Te Kete Wānaka
Learning, Teaching and Library
Starting at University
It’s exciting to start at university. It will be different from your previous learning experiences. Let’s look at some common questions first year students ask.
Starting university is exciting, and also a bit daunting. Whether you’re coming straight from school or are coming back to study after a break, there’s a lot to get up to speed with.
Being at university means becoming an independent learner. This doesn’t mean always working alone - engaging with your lecturers and classmates is vital to your learning. It just means you are in charge of your time and that a lot of self-directed study is required.
At university, you set your study goals and plan out your weekly and semester time schedule. You decide how much time to spend engaging with online course resources each week. You decide when to start working on assessments. You decide how to attend class and how actively you participate in class discussions or forums. No one gives you the answers, you need to take an active role, ask questions and find the information you need. It can be a bit intimidating at first, but you are ready for this.
This page answers some common questions new students ask.
Each course has an expected workload of about 10-12 hours per week. For four courses that’s 40-50 hours a week. So, think of study as a full-time job.
Much of your study at university occurs outside the classroom. If you are a full-time student, you will probably spend 12 to 20 hours a week in class (ie lectures, workshops, tutorials, laboratories, studios or field trips), but you will spend more time on independent study. You need to prepare for lectures, read, research and write assessments. And then there will be discussions about material with fellow students, plus revising for tests and exams.
As more of your study occurs outside the classroom at university, knowing how to manage your time becomes very important. You are essentially “in charge” of your learning, responsible for deciding how and when you will study. That does not mean you have to learn all by yourself though – the teaching staff and other students will be involved in the learning process with you. Students who do well at uni are organised and plan each week and semester of study. Learning advisors can help with this.
Each course has its own Akoraka | Learn course page. These contain core course content, so regularly engaging with all resources on that page is essential. In Akoraka | Learn you will find:
- Course outlines with essential course information - learning outcomes, class schedule and class delivery format, assessment types and due dates and course support
- Course topic material to study - lecture slides, recordings, readings, videos, quizzes and other course learning material
- Assessment instructions and resources and upcoming test or exam information
- Forum communications from the course examiner or lecturer
- A link to the Learning and Information Skills module. This is compulsory for nearly all new students to Lincoln University and needs to be completed in your first semester of study
University study is not a passive activity. You will get much more out of it and the information will stick if you engage with your course. This includes:
- Working through preparation material before class.
- Actively participating in classroom discussions and online discussion forums.
- Choosing a note taking system that causes you to think about what you are hearing in class.
- Working through all learning resources on the Akoraka | Learn course page (eg required or recommended readings, videos, quizzes).
- Reviewing course material after class.
While you will be provided with core course information from the lecturer (eg key topic concepts, theories, frameworks etc), you will be expected to do reading and come to conclusions of your own. Your lecturers and tutors won’t necessarily tell you the “correct” answer (at times there may not even be a “right” answer!) or give you all the information you need. It’s up to you to read, think and discuss with others.
If you are not used to classes of up to 200 students, attending your first lecture can feel daunting. However, everyone’s in the same boat, and you will soon get used to lectures.
There is a variety of classes at university, not just lectures. At Lincoln University, you can expect some or all of:
- Lectures
- Workshops
- Tutorials
- Laboratories
- Studios
- Field trips
- On-line learning.
For some courses, classes may even be “flipped”, where you work through course content before class and the class is used for interactive activities on the topic.
Types of assessments vary from one course to another. In some courses, you may only have a few large assessments (perhaps a report or an essay or another kind of large project) during the semester. In others, you may have more regular assessment such as weekly reports, tutorial exercises or quizzes.
Evidence of critical thinking will be required in written assessments.
You’ll be expected to read widely – not just the textbook or course readings. Good information searching skills are very important if you are going to find a wide range of resources
Referencing (acknowledging the sources you have read and used in your assessment) is extremely important.
You have many resources available at Lincoln University to help you develop the skills you need to be successful in your studies, including workshops and one to one appointments. Use them to your advantage, you won’t regret it.
Assessments that contribute to your final grade are worth a particular percentage, called a weighting, of your overall course grade.
You can find this information in your Course Outline in the Assessments section (another reason why Course Outlines are so important to read and take note of).
Here’s an example.
|
Assessment |
Weighting |
Due date |
Learning Outcomes covered |
|
Quizzes x 5 @ 2% each |
10% |
|
LO1, LO2, LO3 |
|
Mid term test |
20% |
|
LO2, LO3 |
|
Report |
30% |
|
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
|
Final Exam |
40% |
|
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
|
Total |
100% |
|
|
The weighting tells you how much each assessment contributes to your final grade, and you can use this to work out how you are going in the course.
For example, you have a report worth 30% of your final grade.
- If you get a mark of 50% for your report, you will have 15 marks towards your final grade (15 is 50% of 30, which is the weighting for the report).
- But if you get a mark of 75% for the report, you will have 22.5 marks towards your final grade (22.5 is 75% of 30).
Now, let’s say you got 50% in the report and:
You got 80% as your mark for the test. This gives you 16 out of the possible 20 marks towards your final grade that is available from the test (16 is 80% of 20).
You smashed the quizzes over the semester, getting more than 80% in each one. They are weighted at 2% each – you can do the maths, or just roughly estimate you’ve got around 8.5-9 out of 10 possible marks for the quizzes.
This means that going into the final exam, you have just under 40% (out of a possible 60% so far) towards your final grade already (15 + 16 + 8.5-9).
Lots of courses need you to get over 40% or 50% in the final exam, so if you do that, you’ll pass this course.
Using the assessment weighting information to know where you are at can help you plan for future assessment and give you confidence you are going well, or a nudge to improve your work to get the grade you want. Book an appointment with a Learning Advisor if you want advice around how to improve your work and grades.
You can check your marks to date for most courses in Akoraka | Learn by clicking on the drop down menu next to your name at the top right of Akoraka | Learn and clicking Grades, or by going to Keteparaha | Toolbox on the right-hand side of the Home page and clicking on the My Grades tile.
Using this and the information above will help you work out where you are at and what you need to do to get your desired grades in your courses.
Academic Integrity is an important part of university study. It’s up to you to learn what is expected when studying at Lincoln University and understand what academic integrity means in practice. It’s not just about cheating but about taking the right approach to study with a goal to learn and develop your skills.
There’s a lot of talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and it’s an exciting new tool. There are limits around how it can be used at uni though. Again, it’s about taking the right approach to study. Read through our AI and assessments information to get a feel for the limits of AI in academic study and talk to a helpful learning advisor if at all unsure.
Lecturers all have offices on campus where you can go to see them. Some lecturers have office hours where you can ask questions in-person or online. Others might want you to email them first to make an appointment. You can also post to Q & A forums on the Akoraka | Learn course page, give them a call, send questions by email or talk to them immediately before or after a class. It is really helpful if you are very specific in your communication. Introduce yourself, state the course you are asking about and the specific aspect you have a question about.
You will probably find you get less feedback on your progress than you did at school. Some lecturers will give you individual feedback on assessments and others will give whole class feedback. Make sure you access this feedback. By asking lecturers and tutors questions and taking their feedback on board, you will quickly develop your knowledge and skills. Try not to be sensitive about feedback from markers, and even worse, don’t avoid reading feedback altogether. Use feedback as a way to get better faster and seek feedback by asking specific questions.
Watch this short video on reflecting on academic feedback.
What do I do if I need help?
Ask. Successful students ask when they are unsure or a bit confused about something. It's important to ask for help as soon as possible. Don’t feel uncomfortable about it. You can talk to your lecturer, tutor or a learning advisor for advice.
Get Individual Advice
Talk to a learning advisor or attend one of our workshops for help with your study.
