There are times at uni when you just want to hear from someone who understands what it’s like to be in your shoes. That’s exactly what CSU’s Student Outreach Team is here to do, with a trained team of students calling other students to chat about the uni experience. We caught up with Olivia and Bek from the Student Outreach Team to find out more.
Tell us a bit about what the Student Outreach Team does.
Bek: We contact students to help them through enrolment and adjusting to university, and receive calls from students who have queries or are experiencing personal or academic difficulties. We help identify the issues, outline CSU services and help students with administrative processes.
What are some of the most common questions or issues you talk about?
Bek: Two common issues are that students have either missed an administrative process, which often requires a simple solution, or students are facing personal and/or academic issues. There are a range of helpful CSU services including time management strategies, academic tutoring and personal counselling.
Olivia: Many questions are to do with time management as most students are juggling their personal and family life with work commitments and uni on top of that! It’s certainly a job of great variety.
How can chatting to someone from the Student Outreach Team help students?
Olivia: For some, it can point them in the direction of a specific support services. Other times we can allocate either a student mentor or study coach for personalised support. Mostly, students find it helpful to discuss their worries and concerns with another person.
What’s your best piece of advice to someone who’s currently studying?
Bek: Read your subject outline. Again. Email your tutor immediately if you don’t understand the work, fall behind or have any difficulty. Email the Student Outreach Team as soon as possible.
Olivia: Try your best and set out your goals. Writing down your goals makes you so much more accountable.
What made you decide to join the Student Outreach Team?
Olivia: After struggling when I first started university, I wanted to support students who were having the same feelings and encourage them to keep going and fighting for their education.
Bek: I have had times in my life where I have been under pressure and the worse things became, the less able I was to ask for help. A little kindness from someone makes all the difference. This opportunity is what attracted me to the Student Outreach Team.
Would you like to help other students? The Student Outreach Team is recruiting now!
We are looking for students to make phone calls to support students in their first year of study. We need excellent communication skills, a confident phone manner and good computer skills. Paid training is provided to successful applicants. You’ll need to be available from November 2017 and will have approximately 9-10 weeks of work per session, plus some work in session breaks. We’re offering up to 10 hours a week, which can be scheduled around your study commitments. If you think you have something to offer next year’s commencing students, submit a resume and cover letter to Kathy French: kfrench@csu.edu.au
Applications close 9am Monday 9 October, 2017.
