As an external student, there are a number of things you will need to do each week to stay on top of your study.
In most courses a new lecture will be uploaded to your course's website each week. You will need to listen to that lecture and read any accompanying lecture notes. Take your own notes as you listen and hold on to them, so that you will develop a body of notes about the course content over the study period.
In most courses there will be set weekly readings. These readings are selected to coincide with each week's lecture or topic. Sometimes these readings will be part of a textbook (which can be purchased from the Campus Bookshop) or printed course reader, and in other cases they will be provided online, via the eReadings link on your course site. It is important to stay up to date with each week's required readings.
Some courses will require you to complete activities each week as part of your assessment, while others might require you to participate in online tutorials (virtual classroom), contribute to discussion forums, or complete other tasks. Read your course requirements carefully to check what each external course requires.
In addition to these set weekly requirements, you will also be required to complete assignments due at various points over study period. Check your Course Outlines for assignment due dates and consult staff for clarification and guidance about assignments where needed. Most courses set due dates at similar times so you might need to work on more than one assignment at once if you are enrolled in several courses. Planning ahead to meet deadlines is important: use an Study Planner to help you map out tasks. Also, take note of any advice in your Course Outlines about applying for extensions. For information on how to write different types of assignments, visit the Study Help website.
You should put aside regular windows of time each week to read email from the University and correspond with staff and students. You can correspond via email or on your course discussion forums. If you have questions related to course content or assignment requirements, be sure to ask staff sooner rather than later, to allow ample time for them to respond and ample time for you to apply their advice. Please note that staff will not respond immediately, so be patient, but always be persistent.
To help you complete these weekly tasks, we recommend doing the following: