them to learn – it is regarded as a critical period for any new student. Studies have shown that if a student has a positive first year at uni they will be more likely to continue their studies. You can help your student make the transition to life at UOW by encouraging them to approach staff at UOW if they have any questions or concerns. For information about the various services that are available on campus to support your student read Academic Support, Personal Support or Social Support.

Every student’s weekly timetable will be unique to them, however, in general they can expect a normal week to involve a combination of lectures and tutorials. A lecture can run between 1 to 3 hours and will usually have quite large numbers of students attending. While attendance is not usually compulsory it is very important that your student attends every lecture as this is where the majority of the subject content will be presented.

Tutorials also run weekly and will normally be made up of 15-25 students. As tutorial groups are a lot smaller in size they give students and their tutor the opportunity to discuss the subject matter in depth. Students will usually have to do some preparation before their tutorials including readings and/or preparing set questions. Apart from weekly tutorial preparation students may also have to complete assignments, exam study and research at home. In addition to lectures and tutorials, some subjects will also have compulsory seminars, practical classes and/or laboratories.

PASS also runs weekly and are free, 1 hour study groups where students can work together and revise key concepts and develop effective study strategies. Your student can find out when and where PASS is on by visiting PASS.

Apart from the academic side, a typical uni week at UOW should also involve social activities. Every week there are numerous social activities across campus that your student can get involved with. There are weekly markets, concerts on the Duckpond Lawn, fashion shows, live music, club and society meetings, activities at the Unibar and current movies playing at Unimovies. 

Autumn and Spring are the names given to the two main academic sessions or ‘semesters’ at UOW. Autumn session runs from the beginning of March till mid June. Spring session runs from the beginning of July to mid November. Each session has 13 weeks of classes, with a one week break in the middle of session, a one week study recess after week 13 and a 2 week exam period following the study recess. Final subject results are released online one week after the exam period ends.

There is also an optional Summer session which usually begins in December and ends in January. Summer session runs for 7 weeks and is a good way for your student to spread out their study load over the course of the year. There are usually only a limited number of subjects available for students over summer session.

For a comprehensive and up to date list of session dates check out Session & Key Dates.

Credit points are a basic measure of workload. Each subject that your student will undertake will be worth a specific number of credit points, usually either 6 or 8, and are a guide to the number of hours per week that your student should dedicate to that subject. Each credit point implies a workload of 2 hours per week. So for a 6 credit point subject your student should be spending a total of 12 hours every week attending classes, lectures and studying for that subject. Your students Course Handbook will specify the number of credit points that they will have to complete to qualify for their degree. A 3 year Bachelor degree generally requires the completion of 144 credit points, a 4 year degree 192 credit points and 5 year degrees 240 credit points.

For a full-time student they will generally undertake 24 credit points per semester which equates to 48 hours each week. By undertaking a full time study load your student should complete their study in the recommended number of sessions. For part-time students they generally enrol in less than 12 credit points per semester which equates to 24 hours per week. When studying part time, as long as students meet the requirements of their course, they can enrol in the number of subjects that suit their lifestyle so that they can fit study into their life, work and family commitments.

It is common for first year student’s to feel quite apprehensive about their ability to take on University study and may require reassurance or extra assistance. The easiest way for your student to get help is if they ask for it. It is important that you encourage them to seek help and assistance if they need it. The worst thing they can do is not ask for help when they need it.

Lecturers and tutors have consultation times where students can simply drop into their office and ask for assistance with the subject or get clarification on an assignment question. Students can also email their lecturers and tutors if they have a quick question they need to clarify or need to arrange a time to see them. If your student doesn’t know the contact details of their lecturers and tutors they can check their subject outlines or look them up in the Staff Directory.

PASS or Peer Assisted Study Sessions are free study sessions led by senior students who have excelled at the subject in the past. By attending PASS every week your student will be able to focus on and revise the areas of the subject that they are finding more difficult. The sessions are a great opportunity for your student to seek help and advice in a friendly, relaxed environment. You should encourage your student to attend PASS regularly, check out PASS for more information about how your student can become involved.

Each faculty has at least one Sub Dean who is responsible for the academic welfare of students. You should encourage your student to see their faculty’s Sub Dean if they have any academic question that can’t be resolved by their lecturer or tutor. Such questions could be in relation to transferring between courses, withdrawing late from a subject, advanced standing etc. To find out who your students Sub Dean is you can visit their Faculty.

Your student will need to develop many academic skills to successfully complete their assessment tasks at uni. Learning development offers a range of free resources and teaching services to all students who wish to improve their academic performance. There are a range of online materials your student can access as well as attending workshops and consultations. You should encourage your student to visit Learning Development and explore the available resources.

Your student can also get help with research skills, accessing electronic resources and tackling assignments by dropping into the Library and talking to one of the many Library staff members. The Library also has lots of student computers and quiet and group study areas. Encourage your student to visit the Library.
 

Not all questions and issues your student will face at UOW will be of an academic nature, sometimes they will require more personalised and specialised support.

Disability Services can provide advice and support to any student with a disability or health condition to ensure they don’t experience disadvantage in reaching their academic potential. If your student has a disability it is essential that you encourage them to register with Disability Services as soon as possible. For more information you can visit Disability Services @ UOW.

UOW also provides all students with a free and confidential Counselling Service to assist students with personal, work or study related difficulties. For more information about how to make an appointment your student can visit Counselling Services.

If your student has a non-academic issue that is affecting their study then you should encourage them to meet with their faculty’s Student Support Adviser (SSA). A SSA can provide information, support and referral to other services for any student. If your student wants to find out who their SSA is then they should visit Student Support Advisers.

An important side to university is the social aspect. You should encourage your student to visit UniCentre as they are dedicated to providing all students with entertainment and activities, food and retail stores and much more. Your student will also have the opportunity to join numerous Clubs & Societies, get involved with sporting teams and exercise programs at URAC, participate in programs like the International Student Programs and attend various events.

Studying at university also involves a financial commitment. Apart from course fees there are also costs associated with textbooks, transport to uni, accommodation, parking and more.

Depending on what type of student they are enrolled as, the fees your student will be required to pay will differ. If you would like to know all the details about your student’s fee responsibilities as well as payment options you should visit Fees & Assistance.

Eligible students can also get financial assistance through income-tested schemes such as Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY or Austudy which are provided by the Federal Government. You should look on the Centrelink website and encourage your student to follow up and see if they are eligible for any benefits.

Scholarships are also another means of financial assistance that your student may be eligible for. UOW offers a range of scholarships to acknowledge academic or sporting excellence, to provide support to students in need and to recognise leadership and community engagement. Information about scholarships is available at Scholarships @ UOW.

Textbooks can be a huge financial expense at uni. You should encourage your student to wait until after their first lecture to purchase their textbooks to ensure they only buy the required texts. Textbooks can be purchased from the UniShop. Your student should also checkout noticeboards around campus and look at the UniClassifieds as student often post ads selling old textbooks for a cheaper price. The Alumni Bookshop also sells second hand textbooks at very reasonable prices. Sometimes you can get textbooks off eBay for a cheaper price, just make sure your student double checks that it is the correct edition.

Another scheme that your student may be eligible for is EdStart. Successful applicants are entitled to a $500 grant that can be used to purchase goods and services from the UniShop, including textbooks, calculators, printing/photocopying, stationery, etc. To apply for EdStart your student should read the information on EdStart.

Many students find that a good way to relieve the financial stress of university is by gaining employment. As well as helping your student develop their career potential, Careers Central can also help your student apply for casual jobs on campus and connect them to employment opportunities off campus. If your student is seeking employment you should strongly encourage them to visit Careers Central.

Kids' Uni provides care and education for children aged between 0 - 15 years with all services accredited at the highest level. For children aged between 6 weeks of age and 5 years there are three long day care centres. All three offer full-time, part-time and occasional care. There are also after school care services for children aged between 5 years and 12 years, vacation care options for school holidays and care options for pupil free days. For more information you should visit Kids Uni.

UOW also recognises that there may be unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances where students may be unable to make alternative arrangements and may need to take their child to class. In such situations students can contact the relevant lecturer or person in charge of the class to request permission for their child to accompany them to class. For more information your student should read the University’s policy on Children in the Workplace and Study Environment.