Advice, Appointments, Counsellors and Emergencies

Are You Coping with Study?

Are You at Academic Risk?
Once you enrol in a course of study, your progression through to graduation will be dependent upon meeting minimum success rates and correctly re-enrolling.
You should familiarise yourself with the Progression Rules, as your end of session results will be checked against the progression rules.  If you are identified as being 'at risk' of failing the rules this could lead to sanctions - such as conditional enrolment or exclusion.
Students who find themselves in this situation are advised to seek immediate assistance. A poor outcome in one session can often be turned around in the next, with support and advice. Students are encouraged to make use of the services provided by the University as part of their actions to improve their grades.
Students who seek the help of the University's support services can gain strategies to address the problems that are affecting their studies. If you are currently 'at risk'  please make contact with the friendly, professional staff located in Counselling and Disability Services. There is a Counselling and Disability Services Centre on each campus. International students can also seek assistance from the International Office Advisors, also available on each campus. Or you can visit the UWS International site.

How Did You Go Last Session?

• Were you unhappy about your results?
• Were you disappointed you didn't do better?
• Have you failed the same subject more than once?
• Have you completed less than 50% of the total credit points you attempted during the semester?
• Do you feel you may be at academic risk?

If you answered 'yes' to any of the above questions...

...and are interested in making some positive and real changes, contact a counsellor at Counselling and Disability Services on your campus to help make these changes!
The UWS Policy DDS site details all UWS policies.
The UWS Progression Policy (4.1) may be of use to you in regards to your academic performance. However, if you find that you are still worried or if you are experiencing difficulties please don't hesitate to make an appointment and speak to a counsellor.

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Thinking of Dropping Out?
Before you withdraw, make sure you have carefully considered all the alternative options listed below and have discussed them with someone you trust.

Take a short break - Have a good night's sleep, have a day off with friends, go for a long walk - just relax. Sometimes that is all that is needed to renew your energy and make you realise that you do not need to take any drastic steps.

Manage your stress - University studies are hard work and can be very stressful, especially if combined with work and family commitments. You might need to learn relaxation techniques, take up yoga, or integrate quiet times in your daily routine. Try not to overload your timetable at the expense of personal time.

Get back on track - If you are behind with your studies, borrow notes from friends, join a study group or talk to your lecturer to help you catch up the work you have missed. But note that it is not easy to catch up on old material while also keeping up to date with new work. You will need to be very focused and organised.

Improve your study skills - Do you want to quit because the unit is too hard, the reading incomprehensible, the assignment too complicated? Or because your notes are in a mess, you cannot organise your time and you keep procrastinating? You are not alone!
Hundreds of students need to improve their study and organisation skills to be successful. Individual sessions and workshops are conducted by the Student Learning Unit throughout the year. Details are available through Student Support Services on your campus.

Drop a unit or go part-time - If you are not coping with your workload or if you have too many work or family commitments, why not withdraw from a few units and continue part-time? In most cases, you can take as little as one unit per semester. You can always go back to full-time studies later when things are more easier for you.

Be aware that:

• if you drop below three quarters of a full-time workload, you may lose your youth allowance, Austudy, Abstudy or Pensioner Education Supplement - check with Centrelink for further information
• you will need to withdraw before the HECS cut off date to avoid academic penalty. For more information please visit the HECS Website
• withdrawing from a core or prerequisite unit may impede your enrolment in further units (see your course coordinator)
• you will need to withdraw formally from the units you decide to drop (through the Student Centre)
• international students' visa obligations do not normally allow part-time studies.

Change your Course - This is a matter of applying again through UAC (University Admissions Centre) and maintaining good grades in your course of study. Careers Consultants and Counsellors can discuss this further with you. If you are unhappy with some of your units or your course major, you may be able to change your enrolment. This should be done as early as possible to avoid interfering with your studies and generally no later than week two of semester. You should talk to the Course Coordinator about change of units or majors. International students need to check restrictions imposed by their VISA or home institution before changing courses.

Whatever you do, talk to someone first!

Don't make hasty decisions which could affect your future until you have discussed it with people who can lend a sympathetic ear and provide valuable advice.
Counsellors are available on every campus to talk over these options with you.

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Making an Appointment

If you would like to see a counsellor you can make an appointment at one of our offices, or by calling 02  9852  5199, or email counselling@uws.edu.au.

What to Expect
Appointments generally last for approximately 50 minutes, however, you may only need a 30-minute appointment for the first time.
Please keep in mind that not all counsellors are available every day, so the days and times that are available may not be what you expected. On some occasions, you may not be able to see a counsellor for up to two weeks.
The Administrative Officer will ask you for your name, student number and contact number and will find the first available time slot that suits both you and the counsellor.  You will not be expected to disclose the reason for making the appointment.

Drop In Sessions
If you are on campus and don't have a booked appointment, you could "Drop In" at our service. If a counsellor is available they will see you straight away. However if others already have booked appointments at that time, counsellors will naturally have to meet those obligations first. If you are off campus, it is always better to phone first to check if a counsellor is or will be available.

Cancellations
If, for whatever reason you cannot make it to your appointment, it would be most appreciated if you could contact Counselling and Disability Services as soon as possible and inform the Administrative Officer of this. An early cancellation opens up an available time-slot for other students.  If you think that you will be late to your appointment, please call Counselling and Disability Services on 02 9852 5199.

Follow-up Appointments
At the end of the session, your counsellor may agree to see you again to evaluate and monitor your progress. Either the counsellor will make the appointment with you, or you can make the appointment yourself, with the Administrative Officer.

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Counsellor Availability on Each Campus

Head - Counselling and Disability Services
counselling@uws.edu.au

BANKSTOWN CAMPUS - Building 12. Ph: 02 9772  6116 Fax: 02 9773  5543

CAMPBELLTOWN CAMPUS - Building 16. Ph: 02 4620 3194 Fax: 02 4628 5697

HAWKESBURY CAMPUS - Building P2. Ph: 02 4570 3194 Fax: 02 4570 1613

PARRAMATTA and BLACKTOWN CAMPUS - Building EJ. Ph: 02 9685 9228 Fax: 02 9685 9613

PENRITH (Kingswood) CAMPUS - Building P. Ph: 02 4736 0337 Fax: 02 4736 0213

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Emergencies

Staff are always more than happy to help in emergency situations. Counselling is available on most campuses Monday to Friday. If a Counsellor is not available on your campus in an emergency, a phone appointment may be arranged with a Counsellor on another campus.

However, there may be times when an emergency occurs outside office hours. If this happens, or if you simply prefer to contact a specialist agency, you may find the following list helpful.

The link below list local Emergency Services (2007).  It is a good idea to save and print a copy of the list so that you can easily access it.

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Related Documents

• Emergency Contact List [MS Word Document: 57Kb]