Student Profile

Lindsay Bovill, current Master of Management student

 “Success doesn’t come easy without hard work, determination and persistence” is very true and relevant for not only our younger generation to aspire to, but those many mature adults like myself who decided to undertake university study whilst working full-time and raising a family.

My decision to re-commence study after having successfully completed an Associate Diploma in Business (Accounting) at TAFE level part-time at night over 5 years was difficult. I knew it would require commitment, selfish hours alone away from the family, and in particular support and understanding when the going became tough with assignment pressures and exams.

Balancing my position as Business Manager for three schools, commitment with various professional organisations, family with six adult children and study has kept me busy these past 20 years. I have now completed both undergraduate studies in Accounting and post graduate studies in Management and Project Management all in external study mode. I am currently completing my fifth qualification Master of Management.
The University of Southern Queensland provides a flexible learning environment, where staff encourage and support you as individuals. The downside of being an external student is the lack of face to face communication, however this is more than compensated by on-line delivery of discussion groups via USQConnect and the opportunity of residential schools.

Whilst it may seem daunting to commence a 24 unit course; external study mode gave me the opportunity to work at my own pace. Sometimes that meant deferring study for a Semester, but always with the goal in mind of taking one step at a time and looking forward to that time of graduation. The beauty about USQ is that you can move between disciplines, have opportunity for cross exemptions across subjects and importantly you will always find an understanding ear to listen to.

Yes study is a balancing act – make the commitment. Understand that you will need to make personal sacrifices, because it does take effort and time to be successful in any given pursuit. The balance needs to be family, work, study and self. The challenge is to ensure that none of these are out of kilter.
 

LIKE TO INCLUDE YOUR PROFILE IN FOBWATCH?
We'd love to hear from you!   Please email: business.experience@usq.edu.au
 

USQ Open Day 2008

Fraser Coast - Sunday July 27
Toowoomba - Sunday August 17
Springfield - Saturday August 23
Digital Open Day - Monday August 18  ** New for 2008**

Need more information?   Visit our website now.

Referencing and Plagiarism

Why reference?

• Referencing is directly linked to the most important function of universities: to develop knowledge and understanding through research and public debate
• You can only develop new knowledge about a particular topic if you know what the current knowledge is.
• Writing at university is a process of building new knowledge or thinking of new ways of looking at problems or issues and communicating this to others.
• This applies not only to what university lecturers do but also to what students are expected to do at university, and it makes learning at university different from learning at school or TAFE. You are not just learning to reproduce knowledge; you are learning to develop and build on previous knowledge.
• Referencing properly is very important in this process, because to critique someone else’s opinion or to agree with someone else’s opinion or findings, you first have to acknowledge and be clear on whose opinion it is, so that others who read your opinion can refer back to the original source. Referencing is the accepted way of doing this in a university context.

Plagiarism

The term “plagiarism” includes, but is not limited to, the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement. Plagiarism is the action or attempt to take and use or present another person’s thoughts, writing, ideas or work as their own to gain or produce unfair advantage.

Shelly Grist, Lecturer, School of Information Systems 

So, tell me about yourself:
I was born in California but I grew up in the Midwest, yes, that makes me an American – or a Yank in Aussie jargon.  I love travelling (as long as my laptop comes to), taking cool photos, spending a lazy afternoon curled up with a good book, coffee and chocolate.  Not necessarily in that order.  My picture is a reflection of me in the “Bean” at Chicago’s Millennium Park, coffee cup in hand!

I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and then ended up spending the rest of my career in software.  I’ve programmed everything from satellite test systems for the US Aerospace program to computer games.

What are you doing here?
Well, I came out here on vacation and met this Toowoomba boy, tall, dark, pretty blue eyes… But seriously, I’m really enjoying transferring my industry experience to the systems design and implementation courses that I teach.  I love programming and designing systems so it’s important to me to pass on that passion to my students.  Yes, I can also identify almost any Star Trek, Stargate, etc episode within 10 seconds.  I am proud to be a Geek!

Since joining USQ, I’ve continued my studies.  I now have a Masters degree in Digital Design from Griffith, and I’m currently enrolled in a PhD at USQ studying Software Design Patterns for Social Interaction.  I’m fascinated by how people have adapted Internet technologies to provide new capabilities for social interaction.  Having grown up without computers (yes, I am that old!) it’s amazing to me how much they are now integrated into our daily lives.

In an Australian first, all teaching staff at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) will have access to use virtual classrooms, online study groups and other innovative educational tools from semester two this year.

The tools are part of the Wimba suite of educational technologies that USQ will implement to further engage students studying via distance education.

Manager of the Program Revitalisation Project Dr Michael Sankey said the University has adopted the suite to help bridge the gap between on and off campus students.

'Almost 80 per cent of students at USQ are enrolled by distance education,' Dr Sankey said.

'The Wimba suite is offering a higher level of engagement for students who cannot come on campus than sitting at a computer using a web site and written discussion forums.'

'The suite has a range of tools within it, one of which is a virtual classroom where lecturers and students can interact in a synchronous fashion,' Dr Sankey said.

'Students can talk to the lecturer and other students from anywhere in the world.'

Podcasts and instant text messaging will also allow staff to communicate with students instantly.

'Wimba also offers voice boards where students create external study groups.

'Students can talk to their lecturers or each other with a video feed and leave messages and it is completely free.

'Unlike other public applications available the voice boards are within the course so discussions can not be interrupted.'

The University has been trialling the tools in semester one, with positive feedback from lecturers and students.

Courtesy: Jane Urquhart USQ Media