Starting your bachelor degree with us soon?
Award-winning Accounting academic, Dr Amanda White, and fourth-year Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Arts in International Studies student and President of the UTS Business Society, Caster Calma, discuss the answers to our most frequently asked questions from commencing students in our Bachelor programs.
This series of videos covers everything from whether you need a Mac or Windows computer, to how our exams work, how you go about getting a student card, and even the big issues like where the best coffee is on campus.
The Basics
- So we have two student centres located in Building 10 and Building Five, but you can find that all online if you literally just type in UTS Student Centre into Google, come up. You can email them, you can call them, or you can visit them in person.
- Yep, and that's the place for everything to do with student admin. So subject enrollments, results--
- Changing majors.
- Changing majors, changing degrees, all of that happens through the Student Centre. So there are two main sorts of fees that you'll end up paying at university. You'll pay your fees for the individual subjects--
- So your tuition fees, yeah.
- Tuition, which, depending on whether you're a domestic student or an international student, there may or may not be loans available for those. So some students will be paying up front, and some people will be paying in a deferred manner. The other area where you have fees is a student services and facilities fee, which everybody has to pay at the start of semester. Casta, what is that fee for?
- So, that fee is mainly to, I guess, fund all the extra services that UTS provides you. So a lot of students don't realise that we have legal services, we have a counsellor, we have a doctor.
- We have lots of counsellors and psychologists, yep, lots of medical staff.
- Yeah. Well, I think it's roughly 100 or so dollars. It depends on every semester. But that's what that fund contributes to. You can defer it, but most people just pay it off.
- So it's a good thing to pay up front, because all of the things like cafes on campus, those medical services and student support, a lot of that gets funded through those programmes. There are other things where you may choose to pay a fee for. So if you decide to join the UTS Activate Gym, for example, or you join any of our clubs and societies, they'll all have small fees attached. But you don't have to join any of those, none of that's compulsory. That student services fee is the only one that you really need to make sure that you pay before you start university. When it comes to the cost of tuition, check out the UTS website for fees, because fees vary depending on the type of course and the subjects that you're studying. There are some subjects that are charged a higher tuition fee than others, so it's always best to check those out. And they change from year to year as well. Mac or Windows, ooh, that is such a good question. What do you use?
- I personally use an Apple, a Mac, just because it's idiot-proof software. It's easy to use, and it's just simple, and I understand the keyboard shortcuts, which are very handy.
- It doesn't really matter, I think.
- Yeah, it doesn't matter.
- I'm a Mac user as well, 'cause I have an iPhone, I have an iPad. What I see is really popular is the Microsoft Surface.
- Yes, yeah.
- And that's a really great tool.
- I've also started to see a lot of iPad Pros, with the keyboard and pen. I've started to see those as well.
- So whatever you've got, in terms of technology. UTS is not device specific. So you don't need to have a specific device. And if you don't have a device, make sure you talk to UTS Student Services, because there are ways that you can actually borrow a device for the entire semester.
- And all of the software that UTS has is compatible on Windows and Mac.
- Yes.
- So, doesn't really matter.
- And you'll never have to buy software to complete assessments, we'll always have it available on UTS computers, or the ability for you to download a student licence onto your application.
- And then just log in with your student credentials.
- Absolutely. If you're sick or something happens, I don't usually expect students to write to me if they're missing a lecture, especially if there's a recording. But it's always nice to give your tutor a heads up if you're going to be away, you know, beforehand, or if you know you're going to be sick. Just in case there's something that you miss. Sometimes it's good to talk to your academics about if there's any chance to catch up on work. Ooh, eating in class. I guess while I'm teaching, I'm not eating, 'cause I don't know if you'd really like the sound of me talking and eating at the same time. I don't mind if students eat. So, there are some rooms where it'll say no food or drink outside the door. But most of the time, I would expect that, as long as we're being mature about it, we're not leaving our rubbish behind, you can eat and drink in class, I don't have an issue. Unless it's something stinky!
- Yes, yes. I definitely eat in class, because I always eat. But little things like chips or biscuits, that you can easily put in your mouth. Obviously I don't bring in a whole dish with rice or noodles , because I also have to be considerate of other people, and the smell.
- Please, don't open a durian.
- Yeah, and don't open tuna in the classroom as well.
- No, no tuna--
- That is a big no.
- No durian.
- No durian or tuna.
- Yeah. Most students will bring a coffee into the class, that's pretty common.
- Yeah.
- And yeah, we don't mind if you're, you know, if you're a few minutes late to the tut, or something else, or you have to leave a few minutes early because you've gone out to get food or whatever it might be, leaving the classroom is not an issue. This is not high school where you need to ask permission or anything like that.
- It's the same thing with using the bathroom as well. If you need to go to the bathroom, you just go. The tutor doesn't--
- You don't have to get a pass.
- Yeah, the tutor won't sign your diary, or anything like that, like high school. You can just walk up and leave. I call my academics, or the teachers, or the tutors, by their first names.
- And that's normally what most people are happy with.
- Yeah, it's actually kind of weird if you actually call them miss or sir, or Mrs. and their last name as you would in high school, because no one does that.
- No, don't do that.
- So please call them by their first names. 'Cause I have been in some third year classes with first years, and they actually say Miss or Mrs., and it's really awkward, 'cause I'm like--
- Yeah, I don't like it when people call me Dr. White, it's just a bit weird, so. If somebody does want you to call them by their title, so Dr., Assistant Professor, Professor, then they will say that. But otherwise, you can assume we're average, normal, everyday people, just like you. And calling us by our first names is fine. So not very many students actually drive to university. Because we're in such a centralised location, most people catch public transport. If you can afford to drive, then expect to pay a lot for parking. We do have some student parking facilities at different parking lots around, but it is essentially like a retail rate for the day. So it's anywhere between 17 and 20 dollars a day for parking, and you're not guaranteed of a spot either. If you want to drive and you want a definite spot, then looking on places like Gumtree is useful to maybe hire or lease a spot off somebody in a nearby apartment building. But otherwise, I really wouldn't recommend driving. And traffic around UTS, at peak hour--
- With the small lanes and everything.
- Small lanes, one way, it's just really really busy. As a staff member, I catch public transport. And I would only drive if I absolutely needed to. Even when I'm here late at night, so I have classes that run 'til 9:00. Sometimes we have events at university that run 'til late. If I have driven and I don't feel safe walking to my car, I can actually call UTS security, and someone can come and escort me from wherever I am on campus to wherever I've parked my vehicle, within a reasonable distance. UTS actually now is really a sticky campus. So once we hit 9:00, which is when classes officially end, you'll still see, when semester's on, people everywhere. So, it's pretty safe to walk to Central Station or to the bus stops at 9:00 at night. Once it gets quite late, access to university is via your staff card. So you'll need that to swipe in and out to make sure that there's not just randoms walking around uni. You know, if you do get tired and you need a nap during the day, the library has sleep pods.
- The library, yeah.
- And we're here in Building Two, and we've seen people just sort of lay down on a bench napping. Always lie on your bag. So put your valuables in your bag, and then lie on top of it.
- Or if you wanna nap, maybe be with your group of friends. Because obviously they'll make sure that none of your belongings are stolen. Unless--
- Hopefully.
- They're the ones that are stealing your belongings. But if you really are scared about getting your stuff stolen, try and be with a group of your friends, so you can sleep then.
- Absolutely, absolutely. If you feel like you're unwell, as well, on campus, just head straight to Building One, on Level Six. There's the medical facility there. Usually it's by appointment. But if you're really just urgently unwell, they will see you, walk-in, straightaway. It's a little bit different from high school in that there's no bell. So there's not an hourly bell, or a bell between classes, because classes run anywhere from one hour, one and half hours, two hours, three hours, four hours. And they start and stop at all different times. So we're not all moving at the same time. What your subject teacher, whether that's the lecturer or the tutor, should do, is they should finish the class 10 minutes before it's official end time. So a one hour 30 minute class should actually go for one hour 20. And then they should wrap up. And then you've got between five to seven minutes to walk to your next room. And then it should start on time. Now, in terms of distance between campus, if you are up here in Building Two and then you have to go down all the way to a lecture theatre on another side, then obviously your lecturers and your tutors will take that into account. But don't dawdle.
- Yeah.
- So, you know, don't stop for, like, a kabob on the way. Or if you do, nominate one person to get the food and send everybody else on to class. Because quite often, it's your teachers also walking between those rooms.
- Because UTS's buildings are all over the place, make sure you're wearing comfortable attire.
- Yeah.
- Don't wear heels, like--
- If you're good at walking in heels, then go for it.
- Yeah, then go for it. But, you know, just wear your runners. People have literally turned up to class in their trackies in winter.
- There's no dress code--
- Be comfortable.
- For coming to uni.
- There's no uniform. Just be comfortable.
- It's not a fashion state. So there is a UTS fashion Instagram account that captures great fashion on campus. But it is really relaxed. Now, if you come straight from work and you're in a business suit and tie--
- That's fine.
- Then that's fine. In summer, if it's really stinkin' hot, and you wanna wear t-shirts and shorts, that's fine.
- And thongs, yeah, that's fine.
- Now if you do ever lose anything on campus, a jumper, a laptop, a phone, obviously if you've got your name on something, that's good. But if you do lose something, staff are trained to hand everything that we find into UTS security. Now what security will do if stuff is left in classrooms is that they'll leave it there until the end of the day, so that you can go back to it. So if you think, oh crap, I've left my jumper behind, go back to the room that you lost it in. If it's not there, then check with the security office that's closest to you. The main security office is in Building One. There are probably 15 to 20,000 students on campus everyday here, so we have a lot of people on campus. And IT tells me that there are more than 40,000 devices connected to the Wi-Fi every day. So if you need to connect more than one device, I will have my phone, my tablet, and my laptop often all connected to the Wi-Fi. It's the same login that you use to access your student one stop admin, your UTS Online, your student email. I would recommend checking it at least once every couple of days. Don't leave it to once a week, because it's the official communication channel.
Content includes:
- Where is the student centre?
- How do fees work? (0:32)
- Do I need Mac or Windows? (2.23)
- What happens if I miss a class? (3:35)
- Am I allowed to eat in class? (4:02)
- What do I call my lecturers/tutors? (5:23)
- Can I drive to uni? (6:13)
- How safe is it on campus? (7:31)
- Is there anywhere to nap on campus? (8:02)
- What happens if I feel sick at uni? (8:41)
- How do I move from class to class? (9:00)
- What do I wear to uni? (10:09)
- What happens if I lose something at uni? (10:52)
- Is there wifi at UTS? (11.29)
- How often should I check my student email? (12:00)
What does learning look like at UTS?
- Now, at university, you're adults. So, we don't keep track of attendance in lectures, sometimes we do in tutorials. We'd like you to come to everything. The lectures are where we give you, often, a broad overview and are really talking about key major concepts, and our tutorials are where you're going to try and apply those concepts in active learning situations. But there's lots of different forms of learning at UTS in lectures, in tutorials, and workshops. Caster, from a student's perspective, do you always turn up to class?
- Yes, actually, I do. Occasionally, there are some times, like if I have a doctor's appointment, or I've got some work stuff, I just can't come to class 'cause I can't make it 'cause it overlaps, but for the most part, I always try to come to class with lectures, which is where you learn content. Some of my subjects are recorded so it's easy for me to just open my computer at night and actually watch lectures. Tutorials, which is more of a classroom setting where you don't necessarily learn content but the tutor or the teacher reinforces the knowledge, and I try to go to those because attendance, sometimes it's marked, sometimes it's not, just depends on the subject, but also things like homework might be due. Assessments, tests might be due.
- Yeah, if you've got questions about assignments and stuff,
- Yeah, questions. Yeah, questions as well.
- that's always the place to go 'cause your tutor is probably more able to help you, and it's really important to remember that this is your opportunity for learning. You don't have to come to anything. You could really sit in the bar, or do anything else that you want. With lecture recordings, please make sure you check with your different subject coordinators because some rooms aren't recorded, and tutorials definitely don't have any recordings associated with them. In the lectures and the tutorials, Caster, how do you actually go about learning? What are the things you do?
- So, in lectures, the subject coordinator or your teacher usually has a PowerPoint presentation, and they usually have a few dot points or paragraphs explaining the content and what the day's about, and personally, for me, I still type notes, just cause it's really fast, and sometimes it's hard to keep up in the classroom when your teacher is talking really fast and you're trying to understand the concepts and ideas, so I just type 'cause it's easy, and it's--
- Depends, I guess, whether you're faster at writing.
- Yeah, exactly.
- Or at typing. I'm a bit of a fast typer but slow writer.
- Yeah, and in tutorials, I usually handwrite notes because it's more, I guess, a rough kind of learning experience because you're trying. The tutor will kind of take main points out the lectures so I kind of just, to break it up, mind maps, that's I was getting at. Mind maps and just rough notes where I can scribble and cross out stuff, so it's a bit more informal for me in a tutorial.
- Cool. And one other thing is that as a UTS student, you'll get access to Office 365, and if you haven't tried it, check out OneNote. It's actually an ability for you to have online notes. You can handwrite, and you can type. You can import your lecture notes in there, and I find that to be a really cool little tool, and there's even a little app where when you take a photo of a PowerPoint slide side on, it'll actually straighten it for you and import it into the document. So there's lots of cool technology as well if you're a tech person, or if you're old school. I still handwrite sometimes.
- Yeah, just to to add onto that, even if you miss an idea or miss a slide in your lecture, don't be too concerned because you actually get them before or after the lecture anyway, and you can have time in your own time to go over the notes.
- Assessments is a question students always ask about, and assessments are really the key points in which we are checking, as academics, that you're learning the material. So there'll be assessments during the semester, and there'll usually be a larger assessment at the end of semester. What sort of assessments have you had throughout your uni career?
- So, most of the time, during the semesters, sorry, during the weeks, the assessment could be like a group report or an individual essay. That's the main two months, and then the subject usually ends with a big final exam, which is, generally speaking, weighted more, and that's where you have to, in those kind of exams, really consolidate what you've learned and apply it to our cases or scenarios.
- Yeah. And there's lots of different types of assessments. So Caster mentioned group assignments and reports. You might have quizzes that you do in class or online. There could be presentations. At UTS, we're really about trying to create real-world, authentic assessments, tasks that would be similar to what you would be doing in the workplace associated with that subject, so you get a real feel for what it's like. Learning is about putting in the right type of effort as well, so how we design our assessments at UTS is not usually around memorising. So I know that sometimes, high school exams are about remembering facts--
- And the syllabus.
- And the syllabus. Really, here, we want you to demonstrate that you can apply what you know in real-life situations or similar to real-life situations. So memorising doesn't normally play a large part in passing our assessments and our tasks. It's being authentic and engaging with the material deeply that's going to help you get there.
- Now, when it comes time to exams, you said that we have lots of exams that are high-stakes. So in a lot of cases, they're 40 or 50 or 60%. Where do you go to sit exams? Are they just in the class?
- A majority of my exams are in a place called Mount Worth Park, which is a five-minute walk from the light rail stop. Most, I would assume, most of your exams would be there, 'cause it's such a large venue; however, the subjects that have smaller classes are usually just held on UTS campus.
- Yeah, so your one-stop Student Admin will be your portal for everything administration.
- And please make sure you check that as well because your seats change, your location change, and you don't want to rock up to the wrong venue--
- Yes.
- Or wrong classroom and then be late for your--
- So some subjects, don't always rely on your friends, because sometimes, some really large subjects are actually split over two or three venues. You will get be given a specific seat number, and most of those exams, they'll be different formats as well. So some will be open-book, where you can take in everything. Some will be restricted open-book, where you might get one page double-sided.
- One textbook, yeah.
- Or one textbook. And then some will be closed-book where you don't--
- Where there's nothing at all.
- Don't have anything, but your subject coordinator will give you all of that information within the subject outline and reinforce that. So it's really important that you understand these rules because if you bring material into a closed-book exam and you don't realise, or you get it out, and you think you're going to use it, then that's in breach of the university's rules, and the university will charge you with attempting to cheat within an exam. And that's a really serious thing.
- And exam supervisors are actually quite strict because the final exams for your subjects are centrally conducted, which means your tutors or your subject coordinator, who, you're probably familiar with their face, they're not going to be there on the exam, so the exam supervisors are quite strict, and sometimes they actually do go through your textbook to see if you've written anything. They check your formula sheets, so make sure your--
- Or look inside pencil cases or on calculators.
- So make sure you're just following the rules, and it'll be an easy--
- Follow the rules that your subject coordinator sets and you'll be absolutely fine with that. Now, what happens if you miss an exam? Because you might get sick. Do you know what to do?
- I personally have never missed an exam, so I don't actually know what to do.
- Well, I can tell you exactly what you need to do. If you are sick and you miss the exam, you need to apply for a missed exam. There's a special form through your online student portal. It'll give you a piece of paper to print out. You have to get that filled in by your doctor within 48 hours of the exam, so don't leave it too long. Now, if you think, "Oh, I'm little bit sick, "but I can still go to the exam," then still go, but you can apply for something called special consideration, which means that in the days leading up to the exam, you're affected by something. So at the moment, I've got a bit of a cold. If I was sitting an exam, I might lodge that application. Again, you have to get a doctor to fill it out or another medical professional.
- And is that still within the 48 hours as well?
- It's still within the 48 hours, as well as those guidelines, but that means that you're making your tutor or your lecturer aware that you've been unwell, especially for myself as an academic, if I see a student that performs really, really poorly in the final exam, even though I know that they've engaged really well in class, and they've done really well in the class assessments, unless I have something that says they were sick or something else happened, I wonder what happened to that student. Is there any way that we can help them? Because as an academic, I want the best out of all of my students, and I want to be able to help you no matter what the situation is. So if you are sick during semester, not just for exams or sick in the lead-up to an assessment, consider lodging an application for special consideration and talking to your subject coordinators, 'cause we're real people just like you are. One thing that always comes up is that in week 10 of session, when the exam timetable is released, inevitably, I will get students that come to me and say, "Amanda, I've booked a holiday "for when the exam is." Do you think we can change your exam if you've booked a holiday?
- No, they won't care.
- No, we won't care.
- They won't care.
- Unless it's something really serious, if it's something that you can control, like booking a holiday, and we have a three-week exam period, if you book that in the last week, and you're gonna be away, that's tough luck. You need to shift your holiday. Always look on the university calendar for dates for things so that you know when you can book a holiday and when you can't because we will not shift exam dates for that sort of activity. Now, there are some circumstances where we will shift exams. So, if you need to have an operation for something, and you can't come to the exam, then we can arrange to have that at an early day. If you are working full-time and coming to university part-time, and your work requires you to be in another country, in another state, in another city, then definitely, you can lodge a request to change that, but for things like holidays or birthday celebrations overseas, that's not something that we make changes for. We also try and make sure that you don't get overloaded with exams, so there are processes in place to make sure that you don't have four exams on a day or more than three exams within a 24-hour period. We'll spread those out if that's the case.
- But all of this information you can see well before your exams, so there is time to, I guess, approach your academic or subject coordinator if you have any problems, so make sure you give yourself enough time.
- Week 10 is usually when it comes out, and you'll get all the details in your one-stop Student Admin, but you can look at the university calendar two years in advance, so there's no excuses for saying, "I didn't know exams were on," because the university calendar is published two years in advance, so don't make that mistake.
- When it comes to how much time you should spend on a subject, according to our calculations, we expect that for a single subject, including going to class, doing homework, doing assignments, studying for the final, it's somewhere between 120 to 140 hours for that subject over the 12 to 13 weeks of the period. When it comes to students, and for us, four subjects is like being in a full-time job. That's 40 hours a week, 40 to 45 hours a week. Caster, what's the reality?
- The reality is, I know in my experience, is you really could not find that time to do all that study. It really just comes down to, I guess, what kind of mark you're aiming for, or, I guess, your level of interest in a particular subject.
- Really, the more effort that you put in--
- Obviously, you're going to do well.
- Yeah, that's going to pay off in terms of better grades, and be careful about thinking, "I just want to do enough to pass," because I see a lot of students who think, "I just want to do enough to pass," and then they end up just falling short and just failing. That's something to be really careful of.
- And just on that, that's such a good point because particularly when you're doing a group assignment, for example, while you might just want to pass, maybe some other people in your group actually wanna get a High Distinction or Distinction, so you have to really come top-tip in a group report or group assignment. Actually have a grade in mind you want to get because that's gonna set the benchmark of--
- And communicate that to everyone.
- And communicate that to everyone, because if everyone your group wants to get a High Distinction and you want to get a pass, communicate to that, because maybe they might, I guess, compromise on a grade they want.
- University is meant to be difficult. It's not meant to be easy in any sense of the word. We're stretching you academically. We're stretching you as a person to help you grow and move outside that comfort zone, so it shouldn't be surprising if you do find stuff hard, and you do struggle because we provide a lot of support for you. So, Caster, tell me about, are there any subjects where you struggled?
- Yes, so one of the eight core subjects you do in a Bachelor of Business is called Business Statistics, which is focused on probability, regression analysis, and I know for me, I had the worst time trying to understand the concepts and trying to understand all this terminology, so I actually enrolled in a thing called U:PASS, which stands for--
- So "U" is university, and "PASS" stands for peer assisted study schemes.
- Yeah, so basically, you don't learn new content. Rather, past students who have done really well in that particular subject actually reinforce the knowledge. You get the content. It's retaught to you, and it's really just a great way, it's a free service, by the way, it's a really great way of understanding the content from, I guess, a student perspective because the tutor, or the student, has actually done that subject before, and it's very colloquial, very casual, ask as many questions as you want, and, generally speaking, not many people apply to do them anyway. I think, when I did mine, it was only ten students, so you could really easily just ask the past student a question or a subject.
- Yep. And U:PASS leaders are all trained, as well, so we just don't pick students and throw them into a room with other students who are struggling. We train them through a programme of learning how to not exactly say, "This is the answer," but we train them to ask the right questions of students and structure the right activities so that you can figure it out for yourself with them guiding you, and that's really important because uni isn't just about learning the right answers to things, it's about learning the processes on how you get there. Because in a lot of subjects, there's a lot of judgement that needs to be made, and it's not always that "A" is the right answer. Sometimes "A" or "B" or "C" could be the right answer depending on how you explain it and justify your choices. So coming to uni is not just about learning "A" is the right answer or "B" is the right answer, it's about learning that process--
- And then there's multiple ways of doing things as well.
- Absolutely, we want to teach you about different ways of thinking so that you can go out into the workplace and apply different ways of thinking and coming at things with diverse perspectives. So coming to university and having a degree in itself is not going to be enough to get you a job after graduation. Many years ago, that might have been the case, but now employers are looking for a lot more. They're looking for well-rounded candidates that have different sorts of experiences, and that can come from your part-time job, whether that's at McDonald's or working retail somewhere, or babysitting or teaching swimming, but the other thing they're looking for is real-life work experience. How do you get that as a student?
- So at UTS, we have a free service called UTS Careers, and they actually help you find any job experience you're looking for whether it's an internship in the specialisation you're studying or if it's just something random you want to do. You can literally turn up to the door, say, "I want this," and they will help you find it. They'll help you fix your resume, cover letter--
- They can even help you figure out what career you wanna go into.
- Yeah, exactly, and then they'll just guide you through that process, and it's really, really great to have, I guess, someone else there to help you through that process 'cause it is quite overwhelming to write a cover letter about yourself know when you don't know what to write. So, it is a free service, and a lot of students don't know that we have that.
- Yeah, so UTS Careers are also on Facebook and Instagram, so it's worth following them on there. There's also opportunities in some of our majors within our courses to do internships. So, internships can be anywhere from six to 12 weeks. They're usually 12-week programmes. In accounting, they're mainly over the summer period, but if you're doing an internship as part of a subject, typically, it will be in line with a regular semester, and quite often you'll have to find your own internship. They can help you a little bit in doing that through those different subjects.
- Again, you can go through UTS Careers--
- You can go through Careers.
- To help find an internship, or do something external.
- Yep. And whether they're paid or unpaid will depend on the particular area. So in accounting, our summer vacation internships are all paid opportunities, but in other instances, they may be unpaid. It's always important to check that, whether your internship opportunity is a paid one or is an unpaid one. Now, you never should have to pay someone else to do an internship. So if someone says, "I'll give you an internship "if you pay me," if you have to pay, that's definitely worth talking with the Careers team at UTS about, just to make sure that that's not a scam because that's not something that is really common, that you'd have to pay to do an internship.
- I think what makes UTS unique in terms of internships and our career services is that some of our courses you can actually, you touched upon it before about a subject, you can actually do your internship as part of your course, so if you do a Bachelor of Management, it's compulsory to do an internship, so I guess being forced to actually get experience and getting exposure in your relevant major is quite helpful, but in the Bachelor of Business, it depends if it's an elective.
- Yeah, the UTS Careers runs Careers Fairs, so that's one where lots of employers will come specifically for business students or engineering students or IT students or nursing students, and then we'll also have the vacation and internships fair which runs a little bit later in the year, but if you're up-to-date with your social media, with UTS Careers, and UTS Business, then you'll get all of the information about that.
Content includes:
- How do lectures and tutorials work?
- How do assessments work? (3:40)
- What happens with exams? (5:23)
- How much time should I spend studying? (11:19)
- What support is on offer to help me with my studies? (13:06)
- How do you gain work experience while at uni? (15:46)
The social side of uni
- The other thing to think about while you're at university is also the social side, because university isn't just about study, study, study. We want you to grow personally as well and develop new skills in leadership and empathy and understanding what it is to be part of a team.
- And just to add to that, when you're applying for jobs, employers are actually gonna look at what you've done at university as well. Because wherever you graduate in Australia you're gonna get a good degree but how are you going to stand out from someone who's done a bachelor of business elsewhere in the country?
- Yeah, and in my recent talks with a lot of graduate recruiters they've said, "We're looking at academics, "we're looking for leadership "within some sort of university club or society, "for some sort of relevant work experience, "and then some other types of experiences." And so that could be leading a sporting group or at a church or with a charity. So clubs and societies at UTS is a really great way to get to meet people. Caster happens to be president of one of our biggest societies, which is the UTS Business Society. Tell us what it's about.
- So UTS Business Society, or you'll probably hear on campus, it's called BSoc. It's mainly a society run by business students for business students where we run--
- Not run by academics.
- Not run by academics.
- We have nothing to do with BSoc.
- So a lot of the activities or the events we run are a lot of social events where we do give alcohol, we do give food, and it's a great opportunity to meet new people that do a bachelor of management, accounting, economics, business, or whatever. And it's just a really great way to just unwind from class, because a lot of our events are on the weekends or after class. And you can really socialise with people.
- It's a good way to make friends.
- Exactly.
- I came to UTS not knowing anybody else at the uni. So BSoc is one of those great things. And they run events all throughout the year. And it's not just parties.
- Yeah, we also do provide students a lot of academic help as well. Towards the end of our semester, or sessions I should say, we run exam workshops where we give questions that might help you, exam review notes, and things like that as well.
- And I've also seen workshops on some key skills that often as academics we will assume students have. Like, knowing how to use Excel or knowing how to use Xero, which is an accounting software package. So there's a lot of great free education that comes with being part of a club. Now, there's the Business Society but there's also things like Quidditch, diving, Frisbee.
- Food society.
- There's a Food Society?
- There's a society. There's like--
- There's a Dog Society.
- We have also--
- The Photographic Society.
- Language societies as well. So we have, I guess, we have our faculty-specific societies but then we also have these little random ones as well.
- Yes, I've never actually seen the Quidditch Society playing Quidditch. I don't know how that actually works. But I've seen them at Clubs Day. That's a really important part of coming to Orientation. That whole week is about getting to learn how to navigate the university but also, Clubs Day is one of the best days where you can see all of the clubs, check them all out. Don't sign up to all of them. Pick, I would suggest two or three really key things that you think you'd be interested in. So do the lap around the clubs and societies first before you choose to sign up so that you can figure out where you're gonna spend your money and then get involved. It's really about becoming involved. When you're involved in a club it's not just, oh, I attend the things that the club sets up, but, how could you give back to your club and to other students?
- The good thing about joining a club or a society, you don't actually know where you might end up. I signed up for BSoc way back in 2017 when I was a first year as well. I went to O'Day or Clubs Day and then I applied to come on the team then I progressed my role into president. So that's three years later. So you don't know what's gonna happen when you join things like that.
- Absolutely. And it's really about meeting different people as well.
- Yep, exactly.
- So if you're interested in joining BSoc, you can go to their Facebook page, UTS Business Society, you can join at Clubs Day, and there's also a camp. So a camp is the event specifically for first year students. Does the camp cost money?
- Yes, it does. Usually what we do is at Clubs Day or O'Day we actually have a deal where if you sign up with us, sorry, if you buy a camp ticket, you get a discounted membership as well.
- Fantastic, and how much is the camp usually?
- So usually it's a little over $200, but that's inclusive of food, your accommodation, alcohol, and yeah.
- And it's not run by academics.
- Yeah, it's not.
- So there are no teachers coming along to the camp. I don't think I wanna come along to the camp. Now, there are no academics that go along to the camp. It's all run by the students. There are no academics talking about study or anything like that. My understanding, from what I see in the pictures, is it's just students having a good time.
- Yeah, it really is. This year we went to Broken Bay, which is up north. There was actually no mobile reception at all so we basically forced everyone to talk to each other. But it was actually kind of helpful because a lot of people are still friends now. So it's just a really great way to, I guess, it's usually held in the second or third week of uni, which is quite overwhelming for some students, so it's a really great weekend getaway to get away from the city, get away from UTS, get away from your assessments and your computer, and just really make friends.
- Cool.
- Yeah.
- So there's clubs, there's events like the Peer Networkers. We even have something on Fridays where the university supplies the pizza for something called TalkFest. So if English is not your first language and you think, I'd like to develop my English language skill a lot more, you can be a volunteer to be a conversation starter at TalkFest or you can attend as well as a student. So it's students and staff developing those skills and building those bonds of friendship. That's really, really important. You're gonna have a huge learning curve at university and that becomes a lot easier if you make friends. And I know it's really scary 'cause I'm not one of these people that on the first day was like, hi, I'm Amanda! But it's an important skill to learn to go out there into the business world and if you can start and take that very first step at your very first event and to the person next to you, say hi, I'm so and so, and strike up that conversation then that's a skill that's going to be really beneficial for the rest of your university degree and the rest of your business career. Where do you go for coffee on campus?
- I actually go to a place called Chambers Coffee, which is down on Haymarket near the old library, just because they do 10% discounts. But I'm sure most cafes on campus do that, if you're a UTS student. And I'm usually based down in Building 5 'cause that's where most of my classes are, so it's just convenient for me. And they just know me.
- I think all coffee, there's heaps of different coffee places on campus. We're here in Building 2 and we can see a coffee hub just down there. There's great coffee at the Universal Cafeteria. It's not really a cafeteria, it's just a cafe, in Building 6.
- Cafe 80 in Building 8 is quite good as well.
- Cafe 80 in Building 8. We have a cafe down here in Building 2. So you're not short on options for coffee. If you're after a cheap coffee, you can't beat the $1 coffee from 7-Eleven.
- 7-Eleven, yep.
- It's not fabulous coffee but it's cheap and it has lots of--
- It does the job. It does the job.
- It does the job if you're after caffeine. If you're after artisanal coffee then it's not for you. Where do you get a drink on campus? We do have a bar on campus.
- Yeah, it's called The Underground. They do do happy hour, I think it's like to four to six, or three to six. My go-to G&T, gin and tonic, I go to Underground. And it's just a great way to, again, make new friends, because--
- It's a student hangout.
- It's a student hangout area.
- Not a staff hangout.
- Yeah, so you won't see any academics there, you won't see any teaching staff there. That would be weird if you did.
- We go to The Loft.
- The Loft is quite good
- The Loft is a different sort of,
- as well.
- it's more like a little cocktail bar on campus.
- And it's outside as well, so yeah.
- From where I'm sitting I can see like three different bars. So I used to go to, as a student, Bar Broadway, which is just down on Broadway. There's The Old Clare, which is owned by the family of a former UTS student.
- Something that's trending at the moment is Fratelli Fresh.
- Fratelli Fresh. This is Caster's favourite.
- I am literally at Fratelli Fresh every week because--
- I don't have my little chip but if you become a member there's like $10 pasta on,
- I have one in my bag as well.
- there's $10 pastas on Mondays.
- Happy hour's three to six. If you wanna make new friends, if you see me, come up to me at Fratelli Fresh 'cause I'll say hi.
- We're not short on places to drink.
- Yeah, and the thing--
- Cafe 80 serves drinks too.
- Yeah, I think that's the good thing about UTS is you're gonna find a lot of places to eat, a lot of places to unwind. So that's our advantage.
- In terms of eating, at some universities you'll be stuck with whatever the options are on campus. We have fantastic options here on campus. So downstairs in Building 2, or UTS Central, we have a brand new food court that is plastic-free. You'll see things that look like plastic. That's actually PLA, which is compostable. What have you tried downstairs in Building, in the new food court?
- I actually haven't tried anything at Building 2 food court.
- God.
- But I do wanna--
- Kebabs are good.
- But I do wanna recommend something else.
- Oh, ooh.
- You have to try any dumpling place in Chinatown, which, I see it--
- There are lots of dumpling places in Chinatown.
- It's cheap as well, and they fill you up. You might feel gross at the end, maybe, a little bit.
- I don't think this is never anything I've had.
- But they are really good and must-do.
- It's a must.
- Must-do.
- If you leave your UTS experience without ever having had dumplings,
- You didn't go to UTS.
- you haven't been to UTS.
- You haven't gone to UTS.
- So that's a key thing. Downstairs in the food court on level whatever it is downstairs, I've tried PappaRich, which is great. There's Chatime for your bubble tea, which is great to have bubble tea on campus. The kebab place is great.
- Uni Bros.
- Uni Bros is the kebab place.
- Sorry, so I have tried something at UTS Central.
- Mad Mex downstairs. I think there's Japanese as well. So we have a whole lot right within the building. Across the street from us is a huge shopping centre called Central Park where there's Din Tai Fung and a whole lot of other food places. Just down near Haymarket we have Market City. There's all of Chinatown. The cheapest lunch, I believe an economist told me, is the $2 sandwich at 7-Eleven. But there's also plenty of supermarkets nearby. So if you're on a high protein diet, I have a colleague who goes and she buys an entire roast chicken and a salad and that will be like her lunch for the week.
- My go-to snack is the chicken chippies at Woollies or cheese and bacon rolls 'cause they're just easy to put in your bag and eat walking to and from class and they're quite cheap-ish, enough, to buy.
- Now, if you're super concientious and you're bringing your lunch from home, unfortunately there are no fridge facilities on campus but there are microwaves on campus and there is hot water as well. So if you bring one of those cup of noodle things
- Two minute noodles.
- then those are always really great to have. Now, you can actually hire a locker at uni. So when I was a student I hired a locker and I stashed in there some muesli bars, a few noodle cups, and some other things, like a spare jumper, that sort of stuff. That's always good and handy to have on hand. That was before we had supermarkets. Now you can just go across to the supermarket and buy something. If you run out of places to eat at UTS then there's something really wrong because I don't think I've eaten at all the places and I studied here for four years and now I've been working here for 18 years so--
- And you're still finding new places to eat.
- I'm still finding new places to eat. And we have great facilities. There's no swimming pool at UTS but there is an aquatic centre just down the road if you're into swimming. But the UTS gym is really great and there are reasonable rates for students as well. It's not just free weights and open gym, there's also lots of different classes that you can get involved in. Caster, have you been to the gym?
- No, but you sometimes in orientation packs, you might get like a free two-week trial or two-day trial.
- Oh, cool. Take advantage of that.
- I've gotten that before. If you wanted to test the gym, that's a good way of doing it.
- Awesome.
Content includes:
- What are the benefits of getting involved in the social side of uni?
- How do clubs and societies work? (2:37)
- How do I join the Business Society? (4:13)
- How else can I make friends? (5:41)
- Where's the best coffee on campus? (6:47)
- Are there uni bars? (7:45)
- Where can I go to eat? (9:08)
- Is there a gym available? (12:05)
Demystifying uni jargon
- I think one thing that confuses everybody is the word session.
- Yes.
- What exactly is a session? Session is our word for semester, or term. So Uni's have different names for them, but we call them sessions. We have our autumn session, our spring session, which is semester two, and our summer session, which sorta goes over the summer period--
- And that's optional.
- Summer is optional, it's not compulsory, unless you're in the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation--
- Yes, yeah.
- Which there is some summer classes. GPAs and WAMs, what's a GPA?
- It means grade point average.
- Cha-ching! 10 points.
- Which basically is, I guess it's just a mark when you get some results back from your semester.
- Yes. So when you get your results back, you'll get numbers, which are the results and the score for that subject. You'll also get a grade. So our grading system, from the top, is high distinction, distinction, credit, pass--
- And fail.
- Fail. Then there are withhelds. For some reason you don't get a grade, you get a withheld. And then there are things called X Grades, where you don't meet one requirement of that particular subject. GPAs are calculated by taking a score for your grade, high distinction, distinction, credit, pass, and then you get, you know, if you get a whole lot of distinctions, your grade point average will be based on that particular grade, not on the actual mark. So the WAM, which you may see in some places, is your weighted average mark. So that basically takes all of your marks, and then it averages them, and then you get a number score. But the GPA is a number, but it's really based on your grade. It's a little bit complicated, but there's some information on the UTS website, where you can figure that out.
- A major is something that you decide to specialise in. So in the Bachelor of Business, which I think has, what, 10 majors? 10 majors, so things like accounting, economics, finance, management, they're the ones that you decide you want to specialise in, or your area of expertise.
- Yep. And a sub-major?
- Is basically the same, but you do half the subjects you want to.
- So sub-majors are half a major.
- Of a major.
- Yep. And in most of our degrees in the undergraduate programme, Bachelor of Business you can do two majors. That's pretty similar in the Bachelor of Economics and other degrees, where you're gonna get lots of choices. Now don't worry about making any of your choices straightaway when you start Uni, because everybody does the core. What's the core?
- So, in a Bachelor of Business, you do a eight core subjects. So you do a mixture of accounting, finance, management, economics, and then really just a taste test of subjects to help you decide what area of expertise you want to specialise in. And then probably around October, I think, when you do your enrollments for the following year, that's when you actually decide your major that you wanna do.
- So don't worry if you're not sure what your major is. We do lots to support students in helping them figure out what their career path options are, and what their major is, and picking the right subjects about that. So don't think about being concerned about that straightaway.
Content includes:
- Session v Semester
- GPA and WAM (0:36)
- Majors and Sub-majors (1:57)
Prepping for week 1
- Now you're probably thinking, I'm coming up to week one, what on earth do I need to do to get prepared? Carston, what's the first thing students should do?
- Enrol in your subjects.
- Yes, please enrol.
- Because a lot of us students, they think that you enrol in your subjects, that's it. But you actually have to put your timetable in your classes as well. And they fill up extremely fast.
- So you go into your One Stop Student Admin, you'll be able to see the subjects that you're enrolled in, you need to pick your lecture time, and your tutorial times. Now what happens if the tutorial time that you want to go to is full? You just keep checking. The system will show live vacancies, so if Carston drops out of a subject, that's what will free up immediately and you can jump on.
- A pro tip, a lot of people jump out of like a week or two before semester starts, session starts. So that's a prime time to check the timetable.
- Or even in that first week. 'Cause you can sort of chop and change around tutorials for the first few weeks. We sort of expect that as academics, as students realise the subject is not for them or it doesn't work with their timetable. So it's really important to make sure that you know exactly which tutorials you're in, especially the number. Because there might be more than one tutorial at the same time. So don't say to a friend, "Oh let's enrol in the four o'clock one," because you might be in different rooms at four o'clock. Check that actual number. When you're looking at your timetable, it'll give you room numbers. How exactly do you read room numbers?
- So the way UTS structures their room locations is first by building number, level in that building, and then the room number. But there's, honestly, a lot of signage at UTS. What I actually did my first year was, because you do the eight core subjects, you actually just see a herd of people go to that classroom and you know, you just know, that it's that subject. So that's just a big way of knowing that you're going to the right classroom.
- That's how you end up in the wrong room.
- No, I actually think it's the opposite. And also, at the entrance of most UTS lectures or tutorials, there's actually a TV screen that says what the subject is, the activity number, and you can actually just see if you're in the right classroom.
- Yeah, I was a real nerd. And I actually went and I found all of my rooms in Orientation, so that I knew where to go.
- I did the same thing as well I did the same thing as well
- So that's always a good thing that you can do if you're feeling really UTS nerdy. There's also an app. So if you go to WayFinding.UTS.edu.au, you can actually type in the room number, and it'll show you exactly where it is. Because UTS isn't exactly a building that's full of straight hallways where rooms are just down one long line. We've got lots of curves, lots of weird angles. So you might think, "Oh this is the end of this hallway," but it might turn at some point. So you need to check that at sometimes if you're a bit stuck for rooms. So UTS Online is where all of your learning materials are stored for your different subjects. You'll be able to go in ahead of time and look at what you need to do for week one. There might be a video to watch from your coordinator. That'll give you some hints and tips.
- Make sure you're familiar with the document called your Subject Outline. This is very important. This is basically like your bible for the subjects. So you get one for each of your subjects. And it literally goes through the staff contacts, the teaching staff. The 12 or 13 weeks, and what content you'll actually learn, and get taught, and then also details about your assessments. And the good thing about Subject Outlines is they already have the due dates for your assessments on there. So if you really are nerdy, and if you really do want to get a move on your assessments,
- it's not just nerds! I reckon everybody should write out on their calendar when stuff is due.
- Yeah, I do the same thing. And also information about your textbook, and maybe where you might be able to find that as well. So it's only what, 10 or 12 pages? It's not that long.
- It's not that long. It's definitely worth reading. It's your contract with the academic, and it sets out everything they intend to do, and it also sets out your responsibility. So, how often you need to turn up to class, what you need to do to prepare. Because in some classes it might be to hand in something each week.
- Some classes there might be nothing at all.
- Some classes there might be nothing at all. Sometimes there's homework. Sometimes that homework has to be hand written depending on the individual coordinator. So it's important to check all of that. They will talk about that also in your first weeks of class.
- But it's good to have read it before you go to that week one.
- Now textbooks is going to be an interesting one, because previously we always went to the co-op bookshop to buy our textbooks. We no longer have a co-op bookshop on campus. Check your individual subject outlines because that will say, and have the information on the best place to buy the book. Most of the time you can purchase from the co-op bookshop online, and they will ship books straight to you. You can also go to the individual publishers and often each subject coordinator will have a special discount code where you can get extra discounts on the the textbooks. You can also try Book Depository, Fishpond, Textbook Exchange.
- Just on that actually, Facebook has a lot of groups for second-hand textbooks, and that's a really great way of getting your books cheap.
- Saving some money.
- Because textbooks are very expensive.
- And they go out of date really quickly.
- So being able to just literally go on Facebook, type in textbook exchange, first one that comes up, and just add yourself to it. It's a great way of saving a lot of money.
- Check the edition number. Because a common one is that a textbook might change over the break, and if you buy the wrong edition, then you won't actually get the right homework questions. Sometimes the content in the book might be pretty similar, but the homework questions might be different. And if you have to hand those in, you might not be handing in the right stuff.
- And also, in the case your subject is an open book exam, or a research book exam where you're allowed to bring a textbook in and you have a wrong edition, the exam supervisor is just gonna take it away from you.
- One key thing that you'll need everywhere you go at UTS. Whether that's to class, into the library, into the exams, is what?
- Your student card, student ID card.
- And so it is your lifeline. It's the way that you prove yourself, who you are at university to gain access to the library, so make sure that ahead of time you've uploaded your photo. Now there are lots of instructions online on how to do that. It needs to be
- Passport requirements.
- Similar to your passport. So I think you have to take your glasses off, minimal makeup. You can smile but there's no teeth?
- Or just any neutral expression, I think.
- Neutral expression. So do a neutral expression.
- No, I can't!
- Yeah, so he can't do it, right? So practise doing your neutral expressions. Nobody looks glamorous in their student or staff ID photo.
- Everyone looks ugly.
- We all look a bit, yes, dangerous. I think it looks a bit like a mugshot. So make sure that you bring that with you because in some places you won't be able to gain access, and after hours, security staff will actually ask to see your ID. And you'll have to bring it to exams as well to prove that it's really you sitting in the exam.
- You also need to take your ID every time you have your concession, which is the grey, oh, so your concession Opal card which is the grey coloured one. And you need to take that with you everywhere that you use it, because the transit offices actually check and ask for your ID.
- You definitely don't want to get one of those $200 fines.
- Yeah, $200 fines.
- Yeah, absolutely. Now how do you get a concession card?
- So you actually have to apply for that after you've done all your enrollments, and there's a tab, I think it calls up government forms through one stop admin. Form is pretty self-explanatory. And then it comes within two weeks, I think. So make sure you enrol as soon as you can to get that concession benefits if you want to, because I think the adult Opal is very expensive.
- Yeah, otherwise you'll have to pay adult fares to come to uni. The sooner you apply for it the better, and make sure that you have it with you at all times. It's your passport to study at University as well. We recommend attending from week one. So don't think, "Oh, nothing happens in week one." In week one, my students start learning content and skills from that very first week. So if you turn up a little bit late, then you're missing out on forming groups, getting to know people in the class, learning the basics. So it's really important that you turn up those first few weeks. How much stuff do you need to bring to uni? What do you bring?
- So I usually just have maybe my computer, my MacBook, a pen and a paper, because you never know when you might need to rip something out. And make sure you bring a jumper, because the lecture rooms and corridors are always cold for some reason, even if it's hot outside, or even if it's winter they're just always cold. So just having some sort of like a thin jumper, and also make sure you bring water as well. Because your mouth just gets dry with all the air and talking with other people.
- Bring a water bottle.
- Make sure it's plastic free, make sure it's a plastic free water bottle.
- Oh yeah, there are, I have a plastic one, but--
- UTS has a few, well actually a lot of water refill stations as well.
- Water refill stations and as well, if you've got a keep cup for coffee, you can always rinse it out in one of the kitchens, that's always a good plan.
- And of course, carry your student ID card everywhere you go.
- Carry your student ID card. I do have some students that come without a pen. It's always a good idea to bring one pen, and at least a little bit of paper.
- You might not think you might write something, but you never know when you just need to rip something out or whatever happens and you just have a pen handy.
- Share details with group members or something like that, that's always a good thing to have. But I wouldn't necessarily always bring my textbooks to uni.
- No, no, no.
- So sometimes they can be really heavy, and we want to have good occupational health and safety. You might choose to buy electronic textbooks, because sometimes you can buy a physical book that might also give you an electronic book. There are also services out there that allow you to rent an electronic textbook if you don't have an exam that requires you to bring a book.
- Which is also another great way of saving money if you want to rent textbooks.
- Is rentals, yeah, cool. One thing that you need to have is your tax file number. Now your tax file number is needed so that if you're not paying your fees up front,
- So you're deferring them.
- And you're deferring your fees until you get a job and then you'll start paying them later, then you must have a tax file number. How do you go about applying for one?
- I actually had, back in I actually applied my tax file number through my careers advisor. But I'm sure if, you know, use your common sense. I'm sure if you do apply TFN or tax file number on Google it's gonna come up with a form.
- Yeah, so you go to the ATO, so ato.gov.au which is the Australian Tax Office, and there will be information there on how to apply for your tax file number. If you've had a part time job before, then it will be the same number. If you've not had a job before, then you'll need to apply for one. And then submit that with your documentation for your hex fees.
- Yeah, so you need to have your tax file number when you submit the hex debt form, because that's how they identify that that's who you are.
- Yes, and you might also need your tax file number if you're going for an internship as well, so it's important to have that handy. And if you don't remember, I memorised my tax file number. It's a good thing that as an adult you memorise your tax file number as well.
- I just have mine written in notes somewhere, but yeah, you can memorise it if you want.
- Why wouldn't you memorise your tax file, it's important numbers! I remember important phone numbers, my kid's birthday, my tax file number. Maybe that's just accountant, I don't know.
- Yeah, maybe it's an accountant thing. Just be open to any changes or opportunities that come to UTS. I know a lot of first years when they come to UTS or any university they think, "Oh, three years, "it's over and done, we do nothing." but once you start university you actually realise that there's a lot of things that you can do. So, just keep that in mind and just be open and embrace change and all that.
- My tip would be something similar. I think this is such an exciting time to be at university with changes in technology and amazing new things that we're doing here at UTS and across all of higher education in Australia. So my tip to students would be open to saying, "Yes." Someone comes up to you with an opportunity just think about saying yes, because you never know where that yes might take you in terms of where your career might end up. So, we hope this has been useful. If there are any further questions that we haven't managed to answer, then definitely get in contact with one of our UTS Student Centres. You can contact them online, by the website, fire email, in person, over the phone. But otherwise we will see you at one of our UTS Welcomes as part of orientation.
Content includes:
- How do I enrol in subjects?
- How do I find my classrooms? (1:30)
- Where do I go for subject information? (2:53)
- What's a subject outline? (3:13)
- Where do I get my textbooks? (4:33)
- How do I get my student card? (6:07)
- Do I need to attend class in Week 1? (8:08)
- What do I need to bring to uni? (8:32)
- Do I need a tax file number? (10:14)
- What's your top tip for starting uni? (11:45)