1. Navigator (aka this trusty blog)
Navigator is maintained by a team of students just like you! Every article written on our blog is created by students for students. It’s a safe place for students to share the realities faced when studying at university. We aim to connect with students who have encountered similar experiences and help them in some way.
Navigator is a great student blog to check when you feel stressed, homesick or are struggling with some of the challenges of studying. All sorts of stories are posted on the blog and created around the themes of ‘Academic Success’, ‘Your Future’, ‘Taking Care of You’, ‘Social Life’ and ‘Your Stories’.
2. That student email thing everyone talks about
Every time somebody at the uni tries to contact you it will typically be through your uni emails. Through my own experiences with uni emails, I’ve realised some pretty important things come through there.
Okay story time!
In my first year at uni I never checked my emails and therefore I did not realise that the fees office had been trying to contact me about overdue fees. After five ignored emails my uni account was blocked right before all my final assignments were due and when I finally called to find out what’s going on, I was told that I enrolled as a New Zealand citizen and owed tuition fees (I am not a New Zealand citizen by the way). It’s quite horrific hearing you owe $4,000 you don’t have… trust me, I know. Paperwork was filed and corrected which fixed the problem, but moral of the story is if I would have just checked my uni emails this would have been sorted with way less stress.
I am now logged in to my emails through Outlook on my phone so I get notifications when I receive an email (I’m not having the citizenship mishap happen to me again).
3. Your weekly student newsletter – The Know
You’ve gotta keep an eye on your student inbox for The Know – your weekly student newsletter. The Know has articles, events and what’s on around campus, the latest jobs from our Careers Service, and so many tips and tricks about uni life. It’s your surefire way to stay in the know, so to speak.
4. Your familiar friend, social media
I know you spend most of your time on your socials, so why not do something productive with your feeds and go follow them on Instagram @Uni_Newcastle_Students and give them a like University of Newcastle Students on Facebook.
They have weekly stories on Instagram; Mondays are for “What’s On”, your weekly event listings, and on Wednesdays they post “Need to Know”, which gives you helpful information to get you through your degree, and important updates on the uni.
On Facebook you’ll see them post job alerts from the latest job listings from Career Hub and other posts including tips, tricks and support like exam pop-up stalls that provide you with chocolate after your exam – you wouldn’t want to miss out on that!
5. Your new best friend AskUON
AskUON is a great tool provided by the uni. Essentially it is a search engine that answers any queries you may have about uni. You can seriously type in anything uni related to AskUON – no joke. For example, what are the dates for Summer Term? What will my tuition fees be? What’s the difference between HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP? Or can I resubmit assignments on Canvas?
Seriously, I have asked it everything, AskUON is my saviour and will provide you with the answer or will give insight on where to get it.
Don’t believe me? Test it for yourself here: AskUON