Text Transcript
What Brought You To Us?
MINNI: Prior to orientation and starting university, we got emails telling us about Return to Study workshops, and library access and with that I thought I better get my head around this, so I enrolled to see what would be a head of me and what tips they could offer.
TOAN: Some of the things that where troubling me were the structure of the essays I would have to write. I was not efficient and I needed help with flowing from one section of the essay to another.
Main Study and Learning Concerns
JOE: The first reason was that I was not very good at academic writing; so that was essays, reports, literature reviews. And the second thing was that I wasn’t very good at referencing either.
ELLA: Because my family aren’t close to me, it’s hard for them to help me when I came to any troubles with assignments or anything uni-related. So when I went to the study solutions appointment, they gave me that support.
Your Experience
MINNI: Help that I accessed through the library: the desk, the front desk - where they have helped me with my referencing, when I go to return books or order books. They always greet me with a big smile. Even if I go up to them 10 times in that day, they will greet me as if it’s the first time they have seen me.
RITA: So I met a librarian and I said, “Please could you tell me what this Study Solutions is all about. She explained. She said I had to book an appointment. I said that’s fine but I am not computer literate. How do I do it? So she explained.
ELLA: I initially went to a Study Solutions appointment because I needed a lot of help with an assignment that I got given because I couldn’t find sources for it; and from then on, I have used the Study Solutions appointments if I need help referencing or if I needed help academically with the structure of my writing.
JOE: I have also accessed the Academic Skills Advisers here at QUT, and they help you to learn things such as how you proof read your assignments, how to reference properly.
MINNI: The workshop helped me in terms of what academic writing was; when you go to lectures, what was expected at lectures; and what would happen; how to take notes, how to do reading. It gave hints on what to do within your first few weeks of starting at university, which was immense help.
Thoughts About Asking For Help
PAM: There is a real fear in any part of life, you should be able to do it yourself and shouldn’t need to ask for help. But you need to get past the point that you can ask. There is help there and nobody is going to look at you funny because you asked for help.
Have Things Changed?
ELLA: Using the Study Solutions appointments have really affected my outcomes and they have really helped me with my studies. In one subject that was very academically challenging for me, I went up a grade which has made me feel really good about my studies and made me want to go back for more help whenever I needed it.
MINNI: I found with the staff in the library and going through workshops or having the one to one study solutions, they helped build my confidence up, and guided me, and scaffolded me. From the first semester to the second semester, it was a huge improvement and huge difference. I feel so much more confident and actually understanding now what is being asked of me.
RITA: She went out of her way; did a lot of photocopies for me; and went through my assessment; told me the importance of referencing; told me how to go about it. After a week, I submitted the first assessment and I was shocked. I got 46, and that was the turning point in my life at QUT. I regain my confidence back and that was it.
The Results
PAM: It’s nice to sit in a room and think you are not on your own. That there is a group of you that are actually struggling and asking for help, and you do share experiences and you think great, I’m not the only one.
JOE: I’ve even seen a vast improvement from my GPA from a 5.5 to a 6.5.
MINNI: That has shown in my writing skills how it has changed dramatically, from just 4’s to now achieving 5’s and 6’s.
RITA: Because I tell you why frankly, the first assessment I got 46, over 50. The second one, I made a 6 over seven, and you know what that means. By the end of the semester, my GPA was 5.75. For somebody that was overwhelmed, that didn’t even know how to go about it, and all of a sudden, I came to the library, got the assistance and she took it from there.
Advice for Other Students
PAM: Don’t wait. It’s easier to get help sooner, rather than later.
TOAN: One tip I would say is, don’t be afraid to use the services on offer.
RITA: I would tell them that if they were at QUT, and you want to excel, go to the library for any solution that has to do with academia.
MINNI: Do it! The services are there, they are brilliant.
Sharing Your Knowledge
ELLA: I have definitely recommended the services to many of my friends, because I don’t think they realised how helpful they would be as well, and quite a few of my friends now use those services too, and they have the same outcomes as me and they found it really helpful too.
JOE: I have even referred one of my friends to the library. She was about a week from dropping out of university, and she is currently in her second year of university with me.
RITA: You have to make a time. Do your assessment early enough. Go and book for an appointment. You have at least 25 minutes and you will be guided and I can assure you, if you do exactly what I did, you will score 46, over 50.
Thank You
With Thanks to
(in order of appearance)
Amina Bashid-Kelly (Minnie), Bachelor of Education (Primary)
Toan Nguyen, Bachelor of Human Services
Joe Frankel, Bachelor of Social Work
Ella Hodges, Bachelor of Education (Primary)
Rita Okagbare, Masters of Public Health
Pam Ware, Masters of Social Work
