Disability Services - helping you achieve your goals

Amidst all the excitement of starting a new year at Uni, whether its your first year here or you are a continuing student it can be easy to overlook issues that may impact on your study.

If you have a disability, medical condition or even a short term injury or illness, you may not have thought about how this could affect your studies. Even if you think you will manage fine it may be worth discussing your situation with the Disability Adviser in the Learning and Teaching Unit as soon as possible to avoid possible problems further down the track, e.g. sitting exams.

The Disability Adviser can;

• provide information and advice about disability services
  
• develop individual Disability Access Plans
• provide a range of services and equipment
• support your negotiations with academic staff

If you think any of the above apply to you please make an appointment to see the Disability Adviser ph: 8302 5006.

Good luck with your studies.

Carolyn Donlan
Disability Adviser

WELCOME

This is the most exciting time of year. New students everywhere.

Congratulations if you're joining us at Mawson Lakes Campus and starting your degree or diploma.

What do you need to make a great start at uni?

1. Talk to people. You'll need friends in your program and you'll have questions that need answers. Look for people wearing Ask Me shirts. Talk to anyone and everyone. Have fun.
   
2. Attend everything in your orientation program and every scheduled class. Research shows a positive relationship between attendance and success.
3. Stay online and explore UniSA's online environment.
4. Find your way around so you know all the sites that will be useful to you.
5. Check out the essentials: parking rules, trains and buses etc.

Remember staff in the Learning and Teaching Unit and look for our publications. They may prove useful.

All the best,
Helen

Helen Johnston, Learning Adviser

Umbrellafest October 2009

UmbrellaFest - 9th & 10th October 2009
Free 11am-4pm





Tracey Skaczkowski- Disability Advisor

Part-time position for student

Studying @ Mawson Lakes?

Interested in a couple of hours a week paid administration work?

Then you might be the one that Jenny is looking for!

Jenny Watts-Sampson is the National Disability Coordination Officer for the northern areas is seeking the following:

"I am looking for someone who would be willing to work a couple of hours a week or maybe 4 hours a fortnight to assist me in an admin type role.
They will need to have some computer skills as I would like to create and upkeep excel spreadsheets. There are mail outs to be done, assistance with putting showbags together, putting presentations together using powerpoint and other interactive tools. I also need assistance to keep my paperwork in check.

I guess it is like a jack of all trades in the office environment.

Someone at Mawson Lakes would probably be ideal as they would already be on campus and could come and assist me when they are here."

So if you fit the description just contact Jenny on 8302 5444 or email her jenny.watts-sampson@unisa.edu.au to discuss further.

Tracey Skaczkowski - Disability Advisor

Julia Farr Youth

Are you aged between 18-25yrs and living with a disability?

Come and Join - Julia Farr Youth
104 Greenhill Road, Unley.
Contact Georgina: 83738313



Tracey Skaczkowski - Disability Advisor Mawson Lakes

Scribes (note takers) needed

If you are interested in taking notes for another student and would like to find out more information on how you could assist another student with their studies - please contact the Disability Advisor on 8302 3170 or email your interest to Tracey.Skaczkowski@unisa.edu.au

Thank you Tracey Skaczkowski
Disability Advisor
Mawson Lakes

Tech Fest 2009, Royal Society for the Blind.

A showcase of the latest in adaptive technology for persons who are blind or vision impaired.

Items on display will include:
Magnification and speech software for computers and mobile phones
Electronic magnification
Braille equipment for various purposes

There will also be:
A program of talks
An opportunity to talk to Adaptive Technology Centre staff and Suppliers

Wednesday 26th August 2009 11 am - 6.30 pm and
Thursday 27th August 2009 9 am - 4 pm

RSB Adaptive Technology Centre, Knapman House, 230 Pirie Street, Adelaide.
Ph:(08) 8232 4777

Tracey Skaczkowski,
Disability Advisor, Mawson Lakes

Welcome back to study...

Hi

Welcome back to study. Now that study period 5 has started, it is a good time to get in contact with a Disability Advisor to arrange or update your Access Plan.

An Access Plan you ask - whats that?
An Access Plan documents information about the impact of your disability/medical condition on your studies, it makes comment to the services and exam arrangements that may be required. This is based on the supporting information given to the Disability Advisor about your disability/medical condition. An Access plan can be implemented for situations such as a broken leg, recent surgery (temporary disability/condition) or an established health issue (permanent disability/condition).

Please let us know if;-

you need to arrange an Access Plan or modify your existing Access Plan

your health circumstances have changed and are impacting on your study

you may have a placement this study period and your medical condition/disability may impact on this

does your medical condition/disability impact on how you will access your courses?

you need to modify or arrange exam requirements

It is best to act now

All the best for this study period!

The Disability Services Teamhttp://www.unisa.edu.au/ltu/contact/teams/disability.asp

Tracey Skaczkowski,
Disability Advisor, Mawson Lakes

Positive Futures Exp09

If you are a person with a disability, medical or mental health condition...COME ALONG AND JOIN IN!!!

25 August 2009
10am - 3pm, 5pm – 7pm

The Playford Civic Centre
10 Playford Boulevard,
Elizabeth

The day will include:

§ Information stalls on Education, Employment and Training Opportunities
§ Entertainment by the Fremont-Elizabeth City High School Senior Stage Band
§ Free BBQ Lunch provided by the Ex Military Rehabilitation Centre
§ Free Morning Tea provided by the Students at the Australian Technical College
§ Guest Speakers!
§ Workshops to assist people with a disability to access further Education & Employment opportunities, and what you need to know about future prospects

Click here for official flyer (will require Adobe's Acrobat Reader. You can download this program free of charge from Adobe's website.)

Tracey Skaczkowski
Disability Advisor - Mawson Lakes

After the exam

Well, the exam is finally over! Depending on how you think you performed in the exam, you might be feeling pleased, or maybe disappointed. Most students feel a sense of relief, no matter what!

Take the time to relax and unwind. "Debrief" with classmates, hang out with friends, or spend some quiet time with your family. You might even want to phone or email them, if they are overseas or some distance away. Many students just want to go home and sleep! Try not to party too hard if you have other exams coming up - save it for the final exam!

If you were disappointed with your performance in the exam, realize that you cannot change the outcome by making yourself miserable. Don't get upset unless you have good evidence that you performed poorly; after all, it would be foolish to ruin an opportunity to relax, especially if it turns out that you performed better than you imagined. You might be best advised to wait until you receive your grade.

What can you do if you fail the exam? Firstly, blaming yourself, or feeling angry about the results, is futile and irrational. Instead, try to react in a constructive way: for example, you could ask your Course Coordinator for some feedback.

Students whose performance in a final exam or assessment is adversely affected by illness or traumatic circumstances can apply for Special Consideration, but there are two things to consider. Firstly, you would need to provide very convincing documentary evidence to support your application, such as a current medical certificate, or a police report reference. Secondly, such an application can have four possible outcomes: (1) it can be refused; (2) you may be asked to sit a deferred exam; (3) you may be asked to do an alternative assignment; or (4) your grades may be adjusted.

Where supplementary assessment is approved by your school, you may be offered the opportunity to gain a supplementary pass. This is only available to students who have performed well throughout the study period, but obtained a final grade of F1 due to their performance in the exam.

For further information, see Section 7 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual 2009.

Good luck with your results!

Helen Reeves (Counsellor) and Kirsten Wahlstrom (Learning Adviser)