It is not uncommon to feel overwhelmed at some point in your time at university. Almost everybody experiences it at some stage, and the natural response is to want to leave. Choosing to stay in your program could be about knowing what your options are.
Keeping track of your enrolment
Know your Academic Plan
Your Academic Plan is a guide to the courses you will need to complete in order to graduate. Monitor your progress through your Academic Plan to ensure that you are on course to complete.
Keeping track of your enrolments is particularly important if you are studying a program with a lot of electives or minor strands. Your Program Coordinator will be able to help you if you want an authoritative source to double check where you are up to.
Important dates
One of the most critical dates to remember is the Census Date – the last date that you can withdraw from your course without incurring a financial penalty. There is a Census Date in each semester of the academic year.
In addition to these dates, ensure you record all exam and SWOTVAC periods on your calendar, plus the public holidays that the University acknowledges.
Read about the important dates at Federation University.
Don't forget to re-enrol
After your first year of study, you need to enrol for the following year – it is not an automatic process. You need to re-enrol within a specific time frame, which you will be notified about in September/October. The University will send information via your student email account about your school’s re-enrolment period, along with instructions. Completing your enrolment is done online via my Student Centre (mySC).
Check your student email account for official university communication at least twice weekly – that is where enrolment reminders will be sent. You have the option to redirect your FedUni email to your personal email account.
The enrolment process tells the University what you plan to study the following year. If you do not re-enrol within the specified period you may lose your place in the program or you may have to pay a late enrolment fee.
Check the school and program information or refer to the Undergraduate Handbook when you re-enrol. Re-enrolment only applies to the program you are in; you cannot use your re-enrolment to transfer to another program.
Reconsidering your path
It can be easy to think you are the only person struggling with study. This is untrue. But you may not hear about that if you do not share your concerns.
Sharing your concerns
If you are having a hard time with your study, can you pinpoint what is causing the stress?
Talk with someone who knows about your course of study, and share your thoughts about changing or quitting. Your program coordinator, for example, or a doctor or counsellor could help you to uncover the issue/s. Whether it’s about an academic, health, or other matter, sharing your concerns with a trusted person can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed. It can also help you to explore possible solutions.
Our Student Academic Leaders can point you to a university service that can help you. Just ASK.
You can add or discontinue a course in the first two weeks of the semester; there is no academic or financial penalty. Adding a course to your study after the first two weeks of semester must have sound reasons before they will be considered.
Get the facts before changing your study load or quitting. Other options may be available and indeed preferable to you – find out what they are.
Recalling your goals
What was the reason you entered university?
You don’t study nursing because you want to be a nursing student; you study it because you want to be a nurse. One way to keep sight of your goal is to look both forwards and backwards: remember where you’ve come from and where you want to go.
Consider these questions:
- How did you get here? Did you always want to be a nurse? Are you following your father’s footsteps? Did your parents expect you to?
Your answer: ________________________ - Where do you want to go? Do you have a profession in mind? Is it about salary? Are you here to find out what you really want to do?
Your answer: ________________________
The answer to 2 could change, and that’s fine. One year of uni may help you realise you want a different career. It’s important to let that happen, even if it means you’re here for longer. Do you want to do something you love, or graduate a year earlier?
Keep your answers somewhere useful, and take them out when you are feeling overwhelmed about study. Reflect on them.
One of the biggest reasons not to give up is that you’d be shutting a door on your future. That may sound like a line from a B-grade movie, but if you quit, you reduce all the opportunities that might have opened up as a result of achieving your university degree.
Changing your studyload
Students are expected to maintain the standard study workload. For part-time students, that is two courses per semester, and for full-time students, that is four courses per semester.
If you want to increase your studyload, you may be able to do so if you have a strong academic record. However, no more than four courses will normally be approved in one semester.
Get the facts before changing your study load or quitting. Other options may be available and indeed preferable to you – find out what they are.
Taking leave or withdrawing from all studies
Undergraduate students who are experiencing difficulties during the year, or who wish to take a year off study, may apply for Leave from Studies. Leave from Studies may be granted for up to one year at one time. If you need to take a longer period of Leave from Studies, you must re-apply when the initial period expires. Your leave will only be approved if you can still meet the requirements of your program within the time limit for completion.
Get the facts before changing your study load or quitting. Other options may be available and indeed preferable to you – find out what they are.
The Student Advisory Service can give you more information about withdrawing from studies.