Indigenous academic success

Indigenous tutorial network (ITN)

The ITN provides tutorial services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled at Deakin. The ITN program is funded by the Indigenous student success program (ISSP) within the National Indigenous Australians Agency. We use the funds to employ qualified tutors to provide academic support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled at Deakin.

Student information

Available support

Academic writing skills
Referencing support
Assessment planning
Content-specific feedback on assessment
Consolidating understanding of unit content material

Tutorial support does not include:

Writing or directly editing students work
Assessing work
Advocacy on student’s behalf

Tutors can be arranged for online sessions, on-campus sessions or in your local community..

Eligibility

Identify as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person
Be enrolled in a recognised course or unit at Deakin University

How to apply

You will need to apply for a tutor for each unit you require support for – every trimester.

*If your course is not in the trimester format, other provisions shall be made.

ITN Student request form

Tutor information

What does tutoring involve?

Coaching academic skills

Provide advice on sentence and paragraph structures.
Provide advice on assessment structure (for example, essays, literature review, or memorandum).
Provide advice on referencing and paraphrasing.
Help break down assessment task questions by referring back to the assessment task rubric.
Support developing plans to complete assessment tasks on time.

Engagement with unit content

Check-in with student’s progression with unit materials and access to online resources.
Consolidate student's understanding of unit content.
If there is confusion around unit content, defer the student to the lecturer for advice.

Using relevant resources

Use up-to-date resources as reference material in tutoring sessions. For example, the Deakin referencing guides or the guides to academic writing skills.

What is not in your role?

Undertaking research for the student.
Editing or rewriting student work (providing feedback through comments is acceptable).
Typing draft essays.
Any other activity that could reasonably be conducted by the student or that could compromise the originality of the student’s work.

How much work is available?

The ITN tutor role is a highly casual role. This is because ITN allocates 2 hours per unit per week. The reason for this is that students may work with different tutors depending on the different skills and disciplines they would like support with. As a program, we are also reliant on student requests and engagement. Student engagement can fluctuate based on factors, such as enrolment, assessments, personal situations and university changes.

Tutors may work with one or multiple students, depending on the tutor's capacity to take on students and the number of students looking for tutors.

How are bookings managed?

There are two types of tutoring in the ITN: intensive tutoring and non-intensive tutoring. Most of the tutoring that happens is non-intensive tutoring. These are connections that are made through the student learning coordinator and are one-to-one tutoring relationships. Non-intensive tutoring bookings are managed through the tutor and the student. Intensive tutoring refers to tutoring organised during NIKERI Institute intensives. To support the learning during an intensive, the student learning coordinator will contact local tutors, with related disciplines to be available during the intensive week.

How to apply

Complete the ITN Tutor Application form

Forms and links

Academic support officer

The academic support officer will guide you to develop the necessary study skills to excel in your course. They will help you prepare for assessments as well as further develop your abilities to write, plan, take effective notes and remember important details. They can also be a point of contact to refer you to other services provided by Deakin to help you to reach your academic goals.

With the support of the academic support officer, you can:

Understand your assessment tasks.
Gain feedback to help you plan, write and revise your work.
Develop strategies to help you improve and develop your study skills.

You can sign up for one-on-one, small group sessions or attend workshops on areas of need that have been selected by your lecturers.

There are four ways you can make the most out of your time with the academic support officer:

Bring or send your assignment question and your draft so far (if you’ve have one). It doesn’t matter what stage you are up to!
Bring or send your unit guide and any assessment instructions.
Decide which section of your work you want to focus on, such as referencing, assessment structure or finding the right information.
Make a list of questions you have about your assignment.

You can contact the academic support officer by email or book a session below.

BOOK A SESSION

Deakin academic support

Deakin offers several academic support services for students, which include:

Maths tutors.
HDR.
Academic skills guides.
30 minute Skype appointments with language and learning advisers.
Writing and maths mentors.
24-hour response to referencing and quick study skills tips.
24-hour/7 days a week service for online tutoring.

For more information, please visit academic support.

Call
(03) 5227 3803
Email
itn@deakin.edu.au