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March 29, 2024, 03:28:57 am

Author Topic: How university works  (Read 166496 times)  Share 

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Sine

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Re: How university works
« Reply #240 on: August 01, 2019, 12:38:24 pm »
+5
With practice exams, if you ask your lecturer or the main teacher (I don't know how that works  :)) will they help you get one or create one for you?

Are you allowed to visit lecturers and ask them for feedback in work and extension tasks if needed?
For practice exams it depends on the units. For my core units, I have only gotten a practice exam for 1 subject out of the equivalent of 16 units since it is the policy for my faculty/course I think. However, many other units will give a lot of practice material e.g. previous years exams.

So, I believe the lecturer/unit convenor will already have an idea whether they have chosen to give out practice exams well before the semester has started - so I don't think asking will necessarily change their mind but may accelerated the process of you getting some available since they release them quite late.

Yes, you can approach lecturers for feedback but it is actually somewhat rare for them specifically to be marking your work - usually it will be tutors for that unit or just PhD students. Extensions are available but you need an actual reason e.g. your physical/mental is being impacted during that time. It is unlikely you will get an extension for something like - too many assignments due at the same time or you have extracurriculars (some exceptions apply through - jury/emergency/military or a pro athlete)  around that time.




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Re: How university works
« Reply #241 on: August 01, 2019, 02:13:16 pm »
+3
With practice exams, if you ask your lecturer or the main teacher (I don't know how that works  :)) will they help you get one or create one for you?

Are you allowed to visit lecturers and ask them for feedback in work and extension tasks if needed?

As J41 said, usually you would go to a tutor for this, but I've also emailed unit co-ordinators about feedback and this has been fine too. Worst case scenario they judge you slightly.  I wouldn't recommend asking them to make stuff for you & practice exams are generally released close to swotvac; however, asking for how to get more practice in or for feedback on an assessed task should both be fine :)

Remember you're asking them a favour so make sure to be polite, check that this information isn't already available to you etc. As a general rule, if you show that you have put in your own research and/or efforts you're more likely to get a favourable response.  For example, you can probably guess which of the below "imperfect emails" would likely get a) a faster response b) a more useful response (even though neither of them are especially compliment-y).


imperfect email 1
Subject: UNITCODE practice questions query

Dear [name],

I was wondering if there are any additional practice materials or extension work available for [unit name]? I've searched on [online platform (e.g. Moodle, blackboard)] and have already completed the work available on there and in the textbook.


Kind Regards,

[your name]

imperfect email 2
Subject: HELP PLEASE

Do you have a practice exam you can give or make for me?

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Re: How university works
« Reply #242 on: January 05, 2020, 09:19:32 pm »
0
I completed my VCE back in 2016 and went straight out to work instead of studying at uni. However, I have decided that I should finally settle down and stabilise myself. Due to that, I would just like some tips on universities, scholarships and application procedures. I plan to study education (considering only primary) and languages. A friend of mine advised me to look into the universities that are more practical and offer regular, good placement programs. That being said, the top universities do not necessarily offer those, which is why I would like some insight into some lesser known universities that I might be overlooking. I appreciate any advice!

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Re: How university works
« Reply #243 on: January 09, 2020, 07:48:39 am »
+5
I completed my VCE back in 2016 and went straight out to work instead of studying at uni. However, I have decided that I should finally settle down and stabilise myself. Due to that, I would just like some tips on universities, scholarships and application procedures. I plan to study education (considering only primary) and languages. A friend of mine advised me to look into the universities that are more practical and offer regular, good placement programs. That being said, the top universities do not necessarily offer those, which is why I would like some insight into some lesser known universities that I might be overlooking. I appreciate any advice!

Welcome back to the academic life; it seems like you’ve had quite the life journey!

Just some questions for you:
1. Are you after an undergraduate (Bachelor of Education, Diploma, etc.) or postgraduate (Masters of Teaching) primary teaching course? The postgraduate route typically is longer as they usually require you to have done an undergraduate course already, but it is a good route for those who want to discover other areas first or not quite sure of their career paths yet (such as languages in your case).
2, Did you want to study languages, teaching or both as your main area(s) e.g. a major/ minor in a Bachelor degree? Or would you like languages to be taught separately to primary education e.g. Bachelor + Diploma of Languages? Or are you hoping to do both e.g. become a primary LOTE teacher?
3. What languages are you interested in? Some unis and tertiary institutes get a bit limited sometimes on the languages, so some places may or may not teach the language you’re after.
4. When would you ideally like to start studying?
5. Are you hoping to study in Victoria? Some people like going interstate for their tertiary education.

If you’re hoping to study in Victoria, I’d probably recommend that you search up the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC for short), which does admissions to a lot of Victorian tertiary institutes already (you can also apply direct to your eventual uni of choice, but that would mean an individual application per uni you’re trying to get into), including big ones like Melbourne University to lesser known institutes like Victoria Uni. You’d be making an account (it costs a bit of money depending on when you apply) and applying as a non-Year 12 (non-Y12)/ non-school leaver applicant. I’d also recommend having a look at VTAC Course Search, which lists some degrees (not all, but a good number to begin with). This might give you an idea to start off with before getting into finer details. It might be best to get an idea of what sort of course you think is best for yourself and then we can get into which placement is better for you soon.

Deakin, Swinburne, La Trobe and Victoria Uni all have primary teaching courses that are pretty sweet and all four of those are “smaller, lesser known” unis, so those might be a starting point too.

Really up to what suits you best and what you want to do. :)
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Re: How university works
« Reply #244 on: January 19, 2020, 02:36:24 pm »
0
Hi!

Currently submitting my timetable preferences for  a B Science at USYD, and simultaneously wrapping my head around uni "attendance rates". For the science faculty resolutions, it states that I must attend at least 80% of scheduled activities.

Say I was doing a unit which had a total of 82 hours of "scheduled activities". If I were to skip one of my 3 weekly 1hr lectures each week (equating to 69 out of 82 hrs attended, 84%), would that be perfectly fine? This is assuming I would be able to access lecture recordings.

I'm also doing a minor in the health & medicine faculty (which has a different compulsory attendance rate). Would the attendance rates apply for the health & medicine faculty or the science faculty (since that's the faculty my degree is from) for these units?
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AngelWings

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Re: How university works
« Reply #245 on: January 19, 2020, 04:54:36 pm »
+2
Say I was doing a unit which had a total of 82 hours of "scheduled activities". If I were to skip one of my 3 weekly 1hr lectures each week (equating to 69 out of 82 hrs attended, 84%), would that be perfectly fine? This is assuming I would be able to access lecture recordings.
If it’s from the science faculty, generally yes, but I’d be careful in case you ever fall sick. (Some places may count sickness, even with medical certificate, as not attending class.)

I'm also doing a minor in the health & medicine faculty (which has a different compulsory attendance rate). Would the attendance rates apply for the health & medicine faculty or the science faculty (since that's the faculty my degree is from) for these units?
Attendance rates are unit-specific usually. Whoever manages the unit = whoever’s attendance rate you have to follow. In this specific unit, you’d have to follow the health and medicine faculty’s attendance rate.
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Re: How university works
« Reply #246 on: November 13, 2020, 09:34:03 am »
0
What is ACU Melbourne like as a uni? Is it good? Tell me all about it.

s110820

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Re: How university works
« Reply #247 on: November 13, 2020, 10:48:24 am »
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Hey everyone,

This is a bit of a stupid question so please bear with me - if I study primary school education in a different state, such as NSW for example, would that mean that I would only be eligible to work in NSW? Or is it not as specfic as secondary school education? I'm just a little bit confused about how the whole interstate process works for education because I'm from QLD and I got early acceptance into UNE for both of the primary education courses that I applied for.

Thanks so much if you can help - I would really appreciate it :)

Have a great week and kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.
QUT 2021 - Bachelor of Education (Primary).

angewina_naguen

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Re: How university works
« Reply #248 on: November 13, 2020, 11:09:17 am »
+5
Hey everyone,

This is a bit of a stupid question so please bear with me - if I study primary school education in a different state, such as NSW for example, would that mean that I would only be eligible to work in NSW? Or is it not as specfic as secondary school education? I'm just a little bit confused about how the whole interstate process works for education because I'm from QLD and I got early acceptance into UNE for both of the primary education courses that I applied for.

Thanks so much if you can help - I would really appreciate it :)

Have a great week and kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

Hey, Darcy!

Congratulations for your early acceptance offers! It's always exciting to see more and more teachers coming out of the forums  :D

I do an education degree and my current understanding is that you can teach in any state in Australia but you will need to go through accreditation processes with the relevant state's department if you decide to go to a different state from the one you got the degree in. Your education degree will prepare you to teach more broadly in your area (primary, secondary, specialist education etc.) and you will look at the Australian standards and curriculum requirements in the degree. However, in your methods-based subjects, you will learn how to teach using the state-based syllabus. In my degree, I do units that look at what NESA expects NSW teachers to cover and the assessment guidelines that I will need to follow as part of my requirements as a teacher in this state. This means that if I wanted to teach in the VCE or QCE, I wouldn't need another education degree all over again because I'm already qualified to teach but I will need to make sure I understand how the syllabus works in VIC and QLD and will need to be accredited and approved by the VCAA or QCAA first. If you do decide to go to UNE, for example, and you get your degree in primary education but decide you want to teach back in QLD, you will need to contact the department and ensure you go through all the necessary procedures to be approved.

Also just as a general thing, I'm a big believer that no questions are stupid; the only unwise move is leaving a question that you need answered unasked :) Hopefully this all helps but feel free to follow up with more questions if need be!

Angelina  ;D
« Last Edit: November 13, 2020, 11:13:23 am by angewina_naguen »
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s110820

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Re: How university works
« Reply #249 on: November 13, 2020, 11:58:27 am »
0
Hey, Darcy!

Congratulations for your early acceptance offers! It's always exciting to see more and more teachers coming out of the forums  :D

I do an education degree and my current understanding is that you can teach in any state in Australia but you will need to go through accreditation processes with the relevant state's department if you decide to go to a different state from the one you got the degree in. Your education degree will prepare you to teach more broadly in your area (primary, secondary, specialist education etc.) and you will look at the Australian standards and curriculum requirements in the degree. However, in your methods-based subjects, you will learn how to teach using the state-based syllabus. In my degree, I do units that look at what NESA expects NSW teachers to cover and the assessment guidelines that I will need to follow as part of my requirements as a teacher in this state. This means that if I wanted to teach in the VCE or QCE, I wouldn't need another education degree all over again because I'm already qualified to teach but I will need to make sure I understand how the syllabus works in VIC and QLD and will need to be accredited and approved by the VCAA or QCAA first. If you do decide to go to UNE, for example, and you get your degree in primary education but decide you want to teach back in QLD, you will need to contact the department and ensure you go through all the necessary procedures to be approved.

Also just as a general thing, I'm a big believer that no questions are stupid; the only unwise move is leaving a question that you need answered unasked :) Hopefully this all helps but feel free to follow up with more questions if need be!

Angelina  ;D

Hey Angelina!

Thank you so much for explaining the process to me! I really appreciate it - this isn't exactly "how university works" related but how should I research the universities I have applied to - is there anything in particular that I should consider? I've mostly applied to universities in QLD - QUT, ACU and Griffith but I've also been accepted into UNE. Also, just a side note, I know it's a little bit early but should I also start a "university journey journal"?

Thanks so much and kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.
QUT 2021 - Bachelor of Education (Primary).

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Re: How university works
« Reply #250 on: November 13, 2020, 06:37:22 pm »
+2
What is ACU Melbourne like as a uni? Is it good? Tell me all about it.
Can't speak from personal experience, but have had friends go to ACU Melbourne and been very happy, they really enjoyed their courses and liked the campus.
Ultimately every uni has good sides and bad sides!


just a side note, I know it's a little bit early but should I also start a "university journey journal"?
Never too early to start a uni journey journal ;)

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Re: How university works
« Reply #251 on: November 13, 2020, 07:19:18 pm »
+3
Hey Angelina!

Thank you so much for explaining the process to me! I really appreciate it - this isn't exactly "how university works" related but how should I research the universities I have applied to - is there anything in particular that I should consider? I've mostly applied to universities in QLD - QUT, ACU and Griffith but I've also been accepted into UNE. Also, just a side note, I know it's a little bit early but should I also start a "university journey journal"?

Thanks so much and kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

Hey Darcy!

In answer to what to look for, I would recommend considering the range of opportunities that your degree can grant you as a student. In my music education degree, I've been able to do and experience so many things that I didn't expect I'd get to. For example, I'm currently taking a unit on teaching jazz music which I was initially afraid of doing because jazz has for long been something totally out of my comfort zone but it is now my favourite subject of the semester and I feel a lot more confident now about my own future when I do have to teach it! As a student, you want to be able to make the most out of the learning experiences in your degree as possible so if the degree offers lots of practical experience, exciting opportunities for transfer etc. it'd be worth pursuing it! If you can find out what sort of units each of the degrees you're looking into offer, you can also gain a greater sense of what studying there might be like   ;D

I would also recommend reading student reviews for those courses if you can. Education degrees can vary from being super helpful to, as much as I don't like to say this, a complete waste of time so see if you can read more into how other people have found it. That was what differentiated my eventual choice to go for the Con over some of the other universities I was looking into. I don't know those universities in QLD myself but maybe someone else on the forums might  :) Hope that helps a little more!

Angelina  :D
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Re: How university works
« Reply #252 on: November 13, 2020, 07:32:06 pm »
+2
Hey Darcy!

In answer to what to look for, I would recommend considering the range of opportunities that your degree can grant you as a student. In my music education degree, I've been able to do and experience so many things that I didn't expect I'd get to. For example, I'm currently taking a unit on teaching jazz music which I was initially afraid of doing because jazz has for long been something totally out of my comfort zone but it is now my favourite subject of the semester and I feel a lot more confident now about my own future when I do have to teach it! As a student, you want to be able to make the most out of the learning experiences in your degree as possible so if the degree offers lots of practical experience, exciting opportunities for transfer etc. it'd be worth pursuing it! If you can find out what sort of units each of the degrees you're looking into offer, you can also gain a greater sense of what studying there might be like   ;D

I would also recommend reading student reviews for those courses if you can. Education degrees can vary from being super helpful to, as much as I don't like to say this, a complete waste of time so see if you can read more into how other people have found it. That was what differentiated my eventual choice to go for the Con over some of the other universities I was looking into. I don't know those universities in QLD myself but maybe someone else on the forums might  :) Hope that helps a little more!

Angelina  :D

Hey Angelina,

Thank you so much for your amazing advice (again)! I'm so glad that I can reach out to people on ATAR Notes about university because as much as I'm so excited for this amazing experience, I still have no idea what to expect. I'll definitely research the range of units each type of degree offers as I have a few days off now from my last week of high school. And I'll definitely read some student reviews as well! Except for one teeny tiny problem: there doesn't seem to be anything on the ATAR Notes UNE page so I might have to do a bit more research and look elsewhere. 

But thank you again - I really appreciated your help!

Have a great weekend and kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

P.S. I'm also going to post the first part of my University Journey Journal soon and I'm so excited to share it!
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Re: How university works
« Reply #253 on: November 13, 2020, 08:17:28 pm »
+4
What is ACU Melbourne like as a uni? Is it good? Tell me all about it.

Hello Alannah! I'm not an ACU student but a lot of my friends study at ACU. How good it is depends on what you study. ACU is most known for its nursing courses and it's one of the top universities in Australia in that field. There's also compulsory placement units from first year - for instance, my friend is doing her placement at St Vincents and she can be offered a place as a grad nurse once she finishes her course. I have another friend doing arts at ACU and from what I hear the course is not as good as say, UniMelb or Monash.

Anyway it all comes down to what specific course you want to study. Also, do take everything I said with a grain of salt as I have no personal experience with ACU.

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Re: How university works
« Reply #254 on: November 23, 2020, 02:12:33 pm »
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How is ACU for primary school teaching?