Category: parents

Glossary

ESL: English as a Second Language.
FACULTY: Faculties are generally made up of several departments which organise the teaching and administration of the actual subjects in each discipline.
FEE PLACE: An enrolment in a university course where the student is responsible for the full cost of the fees. These places are not covered by a government subsidy. […]

Fees

In their list of course preferences, students can choose to apply for a combination of two types of fee enrolment:
1. Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs, formerly known as HECS)
Students in a Commonwealth Supported Place pay a proportion of their course fees while the rest is subsidised by the government. The amount of the student’s contribution […]

Financial Assistance

Most universities try to assist students who are facing financial difficulties. The university’s Financial Aid service will provide advice about how to budget, what student loans and bursaries are available and how government schemes such as Austudy, Youth Allowance and Abstudy work.
Rent assistance
Rent Assistance is available to students on Youth Allowance or Abstudy who […]

Talk About Uni publications

The following publications will soon be available to download from this page in PDF format for classroom use.
The Uni Book
This is a booklet for year 10 students, providing helpful information about tertiary study and demystifying the transition from high school to university. Issues covered include preparing for university life, assistance with course and subject selection, […]

The role of parents

You may feel confused about your role at this new stage in your child’s life, especially since it coincides with progression from adolescence to adulthood. Universities treat their students as adults and deal directly with them. There are no parent-teacher interviews or newsletters, and the only way you can know how well they’re doing is […]

Getting started at uni

Students are not expected to manage their transition from school to university without some help and support. Apart from the important support from family and friends, assistance can come in many forms.
Orientation programs
Orientation programs help students to meet others, find their way around, get their timetables and learn which textbooks and other course materials they […]

Life at uni

Once students are at university they are considered to be adults responsible for their own learning. Your child will also be responsible for remembering due dates, choosing their subjects and doing their own administration. Course advisers and lecturers can give advice, support and make information available, but students must learn to ask for help when […]

Course-related expenses

Course-related equipment can include things like textbooks, art materials or anatomy and chemistry kits. Courses sometimes include compulsory fieldtrips or excursions.
All students need access to a computer and while having one at home is ideal, university campuses also provide access to computer labs for students who want to work on campus or who can’t […]

What Happens Next?

Offers of a place
There are three rounds of offers in the VTAC system. Most offers are given in the first round in mid-late January. Second round offers come out in early February and a small number of offers are made in the third round.
The places available in the second and third rounds are places that […]

Special entry schemes - parents

Universities like to enrol a diverse group of students. That means they offer some places to students who come from backgrounds which are under-represented at universities. They also offer places to students who have experienced some form of long-term academic disadvantage.
Long-term academic disadvantage includes:

living in a rural or remote area
having extensive family responsibilities
coming from […]