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Studying online has allowed Donna Irwin to balance her two children, her job with the Federal Government and life in Orange, NSW with getting a degree. She’s halfway through the Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management) with Charles Sturt University (CSU), so we caught up with Donna to gain some insights into what online study is really like.
1. Why did you decide to study a Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management) with CSU?
Since I left school I always wanted to go to uni but I just didn’t have the confidence or the resources to do it. A few years ago I’d got myself to a point where I thought ‘now is my time to do it’. I work with the Federal Government and after completing a Diploma in Human Resources with TAFE, I felt the Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management) would be really beneficial for the next step in my career. The fact I could do it online with CSU made it much easier.
2. How would you compare your experience studying the Bachelor with CSU to your Diploma from TAFE?
I’m getting a lot more out of the Bachelor degree. It expands on what I did at TAFE. There’s a lot more study involved and expectations are higher. It’s a very different type of study. With the Bachelor there are a lot more subject choices and I can tailor it to suit me and my work, which is really good. Last session I did accounting, which has helped me a lot and I found it really beneficial.
3. So you can choose the type of subjects you want?
Yes, when I started with CSU I was given a guide as to what subjects I should choose and I could choose which ones I wanted to do in each session. Some subjects have more assessments rather than exams – so I can choose subjects to suit my lifestyle. For example, over Christmas, I would choose subjects that are more essay-based rather than exams.
4. You’re halfway through your degree now – how do you feel about your decision to do it?
I like my job and it’s flexible, which is what I want at the moment with two young children, so the study isn’t necessarily about a new career for me. It’s about achieving something for myself. Sometimes when you have kids it’s easy to get wrapped up in what they’re doing and forget about yourself. And for me with small kids, studying gives me something else to focus on. At the moment it’s my driver for my career and I really enjoy it.
5. What has been the greatest challenge?
When I started the Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management)I had a one-year-old and a four-year-old. So it all happened at the same time – I returned to work, started studying and had two kids under five. So that was a challenge. But I really enjoy it. It can’t become a chore or something you dread, especially when you’re doing online study. You’ve got to enjoy it or it will be too easy to give up. I must admit I found this session a challenge because of one subject – statistics. At one point I was going to give up. But my husband said to me: “Are you going to let this one subject beat you? Let this one subject stop you from getting your degree?” And he was right. Now I don’t focus on the hard parts of statistics, I focus on getting the subject done. And I will get it done. Every subject that I complete I tick it off the calendar and I’m one step closer to having my degree.
6. Would you prefer online study or face-to-face?
I must admit for some subjects such as statistics I would prefer to have done face-to-face because I find it difficult. But overall I love the online element and in many ways it’s better than face-to-face because you can read when you want to read and you can focus on your strengths, rather than having to stick to a set curriculum and set pattern. And you can do it in your own time.
7. How computer savvy do you need to be to study online?
I don’t think you need to be computer savvy. I’ve never studied online before and I found it easy to navigate. In my first year at uni, I’d booked a holiday to Fiji and I had an online test to do during the holiday. I was nervous about it but I was able to do it from Fiji – so it’s been brilliant and worked out well for me.
8. How many hours do you have to set aside every week for study?
It depends. Some subjects I would do two hours most nights, so about 8 hours through the week and probably about four or five hours at the weekend. I think per subject you would need on average 10 hours per week. And generally I do two subjects per session. That would vary from person to person. I put a big effort in.
9. How do you find the lack of contact with other students?
With the forums you do have contact with students. With most subjects the students have set up a Facebook page so you have contact with students that way. I find that really helpful and whilst you’re not face-to-face you still have the chance to build relationships with other students. We throw exam tips at each other and if you need advice you post your question and someone will answer it.
10. What about contact with the lecturers?
For most subject you have once-a-week contact with them and you can contact them at any time on the forum. You can ring them too so you can get quite a lot of contact with them if you need it. Again it’s up to the individual how much contact they want.
11. What advice would you give to someone considering enrolling in an online course?
I would say enrol. Enrol now. It takes time management and you have to be organised, but it’s not as daunting as you think from the outside. Because of the support I got from CSU and the other students, it made it really manageable. I put it off for so long and once I finally got in there I thought – ‘why did I wait so long?’. It hasn’t really taken up that much of my life. Yes, I have to give up certain weekends around exam time, but I know it will be worth it. My advice would be don’t put it off any longer. Enquire about it, there’s always someone who will answer your questions and help you through the application process. I just called CSU and spoke to someone and they talked me through the whole lot. The application process was easy too.
If you’ve been holding back from further study, think again. Talk to CSU about how you can be supported to study online and achieve your goals. Check out CSU’s wide range of online courses here.