You asked, we listened, and we have taken action

We put experienced peers in your classes to assist you with preparing for your assessments. 

We embedded more English Language and academic skills support into your curriculum, so you can develop your academic ability without having to seek assistance outside of your course. 

We redesigned our curriculum, so you have access to self-paced learning and resources 24/7 

These self-paced activities help prepare you for every tutorial, so you are ready to collaborate with your peers in each class and actively engage in your learning. 

We designed our courses to be based on peer collaboration. We scaffold activities before and in between tutorials to prepare you for collaborative discussions, brainstorming, mind mapping and creating in class with your peers. 

This format of week-to-week learning supports you to become independent, active learners. 

We provide relevant and useful technology so you can share work and feedback and collaborate with other students. 

We implemented a new assessment policy and guide focused on forward feedback, so you can receive better, more timely feedback, focused on the support you need. 

We structured our courses so they have a consistent layout of course modules, so you know what to expect in every subject. The course is more student centred and contains a lot of reflective tasks to help you consolidate all of the knowledge and skills you are learning. 

We developed procedures to continuously improve our curriculum based on your feedback. 

Our coordinators gain the assistance of experienced learning designers to assist in designing meaningful interactive activities. 

We developed a student centred graduate certificate for our teaching staff. This course helps support our teachers to design and facilitate student centred learning, where your experience is at the heart of everything we do and your learning is well structured, aligned to specific discipline outcomes and sets you up for success at UTS. 

We aligned our student support area so you can access all the help you need in one place. 

We changed the way we deliver our support. Now all Student Success Advisers are responsible for academic support, welfare and wellbeing support so the Adviser you speak with can help you with everything you need, so you have a more seamless experience. 

There are now mathematics self-access support resources on the HELPS course on Canvas  

 We now use Writing feedback + through Studiosity. Previously students could access Studiosity 11 times in one study period – combined for Connect Live and Writing Feedback. Now, students can use Connect Live 11 times and Writing Feedback + an unlimited number of times per study period.  

 HELPS has started focused Study Hall sessions for Academic Communication assignments.  

 HELPS has also begun running book club sessions, helping student improve their reading and conversation skills  

We created more specialised and comprehensive support for students under 18. We now have dedicated under 18 Student Success Advisers who assist with pre arrival accommodation support, a specific orientation program, welfare checks during semester, mid semester events and access to our international peer mentoring. We also provide welfare progress reports for your parents. 

We introduced pre-departure orientation for under 18 students and their parents to make sure they are well prepared for their arrival in Sydney. We have also approved additional homestay and student accommodation providers to give our under-18 students more choices for their accommodation options.   

We created a Peer mentoring program for all Academic and under 18-year-olds, which offers you support from the moment you start your course with us. This includes wellbeing and life skills programs as well as mentoring. Every Academic student has the opportunity to sign up and get a mentor from week 1. 

We are also developing a new career advising program. We have started mentoring some foundation students to have a formal course counselling program. 

Our successful peer mentoring program has continued supporting new students to the College to ensure they have the smoothest transition. We have collected your feedback and implemented more fun activities such as a get-together with new students over a free coffee at the beginning of each semester. The program has received very positive feedback from our mentees, mentors and staff.   

We now plan your timetable using a student-centric design. We consider, your number of days on campus, your travel time between buildings, we’ve added a common lunch hour so that you can socialise with other students and have considered other study factors

What that means for you is your classes will be clustered per stage so classes are not spread out in the week and you get to spend time together with your peers in class and during lunch. 

We created a student commons in building 5, which consists of the HELPS Centre, Student Centre, Student Success Advisers, ITDS Service Desk so you have a more seamless experience when you need help. 

We are currently reviewing our processes between Student Centre, Student admissions and timetable to ensure that we are delivering the most efficient service to you through our systems and internal processes. 

We introduced CareerSmart – our career education and development program.  

Our CareerSmart program offers on-campus and online career education and development support designed to assist you to achieve your professional goals. These specialised services, including practical workshops, events, resources, and one-to-one professional guidance, help empower you to develop essential job-ready skills and the confidence for a prosperous start to your career. Find out more about the CareerSmart program

We re-designed Academic English orientation and Welcome week, to maximise time to meet your new peers both in a classroom setting, and in fun activities, through team building and lunch events.  

Science

You asked for more clarity on how to use GenAI in your studies 

We developed workshops to demonstrate how and when you should GenAI, and added specific GenAI instructions to all assessments 
 

Engineering

You wanted extra support in maths and physics

We introduced an additional class to help you revise and prepare for quizzes.
 

You suggested changes to Civil Engineering

We redesigned the subject to include more hands-on activities and removed the final exam for a better learning experience.

 

Design  

You asked for more non-digital creative work. 

In Design Studio 2, we now run collage, assemblage, hand lettering and zine making studios. 

 

Architecture 

You asked for a condensed list of assessment deliverables. 

In Architecture Modelmaking, we provided a quick guide with links to deeper dive information in the Canvas Modules. 

 

You asked for more time to work on presentation panels. 

In Architecture Studio, we now focus on production and diagram tutorial activities the week before each assessment.  

 

Communications 

You asked for ways to encourage peers to be prepared for tutorials.  

In the communication subjects, we introduced an assessment called Peer-teaching to encourage students to prepare for Tutorial A by selecting a concept and peer-teaching this. 

 

You asked for more time to focus on concepts. 

In Citizenship and Communication, we consolidated weekly assessments into a more structured single project so that we can engage with a single research topic over the semester.  

 

You asked for more time to work on assessments in class. 

In Understanding Digital Audiences and Digital Media Industries, we introduced more dedicated workshop sessions in class to support assessment development.  

 

IT 

You asked for better scheduling for final assessments regarding submission, grades and feedback. 

We have reviewed each subject at each stage of the course, their assessment due dates, the distribution of assessments over time, and the types of assessments, to ensure better planning and timing. 

 

Business 

You asked for more time to work on group work in class and to get to know your fellow students better. 

We have incorporated more group work into weekly sessions to give students the opportunity to speak with group members in the class room and organise their workload. 

 

Foundation studies 

You asked for more engaging activities, visuals and help with academic writing. 

We have incorporated a number of initiatives to assist: 

• The tutorials now include diagnostic writing sessions to help students improve their academic writing skills in FCS001. 

• Revised the reading article 'How Generative AI is Changing Creative Work' and updated relevant activities in FCS001's 'Technology' topic to reflect current technology developments. 

• Use video to enhance student engagement in FCS001's 'Globalisation and Education' topic. 

• Enhance student engagement in FGP001 by using extracted text instead of infographic for pre-tutorial on 'Uneven development', adding a case study on 'McDonaldization' to the 'Globalisation and Food' topic, and replacing old video with new one on 'NGOs and society'. 

• Revised Canvas instructions for FMC001 and FCP001 activities to improve clarity for students. 

• The curriculum now includes a visit to White Rabbit Gallery or 4A Gallery for students to observe real-life objects for their FCP001 project. 

• In FFI001, a peer helper has been introduced to provide personalised and timely support during in-class activities. 

• Revised topic order in FKP001 to enhance flow and introduce concepts more effectively. 

• Added optional worksheets to FMT001 for students who requested additional practice questions. 

• Enhance student understanding and performance in FCS001 and FGP001 by increasing in-class sessions to clarify assessment requirements, providing and demonstrating sample tasks, and facilitating peer and teacher feedback opportunities. 

• Splitting Grading Criterion 1 of Assessment Task 1B in FMC001 into two criteria for better preparation. 

• Increased in-class practice sessions for students to use Canva for Assessment Task 3 in FMC001 and Behance for Assessment Task 1 in FCP001. 

• Replaced Kahoot quizzes in FFI001 with online Canvas quizzes. This change enables students to revisit quiz questions, providing additional opportunities for review and reinforcement. 

• Provide sample reports for assignment tasks 3 and 4 in FFI001. These samples provide students with specific support and clarity, allowing them to better understand expectations and improve themselves. 

• Studiosity+ was used in FKP001 class to assist with written assignment 3 in response to students' requests for additional academic writing support. 

• Provided High Distinction samples for assessment task 3 part 1 in FKP001 after students requested additional assistance. 

• Scaffolded submission for Assessment Task 4 in FMT002: for students to submit the paperwork a day earlier, allowing time to practice for the verbal presentation. 

• FFI: From Semester 2, the Weekly Reflections now include a TEEL structure guide with detailed instructions and examples to help students produce clearer, more consistent writing. 

• FFI: From Semester 3, a Weekly Activity Checklist has been introduced. This supports students in tracking any missing tasks and gives them more confidence in knowing exactly what to prepare each week. 

• FFE1/2/3/4: implemented a more manageable workload for FFE students by reducing the number of assessments 

• Studiosity has been used in FCS001 Assessment 3 (Research report) draft submission to improve the writing. 

• Studiosity has been used in FGP001 Assessment 3 (Adaptive challenge case study) draft submission to improve the writing. 

• The template for FGP001 Assessment 1 (Gapminder report) has been provided to enhance the student’s learning outcomes in response to the student’s requirement. 

• The templates for FMC001 Assessment 1A (Media analysis) and Assessment 2 (Media communication presentation) have been revised to assist students preparing their assessments in response to the student’s request. 

• FCP001 excursion has been planned to visit the Objects Gallery in NSW State Library to help students observe objects for their Assessment 2 (Object narrative). 

• FFB001 updated and expanded practice in-class test to include more multiple choice questions and short answer.  

• FFB001 Added a second practice in-class test which to allow more exposure with long answer styled questions 

• FFB001 corrected wording in A2 In-Class Test to better align with concepts in module  

• FFB001 added new videos into Weeks 6, 7 to improve student understanding and application of concepts 

• FFB001 Updated student brainstorming activity to enable students to share ideas across classes in Weeks 1, 5, 7, 8 

• FFB001 Added TEEL paragraph structure explanation sheet to Week 2 resources to better support student response and readiness for A2 Case Study analysis 

• FFB001 Added list of standard accounting formulas to enhance support for the analysis and comparison of financial statements 

• Implemented feedback from PM, education service team, teachers and students as part of continuous improvement for Welcome and WB week. 

• Updated Welcome and WB Week academics’ content to align more with students’ needs 

• Created a new writing workshop for WB students: Future me to further support students writing skills 

• FKP001 provided high standard sample of Assessment 3 presentation recording in class for students to learn from peers. 

 

Academic English 

You asked for better activities and curriculum improvements. 

• We made general curriculum improvements across all AE courses ACEN, FFE, EPS 

• We updated our Subject Outlines to provide clearer direction to students on GenAI use, which is aligned to policy and procedures. 

• We updated texts, articles and books in lessons and student resources to newer sources/editions. This makes the sources more recent and more relevant, thus providing better examples aligned to the CRAAP test 

• We included more authentic and interactive discussion questions in Part 3 of AE4 Speaking Exam, allowing students to freely express their own views. 

• We included more H5P interactive activities to make the course content more student-centred and engaging for these courses AEL4, ACEN, FFE1&2, AE 4.1 and 4.2.  

• We refreshed images throughout to allow screen reader capability and better visibility for whiteboard display to improve accessibility for all students including students with visual impairments  

• Using Essential Technology lessons was updated to include the use of Microsoft Teams with new instructional how-to videos for students to enhance teacher and student collaborations 

• We’ve enhanced some audios/videos, some re-recorded with clearer voices, so that students can focus on the listening activity 

• We created a PPT slide pack to better explain standardisation and moderation, initiatives such as teachers swapping classes for exams, swapping exam marking to remove potential teacher bias in the marking process.