Cash-strapped students go without food

Professor Sandra Harding, the newly appointed chair of Universities Australia, will address the National Press Club. Picture: Ray Strange Source: The Australian

UNIVERSITY students regularly miss classes to attend work and almost a fifth go without food in order to pay for their studies, according to a national survey.

More than half believe having to work is setting their studies back, with more than 80 per cent of full time undergraduates holding jobs and working an average of 16 hours a week.

The results will be unveiled in a speech today to the National Press Club by the newly appointed chair of Universities Australia, Professor Sandra Harding.

Professor Harding will argue that the University Student Finances in Australia in 2012 survey was taken before the most recent round of funding cuts to tertiary education and that the situation will have worsened.

"Australian students already bear a greater burden of the costs of their education than their peers in many comparable countries and will be under greater pressure following the budget changes to student support programs," Professor Harding will say.

"If we are to encourage people from low income or disadvantaged backgrounds to study for the jobs and industries of the future we should not be increasing the cost burden on our already hard-pressed students.

"Universities Australia is driving a campaign against the Prime Minister's plans to cut $2.3 billion from the tertiary education budget to fund the Gonski school funding reforms.

"It is important to invest in both university and school education," Professor Harding will say. "Education at all levels  from early childhood, through secondary to tertiary as well as lifelong learning is absolutely critical for creating a smarter Australia, a necessity if this nation is to remain internationally competitive."

The survey results are drawn from more than 11,000 students across Australia and its release comes a week before a day of action planned by the National Tertiary Education Union over the cuts.

View the original article here

'Stress relief puppies' for pressured students

Cuddly... At the Australian National University, there were jumping castles AND puppies in the one week. Picture: Thinkstock Source: news.com.au

• Puppy sessions for overwhelmed uni students
• Outrage: "WE NEVER GET STRESS RELIEF PUPPIES"
• Joy or a joke? Have your say in the comments below

UNIVERSITY students are using creative new strategies, such as "stress relief puppies" and procrastination classes, to cope with their onerous workloads.

Student groups at Bond University in Queensland and the Australian National University in Canberra have held so-called "puppy days" for pupils buried in books, leaving undergrads at other universities howling in jealousy.

Bond law student society president Madeline Wardleworth held the "stress relief" poochfest last week. After a hardcore study session, pupils were overjoyed to have puppies Bronte and Arnold fall asleep in their arms.

"It was really mindblowing," Ms Wardleworth said. An outraged commenter enrolled at another university posted on the Bond Law Students Society website: "WE NEVER GET STRESS RELIEF PUPPIES."

Psychologist Dr Helen McGrath from Deakin University says animals can be a really helpful way to reduce stress.

"What they do is distract you from some of the worries you might be thinking about," Dr McGrath said, adding that a new connection between a person and an animal generates a positive emotion.

The idea takes a page from puppy plans at overseas schools. Top US universities Yale Law and Harvard Medical even employ resident "therapy dogs" in their libraries which can be borrowed like books, and Canada’s Dalhousie University has a "puppy room" for students.

Joy or joke: Are puppies a good way to reduce stress? Leave a comment below.

Australian universities are also formally assisting students with a problem they often struggle with - procrastination.

The University of Technology, Sydney, has provided students who have difficulty finishing their work with procrastination classes.

An advertisement says if students tend to wait for the perfect time to start a task, then they may benefit from the weekly sessions run by the university’s student support service commencing later this month.

Counselling services at many Australian universities advertise professional help for procrastinators, including the University of Adelaide, Monash University and the University of Melbourne.

A brochure published by the Australian National University provides 30 tips on how to stop procrastinating, including: 

1.The ‘Swiss Cheese’ approach: When you’re tackling a big project, make ‘holes’ in it by tackling small components of the assignment

2.The ‘Salami Technique’: A create a checklist all the tasks you have to complete and work on them sequentially

3.Plan what you want to achieve first: Spend a few minutes before starting a project figuring out what you want to achieve and how you’ll do it

4. Clean up your room: Arrange your work environment to be attractive and inviting

5. Make a contract: Put together a dossier with a friend, letting them know specifically what you plan to get done and when

6.Set time limits for your work

7.Make a poster: It can display an inspiring statement or affirmation, such as "I am intelligent and capable" and "I am balancing my needs to work and to have fun"

But it’s OK to take a break to, say, pat some puppies. "You just see law students melt when they see puppies," says president of the ANU Law Students Society, Matilda Gillis.

This reporter on Twitter: @drpiotrowski @newscomauHQ | Email: Daniel.Piotrowski@news.com.au

Puppies: The key to success? Picture: Thinkstock Source: news.com.au

View the original article here

'Stress relief puppies' for pressured students

Cuddly... At the Australian National University, there were jumping castles AND puppies in the one week. Picture: Thinkstock Source: news.com.au

• Puppy sessions for overwhelmed uni students
• Outrage: "WE NEVER GET STRESS RELIEF PUPPIES"
• Joy or a joke? Have your say in the comments below

UNIVERSITY students are using creative new strategies, such as "stress relief puppies" and procrastination classes, to cope with their onerous workloads.

Student groups at Bond University in Queensland and the Australian National University in Canberra have held so-called "puppy days" for pupils buried in books, leaving undergrads at other universities howling in jealousy.

Bond law student society president Madeline Wardleworth held the "stress relief" poochfest last week. After a hardcore study session, pupils were overjoyed to have puppies Bronte and Arnold fall asleep in their arms.

"It was really mindblowing," Ms Wardleworth said. An outraged commenter enrolled at another university posted on the Bond Law Students Society website: "WE NEVER GET STRESS RELIEF PUPPIES."

Psychologist Dr Helen McGrath from Deakin University says animals can be a really helpful way to reduce stress.

"What they do is distract you from some of the worries you might be thinking about," Dr McGrath said, adding that a new connection between a person and an animal generates a positive emotion.

The idea takes a page from puppy plans at overseas schools. Top US universities Yale Law and Harvard Medical even employ resident "therapy dogs" in their libraries which can be borrowed like books, and Canada’s Dalhousie University has a "puppy room" for students.

Joy or joke: Are puppies a good way to reduce stress? Leave a comment below.

Australian universities are also formally assisting students with a problem they often struggle with - procrastination.

The University of Technology, Sydney, has provided students who have difficulty finishing their work with procrastination classes.

An advertisement says if students tend to wait for the perfect time to start a task, then they may benefit from the weekly sessions run by the university’s student support service commencing later this month.

Counselling services at many Australian universities advertise professional help for procrastinators, including the University of Adelaide, Monash University and the University of Melbourne.

A brochure published by the Australian National University provides 30 tips on how to stop procrastinating, including: 

1.The ‘Swiss Cheese’ approach: When you’re tackling a big project, make ‘holes’ in it by tackling small components of the assignment

2.The ‘Salami Technique’: A create a checklist all the tasks you have to complete and work on them sequentially

3.Plan what you want to achieve first: Spend a few minutes before starting a project figuring out what you want to achieve and how you’ll do it

4. Clean up your room: Arrange your work environment to be attractive and inviting

5. Make a contract: Put together a dossier with a friend, letting them know specifically what you plan to get done and when

6.Set time limits for your work

7.Make a poster: It can display an inspiring statement or affirmation, such as "I am intelligent and capable" and "I am balancing my needs to work and to have fun"

But it’s OK to take a break to, say, pat some puppies. "You just see law students melt when they see puppies," says president of the ANU Law Students Society, Matilda Gillis.

This reporter on Twitter: @drpiotrowski @newscomauHQ | Email: Daniel.Piotrowski@news.com.au

Puppies: The key to success? Picture: Thinkstock Source: news.com.au

View the original article here