It is recommended that students intending to study part-time should contact the relevant school or centre's administration office for times of lectures and library facilities.
All post registration courses offered by the School of Health Sciences at Gippsland are conducted by distance education. This mode of study has been developed in recognition that most registered nurses have work and other important commitments which make it difficult to attend and participate in on-campus (classroom-based) courses. The Graduate Diploma of Nursing (Psychiatric Nursing) is also offered via the distance education mode from the Caroline Chisholm School of Nursing.
Distance education provides many people with the flexibility and control required to better manage their lifestyle whilst undertaking tertiary study. Distance education students are required to follow a comparable program of study, satisfy comparable requirements and sit for the same examinations as internal students.
However, the distance education studies program calls on a variety of instructional techniques to overcome the problems of a student who is `learning at a distance'. For independent study at home the student can expect to use, in addition to textbooks and the usual library materials, study guides, readings and additional material prepared by lecturers. Audio tapes, videotapes or computer software may also be used by some students.
In undertaking distance education study for the first time it is important not to be too ambitious in setting an initial study load as it takes some experience to be really effective in the use of time and study methods.
The success of past students demonstrates that a person in full-time employment can achieve high standards and satisfy the demanding requirements of many courses offered. However, distance education students will find that they must devote a considerable number of off-duty hours reading, researching and in the preparation of written assignments.
Most students will need to make sacrifices in order to fulfil their study program and should carefully consider at the outset what is involved in distance education study and weigh this against established priorities.
The recommended study load for distance education students with career and family commitments is the equivalent of two full subjects each semester (ie four full subjects per year), which is about half the normal study load of a full-time student. Most distance education students who work consistently can do good work at this rate. As a rough guide to the time required, expect to put in up to ten hours a week on each full subject.
The Gippsland campus library is primarily for the use of students and staff of the university. The library offers a comprehensive service to distance education students living beyond a 30-minute drive from the university. The off-campus service includes borrowing books by mail, a photocopying service, reference and research assistance and access to CD-ROM databases. The library hours are as follows:
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