COVID-19 and me… your FAQs

Swinburne University offers student support through Wellbeing at Swinburne, as well as the Out of Hours Crisis Line – which is available from 4pm – 10am weekdays and 24hours on weekends and public holidays. Call 1300 854 144 or text 0488 884 145 to access this service.

For more information on services available, please visit the Swinburne Website

There are a number of support services available both online and over the phone. The following services run 24/7: Beyone Blue; Kids Helpline; MensLine Australia; Open Arms; Lifeline; Suicide Call Back Service; 1800 RESPECT. A list of these services and more can be found via the link.

Swinburne has established their own Student Emergency Fund for students who have been impacted by an emergency, including COVID-19. Eligible students will be able to access a one-off grant of up to $1,000. You can submit your application online. Please note that if you are currently receiving ABSTUDY, Austudy or Youth Allowance you will not be eligible.

More information regarding financial support for domestic and international students can be found here.

The Australian Government has introduced a Coronavirus Supplement payment offering additional financial assistance to eligible full-time domestic students in response to COVID-19. If you’re already receiving financial assistance through Centrelink, you may be eligible for additional payments during this time. If you’re already receiving Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY, you will start to receive an additional $550 per fortnight from 27 April 2020 for the next six months.

For more information click here

With the introduction of Stage 4 Restrictions, the Library and Late Labs have had to close again.

If you have an questions regarding the Library or Student HQ, you can make an appointment by calling 1300 794 628.

Only students who have been given written permission to attend campus for specific classes, can attend and study on campus at this time.

For more information visit here

Contact your landlord/agent as soon as possible and explain your situation. Seek to agree on a possible payment plan, and get it confirmed in writing.

Tenants Victoria have confirmed that as of 29/03/2020, National Cabinet has agreed to a moratorium (a pause) on evictions over the next six months for “commercial and residential tenancies in financial distress who are unable to meet their commitments due to the impact of coronavirus”. They will look to release more details on this when possible.

FOr more information on Renting during COVID-19 Crisis visit our news article ‘FAQ Regarding Renting During Covid-19’

As per Government Requirements the SSU have currently paused all on-campus services including BBQ’s, Printing, Welfare on Wheels and Student Breakfast. Whilst these services are paused, the SSU will support students via alternate means, including representing students in discussions with the University surrounding student needs and concerns during this time.

We are not technology geniuses by any means, but here is some useful tips and tricks that may make study from home using personal computers and internet a little more effective. As well as information from Internet Service Providers about arrangements and offers of additional data.

Swinburne Library Rovers are still available to provide tech support remotely. Please contact the team at rovers@swin.edu.au or phone +61 3 9214 8591

We are providing a Free Feeds Program for students who are facing food insecurity. To learn more about this program or to apply, please click here.

Please Note- You must bring a your own bag, student card and wear a face mask or face covering. If you do not wear a mask you will not be allowed t collect your food

Here is a list of Emergency Relief Food Services in Victoria.

If you need to print something and do not have a printer at home, Officeworks is open and still running their Print, Copy & Create counters. To avoid unnecessary contact, they are encouraging customers to take advantage of the online print services and have it delivered or pick up in store. Read more about their operations here

Yes, Swinburne has a small number of laptops available for students who cannot access a computer. To learn more about this or apply for a long-term laptop loan please contact library@swin.edu.au.

There will be no final exams this period. Final exams will be replaced with alternative assessments to be delivered by the unit conveners during the final assessment period, which takes place after the teaching end date of the period.

The end of teaching assessment period will now be a Final Assessment Period. The key dates are:

SWOTVAC:

• Monday 8 June 2020 to Wednesday 10 June 2020.

Final Assessment Period:

• Study Period 1, 2020: Monday 1 June 2020 to Friday 5 June 2020.
• Semester 1, 2020: Thursday 11 June 2020 to Friday 26 June 2020.
• Special Final Assessment Period: Monday 20 July 2020 to Friday 24 July 2020.

For time-based alternative assessments, you may be eligible to apply for special consideration. More information on how to apply for special consideration is available on the Swinburne website.

If you have experienced technical issues which affect your ability to complete a time-based assessment then you may be eligible for special consideration. You will need to provide valid evidence that proves the time of the issue and that shows this was directly related to the scheduled assessment task. You may need to take screenshots of the issue and /or submit correspondence form your internet service provider about a loss or interruption of your internet service.

If you become ill unexpectedly, suffer an injury or have a medical condition that has unexpectedly and severely impacted your ability to commence or complete an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration and can apply via the special consideration portal. If you have a medical issue that has affected your ability to complete an assessment, you will need to provide a valid Registered Practitioners Statement as part of your application for special consideration.

You will find this on CANVAS. There will be clear instructions and a schedule of your assessment tasks for each unit. This will contain details of the assessment task, the time allowed to complete the assessment once started, and the time period during which the assessment is available for you to complete.

Students who fail this semester will not have their fail grades recorded on their academic transcript and any fail grades this semester will not have an impact on your grade point average (GPA).

Please also be aware that while your fail grade will not be recorded on your academic transcript, if you fail a unit:

• you will have to repeat the unit if it is a core or a pre-requisite unit,
• you will be charged fees for the unit, and
• you will not be able to progress to a unit that the failed unit is a pre-requisite for

* Important Note: Swinburne Online

Those enrolled in a Swinburne Online course are not automatically eligible for the above, as from a course perspective, your course has not been changed or impacted due to COVID-19. If COVID-19 has impacted you in other ways, which has in turn affected your studies, you can still apply for special consideration.

For more information on failed units and calculation of GPA, please read the latest updates from Swinburne University here.

The grade point average calculation only applies to units where you receive a mark from 1-100 and grades from N-HD.

Units which are pass or fail only, competent or not competent only, or where completion only grades are awarded do not contribute to the grade point average calculation.

While COVID-19 measures are in place, any fails results recorded from April 2020 will be omitted from your GPA calculation.

If you would like to omit any results from Semester 1 2020 from your GPA, you can apply to do so via this form

You will still need to complete and pass both components of LANTITE in order to successfully graduate and complete your teaching qualification at Swinburne. Please refer to the LANTITE information webpage for any updates regarding COVID-19 disruptions.

For information on how your GPA will be calculated, including:

• Having results removed from GPA calculation
• Requesting reviews of your marks
• GPA grades and Honours calculations
• Transferring courses

You can find explanations on these topics and more on the Swinburne FAQs page. They have provided a list of possible scenarios facing students and have also provided links for further resources.