Introduction

My name is Kym Lawson and I'm the Disability Officer at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba.
The Disability Service provides support to students with disabilities or medical conditions or mental health issues. And today I have with me three current students at USQ. Dean, otherwise known as ‘Duck', Christine and Laura. And these students have come along today to share a little bit about their experiences of study at USQ with us.

Starting Uni

Christine and Laura, did you do anything before coming to Uni?
I didn't. I came straight from completing high school to university
I started Uni. with the ‘Headstart' program. So I started when I was in Grade 12.
And how did that go? Were you able to manage doing a university subject as well as year 12?
Yeah I loved it. It was a great introduction to Uni, just doing the one subject without having to be totally immersed in the whole university environment all at once.
So when you did come to university, do you remember what your first few weeks at Uni. were like? Was it difficult to come to a new environment and to meet new people?

I found it a little bit difficult. I think it was easier for me because I had done the ‘Headstart' so I knew a little bit of how lectures and tutorials worked. It's quite different from school so in some ways it took a little bit of getting used to.
And how about you Laura? Were there particular things you did before coming to uni that helped you settle in?
When I started Uni, I'd only moved up from Brisbane three weeks prior to orientation week and during those three weeks, I used to come out one or two days a week and Rob Fawell the Assistive Technologies Officer at the university here, helped me to become accustomed to the lay of the campus and helped me to train on Dragon Software. When I started officially during Orientation week, I found it a bit scary because coming from Brisbane, I knew no-one. So that was a bit scary, but then I made some close friends and sort of settled in alright.
So I might ask Dean now. What kind of supports have you accessed from the Disability Service and have your supports changed over time?

Yes, the supports I've had from the Disability Service Kym have been second to none. When I got here it was like as Laura said, very scared, very daunting, coming from the bush, not doing so well in Grade 12 and I had a very bad rugby injury, that I nearly lost my life in. The supports that have been offered here through Student Services have been absolutely second to none. My Disability Officer Helen Hauff, the first officer here ahead of you, she provided me with a permanent disability support worker. He helped me through, I think it was about 12 units, and then he received another position.

Supports and Services

The support that I've received here at USQ is the reason so far for my success, and I will put a lot of that down to Student Services
So your main support that you get is the tutoring with your support worker?
The tutoring, yes. And I usually spend 2 – 3 hours with them, and I'll be researching for an assignment and I'll write out and think ‘Yes that looks good' and then I'll start writing out what I think is appropriate to the question, and my tutor will say ‘Yes, that's good' or if it's not so good she'll say ‘You might want to think about that' and then I'll proceed to type it out.
And Christine, what are the main supports that you've accessed here and have your supports changed since you've studied here?
My supports have changed a lot. In first year I had a lot of support. I had a tutor assistant in most of my classes. I didn't have any time with her outside of class, just in class. But after first year, I've not needed much support really at all except for some special conditions in exams that let me use my own computer and have a scribe.
And you also get some supports for your text books and things like that? Can you explain a bit about that service?
Yes I get all my text books and other work and booklets that I need in alternative format. So in electronic text format or in Braille. and so I get them from Disability Services which is very helpful, makes me be able to do what I need to do
And Laura, what supports have you accessed since being here and have your supports needs changed as well?
My supports systems mainly involve someone to take my notes in lectures and tutorials and extra time and a scribe for exams. But as I have progressed through my degree, I've been required to do some external courses, and for those I access a tutor who writes out notes or my learning objectives just to try and cut down on some of the physical requirements on my body.

Physical Access

And Laura, you usually get around campus in a wheelchair. How have you found the access here?
USQ is excellent for access, second to none. I can access practically everywhere on campus. If in the unlikely event that a room is not accessible, like a lecturer moves to a room, the support mechanisms are in place so that they can be changed to accommodate.

Positive Aspects of Uni

So what would you say is the best thing about being at Uni? Apart from the study of course!
The best thing about being at Uni is probably meeting a variety of different people. Most of my friends are mature age students, but you can meet anyone from anywhere in the world, just by stepping out of a lecture room, or within a lecture room. That really adds to the understanding that you can get of different systems around the world, and when doing a business degree and because of the globalisation of a lot of businesses that is very important in today's society.
And Christine, you're nearly finished your degree, so looking back on it, what would you say is the best thing about being at Uni?
Much the same as Laura actually, meeting a whole lot of different people. I've had classes and gotten to know people from Malaysia, Mexico, Finland and Hong Kong, all different places, where I wouldn't have. And socially, I've had a really good time at Uni. I didn't have much social life in high school, I had a lot of trouble making friends, but in university it seems quite a bit easier, and you're studying with people who are interested in similar things so think that helps as well.

Challenges when studying

Your time studying at USQ, what would you say has been the biggest challenge for you?
The biggest challenge for me Kym while I've been studying here at university is the fear and the worry of a new subject I'm about to take on. And the fear that I'm going to fail that subject. In my last year or so at Uni my attitude has changed so much. I always want to know how much I'm going to pass by now. But my biggest fear was always "Oh I might fail" It was always worrying me, and I have epilepsy through the accident, and the years through my Uni degree here I've actually had a fit or two due to the worry that I was getting from it, but other than that no worries at all. Love it.
And Christine, what would you say has been the biggest challenge for you at University?
Not to procrastinate. Yes sometimes you tend to get your assignments quite a lot in advance, and so you get it and you think ‘Oh eight weeks to do it, that'll be good' and then eight weeks later you realise you've actually got six assignments and they're all due Friday and it's Wednesday night and you have to start them all.
OK so you'd say that you should prepare early in semester?
Yeah. Often it's just time management. There's often so many more exciting things to do than do your work, but it sort of needs to be done.
And Laura, what has been the biggest challenge for you in coming to university? 
I don't think I've had that many challenges in my time at uni Kym. Maybe trying to get assignments done on time. I always try and start them as early as I can, but there's factors and they are not necessarily related to University, but there are often other factors that tend to mess-up you plans.

Advice for Future Students

And Dean, if you could give one piece of advice to students who are thinking about coming to university, what would it be?
The one piece of advice that I would give anyone coming to Uni is to make sure that when you get here, you get your study material early, you look into your assignments very early and get stuck into them as Laura was saying. They can come up on you just like that, and I'd also recommend that you make yourself known about the place. So that you can be known, people can see you, and if you need help as I have done here you find it very hard to walk anywhere here without someone saying ‘G'day Duck, How are you going?' I may have forgotten their name due to my memory but they say hello. And also I'd recommend you to find out who your lecturers are and go and have a chat with your lecturer and if you have problems, they may be able to help you in any way which is what they have done for me.
Christine, what would be the one piece of advice that you would give a student coming to Uni.?
Yep, just give it a go. I thinks its kind of easier in a lot of ways than you probably expect, especially if you do what Dean has said and get in early and organise the support and talk to your lecturers. Lecturers are really not intimidating. I was a little bit frightened of them when I started but generally they are really lovely and really eager to help, and they want you to succeed. They don't want you to fail. So they'll help you out as much they can.

And Laura, what would be the one piece of advice you would have?

Probably, before coming to Uni make sure that you research where you are going to go thoroughly. I took two years to suss out where I was going to go and what degree was offered and what path I wanted to take and more importantly, what supports are available. I mean USQ is very accommodating in their services but its important to make sure they are aware of your specific requirements before you start to ensure that from day one everything is right to go.

I'd just like to thank Laura, Christine and Duck for coming along today and sharing a little bit about their experiences and we do encourage you if you're coming to study, to make contact with Disability Service early, and we can put supports in place for your study. Thank you very much.