Students at UOW have the opportunity to receive recognition from UOWx for community volunteering activities they undertake outside of the university.
External community volunteering
How is External Volunteering recognised by UOWx?
There are two types of external volunteering recognised by UOWx; endorsed community volunteering and non-endorsed community volunteering.
A minimum of 20 hours must be completed in a calendar year per community volunteering opportunity to have the activity included on the UOWx Record.
UOWx has a number of existing endorsed volunteer partnerships with different community organisations.
This means that the organisations are working in partnership with UOW to have particular volunteering roles recognised by UOWx.
The organisation has identified roles that UOW students can engage in that meet 4-6 Learning Streams.
These organisations include the following:
- Surf Life Saving
- Girl Guides
- Primary Ethics
- The Smith Family
- Healthy Cities Illawarra
- Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra
Click on the links to find out more about the roles on offer!
How do I add this to my UOWx Record?
To add endorsed or non-endorsed community volunteering to your UOWx Record, see the information below.
If you are graduating in 2021 please note: to ensure your External Volunteering is added to your UOWx Record, you must apply by the following dates:
- Trimester 1 Graduation - apply by 7 May
- Autumn Graduation - apply by 11 June
- Trimester 2 Graduation - apply by 13 August
- Spring & Trimester 3 Graduation - apply by 5 November
If you undertake a volunteering opportunity with one of the endorsed organisations, simply email the UOWx team to let them know you have signed up.
In the email please include:
- Your name
- Your student number
- The organisation you are volunteering with
- The role you have signed up for
The UOWx team will then enrol you in the appropriate Moodle site so you can start logging your hours.
You will be required to keep a logbook of your hours and have this signed off by your supervisor throughout your time volunteering. This logbook will need to be uploaded to Moodle and approved by the UOWx team.
Your volunteering experience will be identified on your UOWx Record once you have met the minimum required hours in a calendar year.
If you are volunteering at an organisation that is not listed above, you must complete an External Recognition Claim Form and upload a Verification Letter, signed by the community organisation.
In the claim form, you must identify which learning streams your volunteering addresses, explain how this occurred and the skills you developed by participating in this volunteering opportunity.
Note: submit the claim form only once you have completed your volunteering for the year!
If approved, the external organisation will be de-indentified on the UOWx Record. The organisation will be listed as one of the below sub-categories*:
- Aboriginal communities
- Aged care
- Animal welfare
- Arts, culture & heritage
- Children & young people
- Community & welfare
- Corporate
- Disabilities
- Education
- Environment & conservation
- Health
- Multicultural
- Parents & carers
- Police emergency services
- Special events
- Sports & recreation
- Women's services
*These categories have been identified by the NSW Government Family and Community Services
To receive UOWx Recognition for external volunteering activities, you must complete the following:
- An ‘engaged’ student will need to be complete 20 hours over a calendar year
- A ‘highly engaged’ student will need to complete 40 hours over a calendar year
Please note that time spent training for the role can be included in your hours completed for the role, but only if the training occurred in the same calendar year as the rest of the hours you are claiming.