LARGE AND IN CHARGEEditor-in-ChiefShahman Prushuathamun [Off Campus Vice President (OCVP)]ocvp@monash.edu

Creative Director & Design Co-ordinatorMelanie Zimora [Student Engagement Support Officer (SESO)]melanie.zimora@monash.edu

Staff Writer

Benjamin Dahl

Freelance Writer

Tanya Bird

Photographer

Tanya Bird

Contributors

Luke Icely [Student Leadership Program Officer, Student Connect]

Acknowledgements-----------------

Exchange is a publication of MonashUniversity Gippsland Student Union(MUGSU). All articles in thisnewsletter are provided in goodfaith. Exchange is intended to be aninformative newsletter for studentsenrolled at Monash University &Federation University Gippslandcampus, through OffCampus/Distance education.

Copyright 2015 MUGSU Inc. Allrights reserved.

Get the latest MUGSU/Fusion news

Bookmark us

MUGSU: https://www.facebook.com/mugsu

Off Campus: https://www.facebook.com/OffCampusGippsland

Want to get published? If youve got thepassion, drive and a good grasp of theEnglish language, you have a decision tomake:

Wordsmith (Full time editorial team member)IF you groan at grammatical errors on social

media or cant help yourself but correct yourfriend when he makes a spelling or sentence structuring mistake, then youfit the bill! As a full time member of the Exchange editorial team, youll getthe chance to edit stories, design the newsletter and even write your ownarticles! Did we mention how impressive your future employer would beknowing you were part of an editorial team?

Contributor (ad-hoc)If theres somethin strange in ourneighbourhood, who we gonna call? Wellyou of course! Were always open tocontributors who want to polish their writingskills or write an article. Youre not obligedto submit articles or stories every month,but we do have some guidelines (yes, wehave some) for our contributor program.

Interested? Contact us with a short spielabout yourself. Dont be afraid We dontbite (unless you look absolutely delicious)Apply via email to ocvp@monash.edu

A NOTE FROM CRAIG

03 A note from the MUGSU

President Craig Wilson.EXAM PREPARATION

09 Ten exam preparation

tips for upcoming examsUPCOMING EVENTS

06 May- July Events

FEATURES 1

NEWS 2

REGULARS 3

EXTRA 4

EXCHANGEJUNE 15

CONTACT MUGSU

13 MUGSU contact

details for services

MUGSU SNOW TRIP

08 Dont miss it!

TIPS FOR ONLINE

STUDENTS

15-16 Handy tips to help

online students get the best

results NEED HELP?

04 Contact our Student

Rights Officers

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION

FOR EXAM?

13 What you need to know!

HAVE YOUR SAY!

03 National Union of

Students survey

AMERICAN PROM

10 2015 Uni Ball

GRADUATION DINNER

11 Graduating Monash

Alumni of 2015 Dinner

FUSION

07 Results of the 2015

Fusion Board Elections

EXAM KITS

05 Dont forget to collect your exam kits!

FED UNI LEADERSHIP

05 One small thing

Conference

- 3 -

A note from the MUGSU President

Hi Everyone!

Hope the stress and anxiety of exams arentcausing too much damage! Just a couple moreweeks and well be enjoying our end of examparties and holidays (thats always something tolook forward to!)

It remains a busy time for us at MUGSU as wecontinue to help students get the best out oftheir university experience and ensure thatstudent grievances are heard while balancing ourassignments and revision as well.

Shahman, the Off campus Vice President hascreated an opt-in survey form for Offcampus/Distance education students (see page12). If you have not had the chance to completethe survey, would strongly encourage you to doso. This would ultimately help us greatly andmake us aware of what is troubling the Off-campus/Distance education student body. Pleasefeel free to contact us if you require assistancewith the survey.

Also, please do not hesitate to contact usregarding anything you require assistance withthrough the communication channels outlined inthis newsletter. We dont bite!

As the transition to Federation Universitycontinues and the push for the establishment ofan independent student union growing innumbers, it was decided that the first inauguralFusion elections 2015 be held on the 28

thof April

2015. We are very excited to announce that thenew Fusion board has been duly elected, withStephen Pratt at the helm as the 1

stFusion

president. The MUGSU board endorses theestablishment of the new Fusion Board and willbe mentoring the Fed uni students (Fusionboard) as they develop Fusion.

On behalf of the MUGSU board and staffmembers, we wish you all the best for yourupcoming exams!

All the best!

Craig Wilson

2015 MUGSU President

president@monash.edu

Doctor & Nurses Uni Night

Wednesday 29th July,2015More details on our

website soon!

Have your say!!!The National Union of Students has launched the 2015 Education QualitySurvey as a part of its Demand A Better Future Campaign.

This is a survey to capture a snap shot of students experiences in the qualityof their teaching and learning. It is the only student run student experiencesurvey in Australia.

The education quality survey is open to all students enrolled at university inAustralia and is available through the NUS websitehttp://www.nus.org.au/quality_survey

The survey will be open from the 1st of May through to the until the 15th of June and the final report will be released in August.

UPCOMING EVENTS

@ MUGSU

15 JUNE MENS HEALTH WEEK

19 JULY SNOW TRIP (see advert on next page)

29 JULY DOCTORS & NURSES (Uni Night)

----------

MUGSU would like to wish you the best of luck with your

semester one exams! The student lounge is open for you

to study in during this time and our student support officers

are available if you need any information or assistance!

Good luck!

- 6 -

The 2015 Uni Ball was held on the 8th ofMay and with an American Prom theme,the night was a certain hit amongststudents!

The Auditorium was decked out toresemble an American School Hall. Themusic by The Farren Jones Band played allthe classic hits and the dance floor was fullof frocks and suits.

The food was amazing with all yourtraditional American food on offer.

With excitement and anticipation weawaited the announcement of who wouldbe crowned Prom Queen & King! AshleighRodger was crowned Prom Queen andCallum Tate was crowned Prom King.Congratulations again to them both!

The Photobooth was kept busy andeveryone enjoyed the novelty dress upsand having some fun pictures with friends.

The night was a huge success and wouldnot have been possible without thededication of the MUGSU Board and Staff.

Article by Melanie Zimora

MUGSU with the support of MonashUniversity offered the Gippsland GraduatingAlumni of 2014 an opportunity toacknowledge and celebrate their graduationwith a Graduation Dinner held on campus inthe Student Lounge.

The students invited family and friends tothe Dinner to help them celebrate their timeas students at Gippsland Campus and reflecton successfully completing their Monashdegree on the campus it all happened.

Guest speakers included Head of GippslandCampus Harry Ballis and MUGSU PastPresident Jenny Farrar along with currentMUGSU Board Member Cameron Bloore.

Article by Melanie Zimora

The vision of MUGSU Education Vice PresidentBuddhima Edi, made the night a huge success.

Dear Off Campus/Distance Education students,

The MUGSU Off Campus Vice President (OCVP)

would like to hear from you on issues that you are facing

as an off campus/Distance education student, as well as

to get feedback on other matters related to your university

experience. Kindly complete the survey form in the link

provided below:

http://goo.gl/forms/1q5sEbUV5p

Please direct any queries you may have regarding

this survey or any difficulties you have accessing the link

provided, to the OCVP via email: ocvp@monash.edu.

Thank you in advance for participating in this survey.

Thank you

Warmest regards,

Shahman Prushuathamun

Off Campus Vice President | MUGSU

Calling All Gippsland Off campus/Distance

Education Students!!

[Applicable to all students doing 1 or more units off campus and enrolled at the

Gippsland campus only] Both Monash and Fed Uni students

IN THE NEXT ISSUE!!

While waiting, why not like

the Off Campus Facebook

Page to get the latest Off

Campus News!

MUGSU: https://www.facebook.com/mugsu

Off Campus: https://www.facebook.com/OffCampusGippsland

- 19 -

Tips for online students

Utilise the online mentor program while you havethe chance, including the opportunity to haveweekly live chats with other students. Coming to aweekly chat can help to reduce feelings ofisolation or feeling overwhelmed, it can also be agreat way to ask other students aboutassessments and get some clarification in themoment. All students that are starting in an online

degree with FedUni are allocated a mentor.

Ask for help! There are a lot of people whose jobit is to help you with University life and they willbe happy to hear from you. Ask your onlinementor who to go to for academic assistance,counselling, legal aid, financial aid, IT assistance,and so on.

If you are having issues with any of your subjectsmake sure you let your lecturers know early on. It'smuch easier to get help and to get back on track orto ask a lecturer to do something different with howthey deliver their information to online students ifyou get in touch early on.

Want to meet other online students? Check out the FedUni Online Students Group on Facebook. Its a group entirely for students that are studying online. Meet other people doing the same course as you, make friends and ask questions of fellow students. Find it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1543742799222538/ or search for FedUni Online Students Group.

Need help with essay writing? Want someassistance understanding a specific study area?Your Tutor is a one-on-one service offered from3pm-11pm from Sun-Fri during semester. Its free,and done through online chat, so you get a copyof everything you learn in a session. Seewww.federation.edu.au/yourtutor for moredetails.

Did you know there are standards for how youpresent an assignment? Yep. Before submittingonline, make sure you check out the GeneralGuide for Writing and Study Skills (search it on theFedUni website). You need to make sure yourpages are numbered, your assignment has yourname on it, your student ID and what subject theassignment is for. Dont forget! Put your name orstudent ID in the file name as well so your lecturerknows it is yours.

Have you forwarded your student email? Whenyou get started at FedUni you are given a studentemail address and lecturers and general staff willuse this to get in touch with you. It will also be thedefault email associated with your Moodleaccount. If youre worried about missing out oninformation, search forward email on theFedUni website to get information on forwardingto a preferred email account.