Academic Essentials

Library

Visit the Library website to learn about services, and to discover books, e-books, online journal articles, videos and more via One Search. Browse or search the subject LibGuides for essential information and resources relevant to your study areas. Check out the Top Library Tips videos, information on referencing and take the Info Skills Road Trip to learn more about how to find and use research information at university. See also Library Services for Off Campus Students.

The Learning Centre

The Learning Centre is located at the Townsville and Cairns campus libraries and is your one-stop-shop for academic assistance, support and advice. There are a range of resources to assist in Getting Started which will help you manage your time efficiently (PDF, 244 KB) and discover active learning strategies to help with your studies.

The Learning Centre also offers access to short course booklets and a wide range of resources to help with assignments, skills to develop your English, maths and statistics, and exams.  You can also contact a Learning Advisor.

See also:

• PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions)
• Postgraduate Students Resources

First Year Experience Coordinators

Every course at JCU has a designated First Year Experience Coordinator who is an academic staff member that teaches commencing students and understands the challenges that new students often face when transitioning into university.   These coordinators can help provide advice about your course, support service referrals, and strategies for success in your studies.

College Student Support Officers

The College Student Support Officers can help you succeed at university by acting as the first point of contact to help manage your study load and access support services.

The contact details for the College Student Support officers can be located via the following link under the Student Support Officers menu.

LearnJCU

LearnJCU is the online teaching and learning space for everything to do with your subject(s), including:

• Subject outlines
• Assessment information
• Staff contact details
• Subject reading and lecture materials
• Collaboration tools
• Discussion forums, and
• Assignment submissions.

You can access subject information in LearnJCU up to two weeks before the start of the teaching period.

Access LearnJCU from the Students drop-down menu at the top of the JCU website homepage or download the Blackboard Mobile Learn app for your mobile device. Use your JCU username and password to log in.

Lecturers often make their subject sites unavailable in LearnJCU prior to the start of study period so they can update the subject materials. Don’t panic if your subject information doesn’t appear, it will re-appear in a day or so.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a fundamental principle in universities and new students must learn how to integrate the work of experts into their own and apply the correct academic referencing style for each subject.

Students must show the source of all the ideas and information they use in their assessment items, and must not submit someone else’s work as their own. This is plagiarism and the penalties at university can be severe. Academic staff use electronic tools to detect plagiarism in student work.

The Learning Centre and the Library offer online modules and workshops about academic writing and referencing.