Do you want to get on the right foot in your studies? Why not get to know your tutors/lecturers?

-By Erzsebet

Can you remember your years at school? You may recall you had one teacher for each subject, am I right? I remember every year the dreaded fear I had before going back to school and not having a teacher that I have worked well with or that I liked. At uni, we have a different system. We have a tutor and lecturer for each class we undertake to help us better understand our work.

Before I started at uni, many people who never really knew what it was really all about tried to make me believe that it's a lot like school. You have a single teacher for each unit, they take the class and the rest is all independent study. Although it's partly true about the independence, Deakin has proven to me something of a completely different nature. Let me tell you about it!

I came to university from a two and a half year ordeal of correspondence study due to ill health. Let me assure you, it was by far one of the hardest experiences of my life! I came to accept that going back on campus wasn't going to be easy and I really needed to work around it.Not to forget that because of my ill health, if something unexpected occurred, there would be someone who knows about it. I took the courage to contact my unit chair. I first visited the handbooks and got their name and then searched the staff directory to get their contact details.

I think it was the best decision I could ever make. It gave me a chance to speak to the unit chair and get to know what would be expected of me. I also learnt that by getting to know your lecturer/tutor early on, you can learn a lot about them. You're also looked upon as an individual as opposed to just a student who is undertaking a course because they need it to get into their career. The lecturers/tutors at Deakin are well known leaders in their chosen field and I have learnt that they are always willing to guide you along. You're not left alone in the dark. You can gain so much insight just from getting to know your lecturers and tutors! It makes a big difference in your approach to your study and everything else!

So, take the opportunity while you can! Get on the right foot of things early :)