6

Learning at CQUniversity
You will probably find that your studies at university will be very different Read the Student Charter to
from those of high school. For full-time students, the time required is check your responsibilities and
those of the University:
equivalent to a full-time job. Programs of study are taught and assessed
http://policy.cqu.edu.au/Policy/
as individual courses, each of which has a specific code. Each course policy_file.do?policyid=202
provides an outline of the main aspects of study through an online
publication called a course profile, which provides details of: Use the CQUniversity Need
to Know Guide to find out the
• the learning outcomes—what you will be able to do on successful basics about processes and
completion of the course procedures at: http://my.cqu.
edu.au/documents/10165/%20
• a weekly study schedule and time commitment, to guide your 1872857/The+Need+to+Kn
learning ow+Guide+for+new+studen
ts+@%20CQUniversity
• textbooks and other resources
• teaching contacts Course profiles are available
online at:
• the assessment tasks, including submission dates and other key http://nexus.cqu.edu.au/
details. courseprofile

Given the time commitment required to make the most of your studies,
it is important to develop effective planning and time management
skills.

If you are an internal student at a particular campus, you will learn

through a combination of lectures, tutorials and/or practical classes,
together with online learning plus directed and independent study at
home. Your lecturers will introduce you to new topics and material
through face-to-face sessions, providing an interpretation of the key
aspects of the topics; you will then need to study more about these
topics across the term. Lectures are used to give you the big picture,
in terms of the main aspects of subjects and topics; they also provide
opportunities to ask questions and discuss different aspects.

In contrast, tutorials require a greater level of interaction from every

student, often requiring preparation of answers to questions, or
solutions to specific problems in advance of the tutorial session.
You will also make use of online material through the online learning
management system, called Moodle. It is important to understand that
the amount of time involved in studying outside the lecture room will
be greater than that for the weekly face-to-face sessions—successful
study requires more than just attendance at lectures.
The Library website is a
While at university, your aim should be to improve your critical thinking valuable resource for locating
skills—searching for the facts and evaluating everything you read sources of information:
and hear, especially the opinions of others. You also need to develop https://www.cqu.edu.au/
student-life/library
your skills in providing evidence to support your views, by researching
a topic and providing details of all sources of information used for a Referencing your sources
particular assessment task. The other sections of this guide provide is crucial throuought your
advice and information on many of the key aspects of successful study. studies. The CQUniversity
referencing guides are
If you are a distance student, studying from home, your course materials available at:
https://www.cqu.edu.au/
and learning tasks will be available through the Moodle site. These
student-life/services-and-
may include recordings of lectures and other videos, so it is important facilites/referencing
to have regular access to a computer with reasonable speed of data
transmission. You may also need to attend residential schools (short
blocks of face-to-face learning at a particular campus) or you may have
regular online conference sessions with your tutor.
 7

Online courses
CQUniversity’s online courses are accessed via the online learning The direct URL to Moodle is:
system called Moodle. Access to your online courses (Moodle) is via https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/
MyCQU My Courses portlet, or via the direct Moodle URL. Within each
Moodle can also be accessed
course you will have access to information about (but not limited to): via the student portal, at:
http://my.cqu.edu.au
•• electronic assignment submission (if applicable)
For help using Moodle visit the
•• course profile
Moodle Help for Students site:
•• study schedule https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/
course/view.php?id=992
•• study guide (if applicable)
•• discussion forums
•• lecturer information
•• announcements from the lecturers
•• assessment information
The remainder of this section gives some guidance on ways to enhance
your learning.

Understand the key elements of CQUniversity’s courses and

programs
The Student Handbook
Each course has a course coordinator who is responsible for the contains details of programs,
course—in larger courses, the coordinator will work with other courses and VET courses at:
teaching staff across several campuses. Every program has a Head https://handbook.cqu.edu.au
of Program—your academic School’s website will give details of the
Phone the Student Contact
key staff. When communicating with university staff, provide them with Centre on:
your name and student ID number and be specific with your enquiry— 13 27 86
for example, give details of the course code and name in an email or
telephone call. For broader questions, contact the Student Contact
Centre or your Campus/Faculty staff.

Access the online guide to orientation, which provides new students Look under My Courses in
with further support, guidance and links to resources. Check out the Moodle for the Orientation
Online course, or search
University’s policies and procedures—you will find links to the key policies
all courses in Moodle for
in a section of your online course profile. ORIE12345: Orientation
Online.
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au
Play an active role during face-to-face sessions and online
Listen and ask questions; actively participate in class discussions, or
through online discussion forums in Moodle; get involved in what is
happening in the course, including social and other aspects. Active
participation is even more important for distance students, since it will
enable you to learn collaboratively and to feel less isolated. Use the
discussion forums to interact with other students and to ask questions
of lecturers. Residential schools are also a good way to meet other
students and teaching staff.
 8

Use the study materials for your course

While all courses at CQUniversity will have a course profile and an Moodle Help for Students is
online Moodle site, additional study materials may be available within a available in Moodle at:
https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/
particular course, including: view.php?id=992

• Study guide: in some subjects, this will be the main resource

to guide you in your learning, and may include links to online
resources and websites. Course Resources Online (CROs)
can be accessed in a number of
• Learning resources: these will support your study, and may include ways:
links to journal articles and readings, problems/solutions, cases/
examples, websites, etc. Your course Moodle site will be set up to •• from your student portal
provide these resources in a structured way, so that you can make •• directly from within Moodle
•• from the Library using
the best use of them during the term. The library also provides
Discover It!
Course Resources Online and Library Guides for some courses.
• Laboratory manual: for courses with a practical component, this Find Library Guides at:
provides instructions for your lab classes, taken on a weekly basis http://libguides.library.cqu.edu.au/
or in block mode (residential school).

Use the SQ3R method to get the most out of your study
materials
Survey—look through the set text section and identify the main topics Find out more about SQ3R
from the headings or the first sentence of each paragraph—this will at: http://www.studygs.net/
texred2.htm
give you the big picture of what is covered within the text.
More support and advice
Question—ask yourself what am I about to learn? If the study material regarding reading for
contains statements of aims, goals, purpose or objectives, these will help academic purposes is
you answer this question. available at:

Read—try to read actively, for maximum retention and understanding. The Academic Learning
Centre website is at:
For example, read aloud to yourself (in private), so that you make use
https://www.cqu.edu.au/
of sight, sound and movement. student-life/services-and-
facilites/academic-learning-
Recite—after each paragraph or sub-section stop, look away from the text, centre
and repeat to yourself, either aloud or in your mind, what you have just
read. If you cannot recite the key aspects, re-read the paragraph until you
can.

Review—when you have completed a whole section, go back and

write down a summary of the main aspects of the section. Writing is an
important means of processing information, and of learning.

Participate in activities and be part of the CQUniversity

community
While your time at university is a serious commitment, it is also an Check the CQUni Calendar or
opportunity to meet others and socialise. Distance education students CQUni News for events and
social activities:
will often interact online, building up friendships with fellow students
https://www.cqu.edu.au/
through Moodle and social media. You may well meet other students calendar or
who remain friends for life. https://www.cqu.edu.au/
cquninews
 9

Never be afraid to ask questions

Staff across the University are there to help; you should feel Ask questions online at:
comfortable asking questions of lecturers and others, who will assist http://cqunianswers.cqu.edu.au
whenever they can. Without questions, staff will not know what it is that
you do not understand, and they will not be able to help you find the
answers.