Picking up the missing pieces
The
Missing a Piece of Your Degree initiative was started by the Division of
Education Arts and Social Sciences to encourage students with incomplete
degrees back into the fold – and if John Gartland is anything to go by, it’s
proving a success.
John is a former arts student who has returned to study at UniSA this year with the help of the program.
“I did my first year at uni but then I was offered an opportunity in the workforce which didn’t turn out to be everything I’d been promised,” he says.
“I wanted to stimulate my mind a bit more. I really enjoy learning and love the power of knowledge. I’d rather be studying when I finish work at night than at home watching TV.”
The initiative, which stream-lines the re-entry process, is designed for those who have previously studied at UniSA, the South Australian Institute of Technology, or the South Australian College of Advanced Education and wish to complete their qualifications.
Students must enrol through SATAC in the usual way, and according to enrolment procedure, but the initiative provides help by tracking the enrolment process and giving advice. There is also a mid-year intake.
The program was originally born of a desire to help students from lower socio economic backgrounds return to study but has since expanded to help students of all backgrounds.
Since its inception in mid 2003 the initiative has helped more than 20 former undergraduates get back into the groove.
John’s employers at the Department of Treasury and Finance are supportive of his move back to university.
“They can give me up to five hours per week to study but that has to be matched by five hours from my own time,” he says.
“The initiative was a godsend because I’d missed the STAT test so if it wasn’t for the program I would have had to waste another year. I can’t thank Jo (project officer Joanna Carrick) enough, her help was invaluable.”
For more information about this initiative, contact Joanna Carrick, project officer to the Dean of Students in the Division of Education Arts and Social Sciences on (08) 8302 4165.