The role of the FYSCO F irst Y ear S chool C ontact O fficer

Transitioning into university life can be daunting for new students UWS Commencing Student cohort comes from all walks of life, particularly those most at risk of withdrawing Not all students attend MyCourse Planning & Orientation, thus missing key information Key information sent to Commencing Students can get lost in the ‘noise’ Supporting Commencing Student transition is everyone’s UWS Supporting UWS Commencing Students

What is a First Year School Contact Officer? It is not an ‘extra’ role, but simply provides an institutional framework for communication & coordination, ensuring that good practice core business activities are consistently implemented. An “identified contact person” for students when they have a question or need assistance and are unsure where to go. They are not responsible for solving all issues, but for ensuring that they get solved! They provide assistance to this cohort during the transition period (Weeks 0-3) If a school already has a role specifically supporting students, then this would be the FYSCO

FYSCO Role in Supporting Commencing Students Orientation Week 3 Role of FYSCO Role of FYSCO: Established in 2009, First Year School Contact Officers provide students assistance during their transition into university FYSCOs are generally a designated professional staff member at school level Introduced at “Orientation”, FYSCOs are established as a familiar face & first port of call for students at for enquiries from weeks 0-3 Role of FYSCO Role of FYSCO: Established in 2009, First Year School Contact Officers provide students assistance during their transition into university FYSCOs are generally a designated professional staff member at school level Introduced at “Orientation”, FYSCOs are established as a familiar face & first port of call for students at for enquiries from weeks 0-3 University of Western Sydney School FYSCO Student

Importance of FYSCO? Directly address Goal 1 of the Securing Success: Discussion Paper Indirectly addresses Goal 2 through the data collected by FYSCOs Addresses 3 Key Focus Areas from the UWS Making the Difference Strategy Position for success in the higher education environment Create a superior and engaged learning experience Build organisation capacity Directly address 2 of UWS’ KPIs Student retention Student satisfaction

Key Tasks of a FYSCO 1. Available in school “front office” during office hours Monday to Friday, week 0 to week 3 2. Handle 1 st year student queries, directing to specialist areas where required 3. Attend all orientation sessions for School courses on their campus to be introduced to students 4. Ensure you have School specific contact details (DAPs, first year academic coordinators, 1 st year unit coordinators) prepared with contact details and consult times 5. Familiarise yourself with other UWS services 6. Record all 1 st year student enquiries from weeks Send all student query data to the STaRS Project Officer after week 3 via internal mail (used for research purposes) 8. Participate in research where applicable

Available Support for Students The STaRS Website has an easy-to-use format, to quickly find available support for particular issues faced by studentsSTaRS Website Please contact David Roach – the STaRS Project Officer – with any questions  