During the enrolment process, DIT personnel/agents will engage with a prospective student in a number of ways in order to understand their individual needs and how we can best provide services to each student in order to maximise their chances of successfully completing the selected training program.
We engage with students in the following ways:
This multipoint approach ensures that students entering a training program with DIT will have their individual needs identified which enables the allocation and arrangement for the applicable support services which may be supplied internally or by an external provider.
Support Services
Student Support Officer (SSO) shall maintain close student liaison and act as a central point of contact for all students who may require student support services. Wherever applicable, the SSO will provide the following support services, with the approval of Principal/Chief Executive Officer:
The orientation program is conducted for all new students arriving on campus at the beginning of the course. A briefing is conducted on Australian culture and course outline. Information is given to students regarding student visa conditions, accommodation, overseas heath cover, and use of information technology facilities within DIT. Students are also given a campus tour and are introduced to the academic and administrative staff.
Other individual needs can be considered on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the Principal/Chief Executive Officer.
Orientation Schedules
An initial interview is conducted with all prospective students and the information from the interview and the completed enrolment form, assist DIT to determine if:
If support services are identified, the following is a guide to support that can be provided:
Individual Need
Support Service
For Overseas students
Close student liaison is to be maintained by the Student Support Manager (SSM) who will act as a central point of contact. The SSM will provide advise and assist students with referral:
English skill levels
If a student’s English skills are not at the required level the student will be referred to an ELICOS college to achieve the required standard before being enrolled in DIT’s programs. It will be reflected in new COE.
Students can also consult
BBC Learning English: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
Mobile App: https://www.duolingo.com/
There are lots of MeetUp groups in Sydney, where persons less skilled in English can interact with native speakers and enhance their speaking capability
Pre-enrolment support to understand rights and obligations, fees and payment arrangements, and the services to be provided
Students requiring additional support to understand the pre-enrolment information requirements are to be engaged on additional one-on-one sessions to talk the student through the information contained within the student handbook, the applicable course flyer and prospectus and the summary of fees and charges. It is preferable that these sessions are conducted face-to-face with DIT agents/ representatives.
Recognised difficulties in studying and learning
Where appropriate to the program students identified with recognising difficulties in studying and learning are to be scheduled with additional one-on-one support sessions at regular intervals throughout the course program. These support sessions are to be used to review the learning content with the student and to engage the student in the discussion about the subject matter. These sessions should be structured in accordance with the planned learning applicable to the course program. The study sessions should direct student back to the course reference material in order to encourage their individual self-paced effort.
The following online resources are also useful for providing student support to study:
Effective Study skills
A useful quick overview of study skills www.adprima.com/studyout.html
How to Study
A large directory to study skills websites, including how to study in specific subject areas. www.howtostudy.org
Study Guides and Strategies
A wide-ranging overview of the skills needed at all stages of student life. www.studygs.net
Study Skills Self-Help
Covers important skills such as time management, note taking and exam preparation. www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html
Monthly Support Services presentation
To assist students with their academic and other issues, there will be monthly presentations on effective study techniques, mental health & stress management, employment and savings issues, plagiarism etc. Students are advised to contact their respective course trainer or course coordinator/s for any additional academic support.
Financial difficulties that prevent the full payment of fees in advance.
Offer fees on a payment plan with a small initial payment to be made in advance then small fortnightly payments as a direct debit.
Student required counselling support and advice about their personal situation
The student counselling service is designed to assist overseas students in dealing with a wide range of problems including homesickness, managing stress, handling conflicts, emotional issues, improving motivation, enhancing study skills, organizing study time and any other issue that may be upsetting the student. The Student Support Manager at DIT is not a professional counsellor, however, can assist students as the first point of contact.
Student may be referred to:
The nearest Mental Counsellor is
Parramatta Psychology Clinic
Address: 2/22 Hunter St, Parramatta NSW 2150
Hours: Closes soon: 6 PM ⋅ Opens 11 AM Thu.
Phone: (02) 9687 9776
www.parramattapsychologyclinic.com.au
USI Help
The USI system generates a unique student number, which students can use though out their studies in Australia. The USI allows access to a full range of study information fast and easy.
DIT Administration staff will request consent from the student to generate a USI for them and record the students generated USI into RTO Manager (DIT Student Management System)
Students with a disability or medical condition
All possible allowances may be provided to persons with disabilities.
Assessors are to use their judgement in assessing the student’s ability to perform tasks in a safe manner.
Students with visual impairment
Students with visual impairment can be supported by supplying internal learning resources with a larger printed font.
Students can also be supplied with audio recordings of learning sessions where available
Students who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Refer to ATSI Cultural Awareness Policy
Rights of International Students as employees
When students will be working in a workplace as permitted in student visa condition, it is critical to know about their rights as employees in a workplace. Students should consult the following link
Clubs
Student may consider joining student clubs for social and professional reasons.
Council of International Students Australia (CISA) – http://www.cisa.edu.au/
Australian Federation of International Students (AFIS) – https://www.afis.org.au/
General information on safety and awareness e.g. road safety, crime prevention, smoking in public place.
While Sydney is a safe place to live, work and study, DIT provides the source of information to increase and enhance health and safety.
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/community/health-andsafety
DIT will offer reasonable support to overseas students to enable them to achieve expected learning outcomes regardless of the overseas student’s place of study or the mode of study of the course, at no additional cost to the overseas student. Intervention is another kind of support service, refer “ Intervention and Support Services ” section for details.
A Learning Management System is in a place where the student can get off-site access to class presentation slides and other learning materials (as considered relevant by trainers & DoS). However, students cannot have or submit assessments in this facility.
DIT will designate a member or members of its staff to be the official point of contact for overseas students. Usually, it is the Student Support Manager (SSM); his/her contact number will be provided at the time of induction. SSM will have access to up-to-date details of DIT’s support services. DIT will have sufficient student support personnel to meet the needs of the overseas students enrolled. DIT will ensure its staff members who interact directly with overseas students are aware of DIT’s obligations under the ESOS framework and the potential implications for overseas students arising from the exercise of these obligations; through the job description and staff meeting.
DIT is not currently offering any online delivery or assessment services. If DIT delivers any course online, it will also be treated as a “supportive” service.
Online learning is a study where the teacher and overseas student primarily communicate through digital media, technology-based tools and IT networks and does not require the overseas student to attend scheduled classes or maintain contact hours. For the purposes of the ESOS framework, online learning does not include the provision of online lectures, tuition or other resources that supplement scheduled classes or contact hours. Distance learning is any learning that an overseas student undertakes off campus and does not require an overseas student on a student visa to physically attend regular tuition for the course on campus at the provider’s registered location. DIT will not deliver a course exclusively by online or distance learning to an overseas student.
DIT will not deliver more than one-third of the units (or equivalent) of VET course by online or distance learning to an overseas student. DIT will ensure that in each compulsory study period for a course, the overseas student is studying at least one unit that is not by distance or online learning unless the student is completing the last unit of their course.
DIT will take all reasonable steps to support overseas students who may be disadvantaged by additional costs (e.g. by providing more convenient payment plan) or other requirements, including for overseas students with special needs, from undertaking online or distance learning (e.g. by providing some training on how to operate online learning platforms). DIT may provide training/presentation on how to engage with and stay engaged in online learning mode. DIT will work on student’s inability to access the resources and student community (e.g. by providing opportunities for engaging with other overseas students while undertaking online or distance learning by a common message board, chatroom).
Other individual needs can be considered on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the DoS/Chief Executive Officer.
Core skills are critical to almost all areas of work. This is particularly true in many vocations where language, literacy and numeracy skills influence the performance of workplace tasks such as comprehending written work instructions and producing written documents. The Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) describes each of the five core skills of learning, reading, writing, oral communication and numeracy. Overseas students not familiar with the ACSF are recommended to study the information available at the following two sites:
https://www.education.gov.au/australian-core-skills-framework
www.precisionconsultancy.com.au/acs_framework
Research has indicated that many students do not have the language, literacy and numeracy skills they need to effectively participate in vocational education and training. The increasing importance of core skills such as communication in the workplace highlights the need for underpinning language, literacy and numeracy skills.
To support this approach DIT will:
Assess a student’s core skills during their enrolment on an as needed basis to ensure they have adequate skills to complete the training;
Core Skills Support Procedure
The following procedure is to be followed in order to assess a student’s core skills:
Along with IELTS test that shall assess the Reading, Writing, Oral Communication and Listening Skills, DIT shall use Course Entry Requirement Test (CERT) to assess the student’s Numeracy, Analytical ability and Existing Skill. The assessment is not intended to cause anxiety but to determine where the student has specific language and literacy deficits and to determine what support is required to undertake DIT training.
Supporting students with language, literacy and numeracy deficits
After the commencement of course, if it is determined that a student does have deficiencies with core skills, DIT is to adopt strategies which enable the student to progress in the desired training program. The following strategies are to be considered and will be informed by the level of language, literacy or numeracy deficit determined during the assessment:
Referring the student to language, literacy and numeracy assistance
Where it is determined that a student has core skills which are beyond the support available within DIT, the student should be referred to dedicated language, literacy and numeracy training. This training is available through most public training providers (SWSi TAFE in Sydney). These courses have been designed to provide students with the opportunity to gain specific language, literacy and numeracy skills required in a vocational or work environment, which meet the requirements to gain entry into a range of vocational qualifications and gain language, literacy and numeracy related employability skills.
The decision to refer a student to another training provider for language, literacy and numeracy training will be based on the level of assessed core skills deficit and the student’s motivation to improve their abilities.
As a general guide:
