Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme [ITAS] · suitable tutor, or provide a tutor within preferred timeframes 1.2 I understand that ITAS is a supplementary service and is not to

INDIGENOUS TUTORIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEME [ITAS] STUDENT GUIDE

Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme [ITAS] Student Guide page 2

© UTS:Jumbunna May 2014

The information in this guide is true and correct at the time of printing and is subject to change without notice.

Information in this guide is not intended to be exhaustive. For more information:

students should contact the Jumbunna Indigenous Student Services Officers

tutors should contact the Jumbunna Coordinator, Learning Development.


Contents

JUMBUNNA INDIGENOUS HOUSE OF LEARNING (IHL) 4

INDIGENOUS TUTORIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEME (ITAS) 5

ITAS TERTIARY TUITION 6

APPLYING FOR ITAS TERTIARY TUITION 7

Your Tutor 8

Tutor’s Work Program 8

Tuition Assessment Report 8

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR STUDENTS ACCESSING INDIGENOUS TUTORIAL

ASSISTANCE SCHEME [ITAS] TUITION 9

LEARNING TO LEARN WITH AN ITAS TUTOR 11

Being responsible for your own learning 11

How to take responsibility for your own learning 11

Getting the best out of ITAS tuition 15

UNIVERSITY GRADES 16

GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA) 16

CONTACTING JUMBUNNA IHL 17

Indigenous Student Services Unit Contacts 17

Learning Assistance Team 18

Appendix: A List of Words Commonly Used at Universities 19


JUMBUNNA INDIGENOUS HOUSE OF LEARNING (IHL)

Jumbunna IHL is comprised of two divisions:

Indigenous Student Services Unit

Research & Consultancy Division

ITAS at UTS is administered by Jumbunna Indigenous Student Services Unit which is located at

the Broadway campus of UTS on level 6 of the Tower Building (Building 1).

Jumbunna Indigenous Student Services Unit assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

students to participate equitably in their studies at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).

Students may be studying in any of the range of courses available at UTS. Jumbunna IHL also

provides access to UTS undergraduate courses through its Direct Entry Program and UniStart

course. ITAS is a crucial component of Learning Development opportunities offered to Direct

Entry and UniStart students.

The centre provides facilities and services for cultural and academic purposes. These include:

Indigenous Student Services Officers who provide assistance with the procedures and

administrative processes of university study

Liaison with faculties regarding student progress and representation of student issues

Academic Literacy and Numeracy development through the Learning Development

Program

Tutorial support through the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme [ITAS]

Computers and printing facilities

Group and private study areas

Student common/meeting room

Accommodation advice


INDIGENOUS TUTORIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEME (ITAS)

ITAS is funded under a contract between UTS and the Commonwealth Department of Industry,

Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education [DIISRTE]. The primary

objective of ITAS is to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to participate

equitably in their chosen field of study. This is achieved through the recruitment of qualified

tutors who work with our students to address their identified academic assistance needs.

Student participation in ITAS tutorials is voluntary.

ITAS provides the opportunity for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to apply for

supplementary tutorial assistance whilst enrolled at UTS. Approval of applications for ITAS are

subject to available funds and based on an Education Assessment conducted by one of the

Jumbunna academic staff/lecturers.

An undergraduate student may be approved for ITAS if they:

Are failing the course/subject and the lecturer believes that the student’s performance

would be improved through additional tuition;

Was just passing the course and the lecturer believes that the student’s performance

would be improved through additional tuition;

Was previously performing satisfactorily but is having difficulties with a new component

of the course and is in danger of failing or falling behind, in which case tuition would be

short-term; or

Require tutorial assistance to achieve an academic level or ranking required to proceed

to a subsequent stage or course of study (ITAS Program Guidelines 2013 p. 52)

Postgraduate applicants should be aware of the following:

Postgraduate students should have developed appropriate skills in literacy, numeracy, academic

writing and research prior to their admission into a postgraduate program. Therefore, applications

from postgraduate students may be approved in exceptional circumstances only, which much be

documented and filed on the student’s file. Short-term assistance in specific subject matter may

be appropriate if the student has not previously studied the subject (ITAS Program Guidelines

2013 pp. 53-4)

ITAS tutorials are provided on a one-to-one or small group basis, subject to funding and need.


ITAS TERTIARY TUITION

Students whose applications for ITAS assistance have been approved may receive the following

assistance subject to prior approval, demonstrated ongoing need and funding:

• Tuition supplementary to what is normally provided by UTS

The maximum amount of ITAS assistance that can be provided is two [2]

hours per subject per week during semester.

Students may also apply for an additional total of five hours per semester

during exam preparation periods.

• Transport Costs [Prior approval required].

Students and tutors who live in a non-metropolitan area and who must travel

more than 20 kilometres each way by private car to attend tutorial sessions may

be granted approval to receive some reimbursement of transport costs.

The maximum reimbursement is set at the Australian Public Service rate only

for that part of the journey in excess of 40 kilometres.

This provision is not available to students who live in metropolitan areas. It is

also not available to cover student’s travel to or from residential schools or field

trips.

• Accommodation Costs [Prior approval required]

Students and tutors who live in non-metropolitan areas who need to stay away

from their normal place of residence overnight in order to attend a tutorial

session may be eligible to have the actual cost of the accommodation,

including an evening meal and breakfast, reimbursed.

The maximum rate payable is the equivalent of the lowest applicable rate of

travel and meal allowance provided to officers of the APS.

This provision is not available to students or tutors who live in metropolitan

areas. It is also not available to cover student’s travel to or from residential

schools or field trips - these allowances are covered by ABSTUDY


APPLYING FOR ITAS TERTIARY TUITION

To be eligible to apply for ITAS Tertiary Tuition you must be

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

enrolled in a course at UTS

assessed as being in need of supplementary tuition that cannot be provided by UTS (as

determined by an Education Assessment as outlined above)

Applications for undergraduate and UNISTART ITAS Tertiary Tuition can be lodged via the

Jumbunna website ITAS Online

< https://itas.uts.edu.au/student/index.cfm?action=login>

Your ‘user name’ is your student number and your password is the same password you use for

all UTS online functions (such as your UTS email account and MyStudentAdmin).

Postgraduate students should contact Jumbunna staff or email [email protected] to obtain

application forms.

Once you have selected the subjects for which you request ITAS Tuition, undergraduate and

UNISTART students will be able to select a potential tutor from the Tutor Database on the ITAS

Online Portal. If you are unable to find a suitable tutor you can request that Jumbunna find a

tutor for you. Tutors for Postgraduate students can be nominated on the application form or you

can request that Jumbunna staff find a tutor for you. Potential tutors will be notified of a ‘student

match’ via email.

You should meet with any potential tutor and discuss

your educational needs

the tutor’s style and abilities

suitable times and places for tuition.

If you wish to proceed with a tutorial arrangement with the tutor, return to ITAS Online and

follow the prompts for accepting the tutor. If you choose not to proceed with that tutor, delete

their name from next to the subject on ITAS Online and select an alternative tutor.

Tuition must not commence until the tutor has been approved for registration as a tutor by

Jumbunna; both you and the tutor have ‘accepted’ through the ITAS online portal; you have

agreed to the Terms and Conditions for Students accessing the ITAS Tuition through the ITAS

portal; and the tutor has signed and returned an ITAS contract to Jumbunna.

You will be notified when ITAS Tuition has been approved. Please note that approval of ITAS

tuition is always subject to funding and educational assessment.

https://itas.uts.edu.au/student/index.cfm?action=login

mailto:[email protected]


Your Tutor

Your tutor is an employee of the University of Technology, Sydney and must comply with all the

requirements of employees at UTS. Information about these requirements is available at

<www.gsu.uts.edu.au/policies/index.html>. Tutors must also comply with the requirements of

the ITAS Guidelines.

Tutors are required to have a tertiary qualification or equivalent work experience in the content

area of the program of tuition or substantial successful academic progress in such a program.

Tutor’s Work Program

In the first two weeks of your tuition with the tutor, you will need to develop a work program with

your tutor and agree to the aims, objectives and goals of the tutorial program.

Tuition Assessment Report

Towards the end of the semester, you will prepare a Tuition Assessment Report to provide

feedback on the effectiveness of the tuition.

http://www.gsu.uts.edu.au/policies/index.html


TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR STUDENTS ACCESSING INDIGENOUS

TUTORIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEME [ITAS] TUITION

By signing this form I agree to the following Terms and Conditions:

1. Supplementary Service

1.1 I understand that ITAS is a service but is not guaranteed and not a right; Jumbunna will do its best to provide tuition but may not in all circumstances be able to provide a suitable tutor, or provide a tutor within preferred timeframes

1.2 I understand that ITAS is a supplementary service and is not to be relied upon to pass

my subjects

2. Preparation and Attendance

2.1 I agree that it is my responsibility to prepare for and attend all tutorial sessions 2.2 I agree that specific methods and times of contact are to be decided at the beginning of

the contract with my tutor and that I must not initiate contact outside of those arrangements

2.3 I agree that my tutor is not responsible for providing any additional assistance outside

my tutorial sessions 2.4 I agree that my attendance and participation at tutorial sessions may be monitored by

Jumbunna for quality assurance purposes and to ensure that my tutorial arrangements are working effectively

2.5 I understand that Jumbunna is the employer of my ITAS tutor, and Jumbunna may liaise

with my tutors, exchange information and enquire into my learning needs, academic progress and other ITAS related matters

3. Commencing Tutorials

3.1 I understand that tutorial sessions can only begin when 3.1(a) the tutor has been approved for registration as a tutor by Jumbunna;

and 3.1(b) the tutor has signed a written contract and returned it to Jumbunna;

and 3.1(c) I have signed this Agreement and it has been received by Jumbunna.

3.2 I understand that neither Jumbunna nor UTS will be responsible for payment of any tutoring arrangements that has not complied with clause 3.1 (a), (b) & (c).

4. Cancellation policy

4.1 If I require the tutorial session to be postponed or cancelled, I agree that it is my responsibility to give the tutor at least 24 hours’ notice by email and copied to [email protected]. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the tutor being entitled to a 1 hour “NO SHOW” payment and the hour will be deducted from my allocation of hours

4.2 I understand in accordance with the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science,

Research and Tertiary Education [DIISRTE] (the funding body) ITAS Guidelines the maximum number of “NO SHOWS” per contract is two [2]. The ITAS Tutor contract may be terminated when a third [3rd] “NO SHOW” occurs

5. Originality of work

5.1 I agree that under no circumstances will I ask or expect tutors to do any part of my work for me

5.2 I agree that I will not ask or expect my tutor to undertake library research, do subject

reading, take or supply notes, nor write or word-process assignments on my behalf



5.3 I understand that editing and proof reading of my work is my responsibility and that if I need assistance in developing the ability to edit and proof read the ITAS tutor can provide me with assistance but will not edit and proof read my work for me

5.4 I understand that my ITAS tutor and I will be asked from time to time to separately sign

documentation confirming compliance with clauses 5.1 to 5.3, and that any reported non-compliance will result in withdrawal of ITAS Tuition.

6. Tutor Claims

6.1 I agree that it is my responsibility to promptly check and sign the ITAS Tutor Claim form

or approve its online version at the end of each tutorial session. Before signing or approving, I must check that:

6.1(a) the date and time that the tuition took place are correct and 6.1(b) the amount of time the tutorial session has taken is correct

6.2 I agree that I will not sign or approve a tutor’s salary claim form if the details outlined in clauses 6.1(a) and 6.1(b) are not already correctly completed

7. Total Approved Hours

7.1 I agree that the number of hours stated on the tutor’s contract and in my ‘tutor allocated email’ will not be exceeded without approval from Jumbunna.

8. ITAS Tuition Assessment Report

8.1 I agree that an ITAS Tuition Assessment Report will be completed by me and received

by Jumbunna at the end of each semester I have received tuition

9. Feedback on Tuition

9.1 I agree to provide feedback about my tutoring service as requested by Jumbunna. I will promptly advise Jumbunna staff of any issues with my tutoring service.

10. Personal information

10.1 I agree that information provided by me to ITAS will be kept on file and may be used by Jumbunna or passed on to the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education [DIISRTE] (the funding body) for monitoring and evaluation purposes

11. Agreement

I understand that failure to agree to comply with any or all of these terms and conditions may

result in review of my access to ITAS services.

I understand that exceptions to any of these terms and conditions will only be made if I can

demonstrate that exceptional circumstances have prevented me from carrying out my

responsibilities under ITAS.

Student Name:

Student ID No:

Signature:

Date:


LEARNING TO LEARN WITH AN ITAS TUTOR

‘It is a great nuisance that knowledge can be acquired only by hard work’

Somerset Maugham

Being responsible for your own learning

As an adult learner, you are responsible for your learning. This is a big adjustment for many

students commencing university study. You may be accustomed to your parents, your teachers,

your schools or your bosses taking responsibility for you and your learning. But this is not the

case at university.

It is much easier to blame other people if we have difficulty, to say the lecturer wasn’t any good

or the university didn’t provide enough. But the reality is that your success will depend on how

hard you work in the subjects you enrol in. You do not need to be a genius to succeed at

university – though it might help! You can succeed at university if you attend and work hard at

doing what you are required to do.

The difference between universities and other types of educational institutions such as schools

or technical training institutes is that the focus in universities is on research. Undergraduate

research involves searching for information that already exists, evaluating it, applying or

combining it – that is analytical learning, and in honours and postgraduate study, creating new

knowledge – that is speculative learning (Ballard & Clancy 1997, p. 12). Universities provide you

with opportunities and guidance to develop your research skills, but you are responsible for

developing your research skills. Assistance in developing your research skills may be provided

by your lecturers and tutors and is also provided by the library.

How to take responsibility for your own learning

Attendance: this is perhaps the most fundamental responsibility of any student.

Students who do not attend are highly likely to fail. You are required to attend all

lectures, tutorials and/or laboratory or other classes scheduled in your subjects. This

does not mean that your attendance will be recorded at all of these classes, but you are

still required to attend. It is in these classes that you will find out about the subject

content and start to identify the areas that you will need additional assistance with from

your tutor.

Preparation: you should prepare for your classes and tuition sessions. This means

consulting the subject documents – the subject outline, the course readings, the UTS

Online section for the subject – and finding out what will be happening week by week in

the subject and what you need to read or do each week. If you do the reading before

the lecture or the tutorial you will get more out of the class. Turning up to class not

knowing what it will be about is not a responsible approach to attendance.


Read subject documents: as already mentioned, taking responsibility for your own

learning means familiarising yourself with the information provided by the subject

coordinator/ lecturer about the subject in the subject documents and on UTS Online.

The Subject Outline is the key document – this is like a contract between the university

and the student about what the university will provide and what the student must do in

order to succeed. Lecture slides, text books and readings provide the main content of

the subject but as a university student you are expected to develop the research skills

to find additional information to use in the preparation of your assignments.

Access opportunities provided for students: there are a lot of opportunities for you

to access at Jumbunna and UTS to assist you to succeed.

At Jumbunna, ITAS is one of those opportunities. ITAS forms part of

Jumbunna’s Learning Development Program which also consists of Academic

Communication and, if you need it for your subjects, Mathematics instruction.

Applying for these opportunities is optional but our experience has shown us

that students who do apply for and access these opportunities are more

successful than students who do not. Not all students will need these

opportunities and provision of these opportunities will only be provided if an

educational assessment indicates they are needed and sufficient funding is

available to pay for them.

UTS also offers other opportunities for all of its students. The Higher Education

Language and Presentation Support [HELPS] runs workshops on academic

reading, writing, and presentation skills. Students who have attended these

workshops have told us that they were enormously helpful for them in preparing

their assignments and presentations. HELPS also runs a drop-in service for

consultations about assignments, and conversation classes.

You may also find that U:PASS [UTS Peer Assisted Study Session] is available

in some of your subjects. U:PASS is led by students who have already

completed the subject you have studied and can guide you in how to succeed

in this subject.

The library provides a wide range of services to assist you to succeed in your

studies. These include workshops in referencing, workshops in conducting

research using databases and drop-in assistance with any aspects of

assignment and exam preparation.

Some faculties provide mentoring or other opportunities and Jumbunna

encourages you to take advantage of these.


Jumbunna works with Career Trackers to organise internships for students

during their studies.

Revision: research (e.g. Dale 1969) has shown that 3 hours after a lecture, the

average student remembers 25% of what they have heard and after 3 days as little as

10-20%. This is alarming. However, if you take your own notes during the lecture and

revise them within 48 hours, you are likely to recall about 80%. The content should

continue to be revised fortnightly for the remainder of the semester to maintain this level

of recall. Revision is an essential component of successfully taking responsibility for

your learning.

Learning Recall Related to Type of Presentation

Presentation Ability to Recall

after 3 hours after 3 days

Spoken lecture 25% 10-20%

Written (reading) 72% 10%

Visual and verbal (illustrated lecture) 80% 65%

Participatory (role plays, case studies, practice)

90% 70%

Adapted from: Dale 1969.

Develop your reading skills: many students are shocked at the amount of reading

they are expected to do in their university subjects. It is important that you develop

some strategies that will give you the ability to read a lot of information quickly and

make decisions about what information you need to focus on. The 4-S reading

strategies (Boddington & Clanchy 1999; Brick 2011) are a useful way to cope with the

reading demands of your subjects.

The 4-S reading strategies refer to the following:

1. Survey

2. Skim

3. Select

4. Study

Following is an explanation of each of these strategies.

Survey: when we survey a text we scan the text to find factual information about it

such as the following:

What is the title of the text? What is it about?

Who is the author? Is the author well known? Does the author have a good

reputation? Early in your university studies in your field or discipline you will


only be expected to do this in a limited way. As you develop your awareness of

the ‘hot topics’ of your discipline, your knowledge of the key theorists will

develop.

When was it written and published? What organisation published it?

What kind of text is it? (e.g. scholarly text, refereed academic journal article,

professional journal article, textbook, official report from a governmental or non-

governmental organisation, newspaper or magazine article)

Who is the intended audience of the text?

Skim: when we skim a text, we get a general idea about the text. We skim by doing

the following:

Can you work out the structure of the text? Is there an introduction and

conclusion/recommendation section?

Can you locate the part of the introduction, conclusion, abstract or executive

summary that tells the reader the main ideas and points in the text? Is there a

‘preview’ section which tells the reader how information is organised in the text?

Are there headings in the body of the text? What information do these headings

tell the reader about the text?

Are there any diagrams, graphs, tables, charts or any other visual information?

What can you understand from these?

Can you identify any textual features such as transition sentences or topic

sentences that make it easy for you to read the text without reading each word?

Select: successful student readers read with a purpose. Here are some examples of

reading purposes:

Reading for background understanding of a topic – should be a relatively easy

text to read

Reading to prepare for an examination – needs to be directly related to the

content of the exam

Reading to locate information for preparing for an assignment – need to look at

the assignment task and then find texts that relate to that task

When we select, we choose texts that help us achieve our reading purpose.

Study: in the studying phase we read the text or the part of the text we have

selected carefully; this is sometimes called ‘intensive reading’. Our objective is to

understand what we are reading very well.


Getting the best out of ITAS tuition

Supplementary Tuition: ITAS is supplementary tuition, that is, it supplements the

lectures, tutorials and/or laboratory sessions provided for students in the subjects they

are enrolled in. Students who attempt to use ITAS tutorials to replace the subject

classes are unlikely to succeed.

Preparation: it is important to prepare for your ITAS sessions by thinking about the

content of the lectures, tutorials and course readings and identifying aspects of the

content that you find difficult to understand. Show your tutors parts of the content that

you are struggling with and discuss this with your tutors.

Interpret Subject Documents: you should discuss the Subject Outline, UTS online and

other course documents with your tutors. Check with your tutors whether you have

understood these documents correctly so that you have a clear idea what you need to

do to pass.

Oral Rehearsal: many students find it helpful to orally rehearse what they are going to

write before they start drafting their assignments. This way, the tutor can give you

feedback on what you plan to write and guide you in preparing the assignment

successfully.

Time Management: you should make study plans to ensure that you manage your time

effectively. Prepare a draft of your assignments in advance of the due date so that you

have time to discuss it with your tutor and get feedback

Punctuality: learn to be punctual in attendance at classes and ITAS sessions and in

submitting your work. We all have challenges in life and times when events prevent us

from being punctual. However, when these issues are not affecting us, it is important to

develop punctuality not just for success in our studies but for our professional life after

our studies.

Enjoyment: as a final word, everyone at Jumbunna hopes that you enjoy your studies.

While university study is not easy for anyone, there are times when it is very enjoyable

and your achievements are something that no one can ever take away from you.

Sometimes you might get negative feedback or an unsuccessful grade for your work.

This can be disappointing but remember how much you have learned and remember

you are successful for just being here. If you have to repeat a subject it does not mean

you are less than anyone else. It just means you will take a little more time to complete

the learning objectives. Don’t give up! And if you feel like leaving uni, make sure you

talk to one of us before you do!

We look forward to walking alongside you in your learning journey at UTS!


UNIVERSITY GRADES

High Distinction (HD) 85-100% Work of outstanding quality on all objectives of the

subject

Distinction (D) 75-84% Work of superior quality on all objectives of the subject

Credit (C) 65-74% Work of good quality showing more than satisfactory

achievement on all objectives of the subject

Pass (P) 50-64% Work showing a satisfactory achievement on all

objectives of the subject

Fail * 0-49% Work showing an unsatisfactory achievement on one or

more objectives of the subject * It is also possible to get a Fail (X) grade, which means you got over 50% but you failed a necessary component of the subject.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)

The UTS grade point average (GPA) is based on a 4.00 point GPA scale according to the

following values:

Grade Grade Point

High Distinction (HD) 4

Distinction (D) 3.5

Credit (C) 2.5

Pass (P) 1.5

Fail 0.5

Each subject is assigned a Grade Point according to the Grade achieved and your Grade Points

are averaged to produce your GPA. A GPA is a way of communicating the level of success a

student has achieved in all the subjects they have attempted in a course.


CONTACTING JUMBUNNA IHL

UTS Jumbunna Student Services Unit is located on Level 6, Building 1 [Tower Building], No 1 Broadway. Postal address: UTS Jumbunna IHL PO Box 123 BROADWAY NSW 2007 Phone: Toll Free 1800 064 312 Fax: [02] 9514 1894 Unless otherwise stated, UTS Jumbunna IHL is open Monday to Friday, between the hours of 9.00 am and 5.00 pm.

Indigenous Student Services Unit Contacts

Lori Parish

Manager, Student Services

Ph: [02] 9514 1913

E-mail: [email protected]

Damita McGuinness

Coordinator, Indigenous Student Services Officers

Ph: [02] 9514 1908


Shaun Pattinson

Indigenous Student Services Officer

Ph: [02] 9514 1906


Blanch Lake

Indigenous Student Services Officer

Ph: [02] 9514 1939







Learning Assistance Team

Dr Adrian Kelly

Senior Lecturer, Learning Development

Coordinator, Learning Development Team

Ph: [02] 9514 1909


Dr Greg Martin

Senior Lecturer, Education

Coordinator, Enabling Programs


Jane Ewing

Learning Assistance Tutor, Mathematics


Bill Buckley

Learning Assistance Tutor, Academic Communication


Brenton James Learning Assistance Tutor


Jonny Wells Learning Assistance Tutor, Academic Communication E-mail: [email protected]

Judith Shepherd Learning Assistance Tutor, Mathematics


Christine Vella Learning Assistance Tutor, Academic Communication E-mail: [email protected]

Rachel Meredith Learning Assistance Tutor, Mathematics E-mail: [email protected]











Appendix: A List of Words Commonly Used at Universities

Universities have their own styles of communication and during your degree studies your ability

to comprehend and participate in these ‘ways with words’ will develop. The following list of

words is presented as a brief introduction to some of the words that you may encounter in your

first year at UTS. As you proceed through your studies, you will develop a deeper understanding

of many of these words.

Research Stenhouse (1981) defines research as ‘systematic, critical

inquiry made public’ - this means that research involves using a

system or method to answer research questions

These questions are critical in both meanings of this word; they

are necessary or very important, and they involve criticising

generally accepted ideas to find out if those ideas are reliable

When students write essays or give presentations, they are

making their work public so that other people can read or listen

to it and decide for themselves if it is convincing

Academic Means ‘of the academy’ and the academy is the university

academic writing means university writing and academic culture

means the culture of universities

An academic is a person who works in a university as a

researcher and/or lecturer

Faculty

Department

A division in a university which oversees one subject area or a

group of related subject areas

In the USA, the word faculty is used to talk about the academic

staff in a university

A department is a division of a faculty

Discipline or

Field of Study

Disciplines are usually ‘pure’ areas of inquiry such as Chemistry

or Mathematics

Fields of Study are usually applied (work oriented) areas of

inquiry such as Education or Communication

Semester literally means ‘six months’, so there are two semesters in an

academic year

at UTS there is the Autumn Semester usually commencing in

early March and the Spring Semester usually commencing in

early August

the semesters are generally 17 weeks in duration with 13 or 14

teaching weeks, 1 week of mid-semester exams, a ‘Vice-

Chancellor’s’ week (no classes) and 2 weeks of final exams


Lecturer,

Senior Lecturer,

Associate Professor

(A/Prof),

Professor (Prof),

Associate Dean (AD),

Dean,

Deputy Vice-

Chancellor (DVC),

Vice-Chancellor,

Chancellor

these are all academic titles that are earned through academic

and/or professional merit

when writing or talking to academics that you have already met,

it is generally alright for you to use their first name

if you have not met an academic, you should use one of the

following titles depending on what is the appropriate title for the

person:

Doctor (Dr) for a lecturer or senior lecturer who has completed

a PhD/doctorate

Associate Professor (A/Prof) of Professor (Prof) for a person

who has been appointed into these positions

in general (but not always) non-academic titles (Mr, Mrs, Miss)

are not used in academic situations

Undergraduate

Postgraduate

Undergraduate studies are the first degree you do at university,

usually a Bachelor’s degree

Postgraduate studies are studies you do after completing a

Bachelor’s degree, usually Master’s degrees or Ph.Ds/

Doctorates but also including Graduate or Postgraduate

Certificates or Diplomas

Bachelor’s

Postgraduate

Diploma

Graduate Diploma

Master’s

Doctorate

These are levels of academic qualification

Bachelors, postgraduate diplomas, and graduate diplomas are

typically studied by ‘coursework’ – this means that there are a

number of subjects to study to complete the course

Master’s and Doctoral study are usually taken by research –

this means there will usually not be any subjects in the course

but the student will complete a research project and submit a

thesis or dissertation.

Credit Points Credit Points measure the amount of work needed by a subject

Generally a full-time load of work for a semester is 24 credit

points but students may be permitted to reduce this to 18 credit

points and still be full-time

Most subjects at UTS are worth 6 credit points each so the

usual full-time load is 4 subjects per semester

Many bachelor degrees require 144 credit points which is 24

credit points per semester for 6 semesters, or in other words 3

years

Primary

Secondary

Tertiary

Literally mean first, second and third

Tertiary Education is the third level of education, that is adult

education you do after completing high school

University education is one type of Tertiary Education, other

types being Vocational Education, and Technical Training.


Pre-requisite

Co-requisite

Anti-requisite

A pre-requisite is a subject you need to complete before you

can enrol in another subject – for example, Accounting A is a

pre-requisite for Accounting B

A co-requisite is a subject you have to take at the same time as

another subject – that is, the subjects are a pair

An anti-requisite is a subject you cannot take if you have

completed or are already enrolled in another subject

Subject Coordinator the main person responsible for the academic and

administrative leadership in a subject

the Subject Coordinator may also be the lecturer or one of the

lecturers in the subject

Lecture often a large class in which the main content, theories and

concepts for a subject are presented and explained

traditionally a lecture did not involve interaction between the

lecturer and the student but this is no longer the case in most

subjects

lecturers will often use what is called the ‘Socratic method’; this

is named after the Greek philosopher Socrates who was

famous for asking people a series of basic questions in order to

lead them (induction) to make their own conclusions about a

topic or issue

Tutorial usually a smaller class in which students engage in discussion

with each other and the tutor or in which students do activities,

exercises or tasks which assist them to learn the content of the

subject

Empirical

Rational

Empirical evidence is evidence a person has acquired through

observation – this might include seeing/watching, smelling,

feeling/touching, tasting and hearing

Rational information is information that has been formed by

reason (thinking) and reflection

Empiricism and Rationalism are two approaches to knowledge

that are highly valued in some subjects (e.g. sciences) but in

other subject areas (e.g. communication) knowledge that is

focussed on social or cultural meaning may be equally or more

highly valued

Empiricism and Rationalism are the foundations of scientific

experiments


Postmodern

Postmodernity

Postmodernism

Postmodernity is the time or the way of thinking that comes

after or is opposed to the thinking that is associated with the

Modern period (Modernity)

The Modern period is considered to have begun about 500

years ago and is associated with a move away from religious

explanations of the world and human life towards more

scientific explanations – this aspect of Modernism is called

Humanism

The early phase of the Modern period produced the Age of

Reason followed by the Enlightenment which focussed on the

use of rational thought to establish knowledge and involved a

project to modernise society

Postmodernism is characterised by scepticism that the

Enlightenment can provide the complete explanation of the

world and human life that it aims or claims to do, and criticism

that all other ways of explaining the world and human life, like

culture and tradition, are ignored or opposed by science

One aspect of modernity is the idea of ‘progress’:

postmodernism regards progress as a myth and argues that

any so-called progress can also be viewed negatively, that

progress is not a fact but a perspective