And the 2009 academic year begins at Mawson Lakes!

Welcome all new and contrinuing students,
It's the first day of the first week of Study Period 2 at UniSA. And it really feels like the start of autumn, a perfect mid-20's day. What a relief after the heat of January and some of February.

Last week there were orientation activities throughout the week for new students. And for the first time first year Engineering students were able to use their new learning space, the Experience 1 Studio. This was great for working on the QED i.e. the orientation quest for the Engineering discipline. Our photo shows some of you hard at work. This might have been the winning team!

If you know a new student at Mawson Lakes who missed orientation our next posting will provide links to loads of useful resources. Meanwhile check out the First 6 Weeks websites: useful and timely info about how to get started.

Helen

Welcome to all new Mawson Lakes international students!

And a special welcome to all our CELUSA/SAIBT students who are now moving into their main program.

My name is Damien and I'm the International Student Officer at Mawson Lakes Campus. I will have already met some of you at the orientation workshops.

I'm here to assist international students with any questions or queries they might have with regards to the conditions of their student visa, adjusting to life at UniSA or course of study. I also refer students to other members of the Learning Connection team such as Counsellors, Learning Advisors and UniLife advocates. If you have any questions or queries and you don't know who can assist you please feel free to come into the Learning and Teaching Unit and I will do my best to assist you. If I cant advise you of how to resolve the issue yourself I will be sure to refer you within the University to someone who can.

I thought I might give you a brief overview of your orientation program over the next two weeks. From Monday 16th February to Thursday 19th February 2009 I will be conducting International Student Arrival Briefing's 9:30-10:30 and Accommodation Briefing and Assistance workshops 10:45-12:00. These workshops will be conducted in the GP building (just across the courtyard from the cafeteria "welcome area") in room 1-08 on the ground floor.

The workshops are repeated again in the afternoon so if you miss the morning session you are welcome to come to the afternoon session. The orientation program is also duplicated Monday-Thursday so if you have attended the two workshops there is no further requirement for you to return to campus until 1:30pm on Thursday 19th February when one of the Learning and Teaching Unit counsellors will be presenting a "Welcome to Australia" workshop which will cover more of the cultural adjustment issues that new students might face.

On Friday, 20th February all new international students are required to attend CITY WEST CAMPUS (not their home campus) for a formal University Welcome and presentations from Department of Immigration, Australian Quarantine Inspection Service and OSHC Worldcare, UniSA's Overseas Student Health Care insurance provider.

During the following week's orientation you will break up into smaller groups and attend a specific orientation program for your Faculty. Check here for more information. You will also meet Australian students who will be studying with you.

We wish you the best of luck!

Starting uni for the first time

Here's what Michael had to say about starting university for the first time.

Welcome to the early birds!

Congratulations and welcome to all our new students attending the Early Preparation Workshops this week. We are so pleased that you are joining us at Mawson Lakes.

The EPW students are a unique bunch of people: all are starting their degrees as adults, some building on successful careers and others branching out into new fields. We have a great mix of future Engineers, Educators, Scientists dedicated to the environment, Project and People managers. For many taking on study now is a further complication in lives full of activity and responsibilities.
It's an exciting venture and we all wish you well.

You've worked with us over two nights on various aspects of getting ready for starting uni. apparently many of you enjoyed the sessions and rated our input on Reading Critically, Managing Change, Academic Writing and Taking notes in lectures very well. Our guest lecturer Professor Patrick James was very popular. One student commented that "I hope other lecturers are like Professor Patrick". For many it's great to meet up with others taking on the same new experience and sharing both the excitement and their many questions.

See a few of our commencing students enjoying their relaxed dinner break.

School holidays, your student visa and you!

Most of you will be undergoing your final exams for the study period this week and a lucky few will have finished already (phew!) so its an appropriate time for you to think about how your student visa conditions will affect you over the summer holiday period.

Some of you will be jetting off home to spend the break with your families so we wish you the best of luck for your holdiays and new year. Student visa's are multiple entry so you can leave the country and come back on the same visa if you will still be studying in your course in 2009 but it is important to be aware that if you are completing your final period of study this month and will be applying for a further substantive visa your student visa may cease on the date your application is received by DIAC and an interim "Bridging Visa A" applied. This is fine if you wish to remain in Australia until a decision is made on your new visa application but if you wish to leave the country after you have applied for your new visa you may need to apply for a "Bridging Visa B" which allows you to travel overseas and return at a later date. If you do not apply for a "Bridging Visa B" and you are currently on a "Bridging Visa A", if you leave the country you will not be able to re-enter as the Bridging Visa A is strictly one way, once you leave thats it. So its important to know exactly which visa you are currently holding and its conditions at any one time.

For those of you who will remain in Australia and intend to work over the summer holiday break the standard student visa limitation of no more than 20 hours work per week remains in effect for the entire duration of the study period which for students who started courses in SP5 is between 28th July and 29th November 2008. Even if you have finished all your exams the work limitation will remain in place until the end of semester. The good news is that the limitation only remains in effect during periods of study and from 30th November 2008 student visa holders can work unlimited hours right up until they commence their next period of study.

As always, be aware of the current visa you are holding and its conditions.

And have a great summer holidays!

Exam success - it's all about preparation

Thank you Clip Art!

Well, it's that time of the study period again - exam time! It comes around quickly, doesn't it?

As usual, dear reader, we are posting some goodies for you to maximise your preparation and performance.

Really (strictly speaking) the preparation for final exams starts in week 1 - doesn't it? Keeping track of your notes and topic materials; revising lecture notes on a weekly basis; clarifying any difficult concepts with your lecturer or the computer or maths help desks and keeping up-to-date with readings happens every week - right? Well for some, maybe. The reality is that we are all busy people and there just might be some slippage along the way.

Anyway, there is much you can do right now to polish your performance in your exams.

Firstly, make sure you start sorting your notes RIGHT NOW. Clear up anything you are having difficulty with through your own revision; in collaboration with another student or by consulting with your lecturer.

Secondly, make a study plan using a 16 or 24 hour planner to help you map your time productively.

Thirdly, decide on a repertoire of exam study strategies. This great resource How to remember what you've learned was developed by our colleague Monica Behrend. It demonstrates how we can use a range of techniques which employ different parts of our brain - thereby creating a 'deep' learning experience. In other words, helping the learning to 'sink in' to the memory.

Finally, talk! One of the best ways of remembering what you've learned is to talk about your learning in a study group. In addition, you can post study tips and techniques to the comments below or to Talking about exams - a bubbly little community for students who take exams.

We will talk more about preparation and performance and are keen to hear your ideas, too.

The learning advisers and counsellors

Andrea, Helen and Helen

What are my student visa conditions?

Every international student studying at UniSA will have specific conditions applied to their student visa. Did you know that there are nine “Mandatory Conditions” which are applied to ALL student visa holders and another seven “Discretionary Conditions” which may or may not be applied to you?

Many student visa holders will have a visa label stuck into their passport which will list your visa conditions on the right hand side such as “8101-No Work”. It is important to note that these conditions are those that applied to you at the time your visa was granted and that if that was some time ago your visa conditions may have changed. An example of this is if your visa was granted before 26th April 2008 and you have applied for Permission to Work since your commencement of study and it has been granted, the 8101 condition will have been removed and replaced with “8105-Work Limitation” which allows students to work up to 20 hours a week during periods of study.

If you were granted an “e-Visa” your visa conditions should be listed in the documentation you received when your visa was granted. There is no difference between student visa conditions between e-Visa and Visa label applicants. Each student visa is assessed individually and conditions applied on a case by case basis.

If you do not comply with one or more of the conditions of your student visa Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) will consider you to be in “breach” and your visa may be jeopardised. The best way to avoid being in breach is to know what visa conditions apply to you.

A list of all student visa conditions are available at the DIAC website.

If you are unsure and would like to know which visa conditions apply to you than you should contact DIAC directly on 131 881 (Mon - Fri 0900-1600 AEST)

What are my workplace rights?

An article published in "The Weekend Australian" on Saturday raised the issue of employers taking advantage of students in the workplace with regards to pay and conditions. An example in the article was of an international student who worked 18 hours cleaning serviced apartments in Sydney and was paid only $10 for his efforts. The student was also told that when he completed his training period he would be paid only $16 per apartment he cleaned and not an hourly rate.

Everybody working in Australia, either part or full time, be they a citizen, permanent resident or student has rights protected by Commonwealth Workplace Law. This law sets down conditions of employment such as minimum hourly wage, hours and conditions of work. By not paying the student in the article the minimum hourly rate for 18 hours of work, the employer broke the law and is liable for prosecution.

The government body which investigates and prosecutes breaches of Workplace Law is the Workplace Ombudsman. Currently there is a campaign underway by the Ombudsman to raise student awareness of their workplace rights.

The Ombudsman has produced a very useful pamphlet specifically for international students.

Depending on the industry in which an employee is working, they may also be covered by an "Award" which sets out further conditions of employment and protections for an employee.

If you believe you may have been underpaid or have any questions about your conditions of employment you should contact the Workplace Ombudsman Help Line on 1300 724 200 or speak to a Unilife Student Advocate.

All work and no play...

Makes Jack a dull boy...

That saying suggests that someone who concentrates on work (or study) all the time, risks becoming a very boring person; and a very bored person.

There are plenty of things going on in the community that are worth checking out. Bring a bit of variety into your life, meet new people, and maybe learn something different.

Here are some current possibilities:

• If you’re interested in shipwrecks, there’s a display at the South Australian Maritime Museum. There are lots of other things to see there as well and it’s just up the new expressway at Port Adelaide.
• For those with skills in art or photography and an interest in the environment,there’s the Wetland Care National Art competition. There are wetlands just up the road at St Kilda, so get out your camera or your sketchpad and head up there.
  
• The Skeptics National Convention is being held at the Norwood Town Hall 11-12 October. This will be a gathering of people who think critically about the claims people make and challenge many of those claims.
  
  
• If you haven’t yet visited the Clare Valley, north of Adelaide, this weekend might be a good time to do it, with the Valley of the Vines Festival on 12 October.
  
  
• It’s also Sleep Disorder Week, so you may choose to do a little more sleeping this week!
  
  

For information about future events and places to go, you might like to bookmark the SA Tourism Commission site and the South Australia Events site.

Mental Health

Did you know this week was mental health week?

Mental health is a serious issue in our community with one in five people likely to experience a mental health problem at some point in their life.

For this reason, the Counselling and Disability teams at each UniSA Campus are proud to support Mental Health Week by providing information and activities between 6 – 10 October.

Please look at the Mental Health Week website for information about mental health and how we can promote it.

Mawson Lakes kicked off the celebrations on Tuesday 7 October with a very successful and tasty BBQ provided by UniLife and Aroma Café. Thanks to all the students who came along and enjoyed the food and drink.

You may also have noticed the Mental Health Week display in the Library foyer which will be running between 6 – 10 October. Please feel free to come and take whatever information you feel is relevant to you or a loved one.

There is information on anxiety and depression including reducing stress, coping with loss and grief, useful contacts, and living with and caring for a person with depression.

Mental health influences everything we do:

• How we think, feel and behave

• The way we relate to other people

• The way we respond to the challenges of life

• How we cope with events such as changing jobs, moving home and missing loved ones, having a baby, retirement, loss of a loved one and physical illness

You are not alone:

• Get help if you feel mentally or physically stressed

• Get involved in your community

• Look out for your family and friends

If you would like to speak to a Counsellor at UniSA about any issues that may be causing you stress please contact Learning Connection at Mawson Lakes on 8302 5006 or pop into the office in the C building (Library).

Further information:

Mental Health Coalition of South Australia

Beyondblue (the national depression initiative)

SANE Australia

Multicultural Mental Health Australia

Auseinet Australian Network for Promotion

Carolyn Donlan
Disability Advisor