The new study spaces at the University of Wollongong’s Eurobodalla campus in Batemans Bay are available for Eurobodalla high school students to help them focus on their HSC preparations. Photo: Jaimey Facchin.
End-of-year school exams are stressful for everyone, but a regional university is trying to make it easier.
Jaimey Facchin, campus manager at the University of Wollongong’s Eurobodalla campus in Batemans Bay, said new study spaces were designed to give high school students a helping hand as they prepared for their HSC exams.
“Our university students can access this building 24/7 through swipe-card access,” she said.
“There’s often people in this building after business hours, so we thought we’d open it a couple of nights a week for high school kids.
‘They’ll have access to Wi-Fi, computers, group and quiet study spaces, snacks and HSC resources.”
The study spaces will be open from 3 pm to 7 pm from 30 August to 5 October.
“It will be like a revolving door – the students can come and go,” Ms Facchin said.
“If they have work at five and they want to come at 3 pm and leave at 4:30 pm, they can do that.”
Any year 12 student in the area can access the study spaces, regardless of whether they are part of the university’s Year 12 Future Me Program.
Ms Facchin said the facilities would be open for those just wanting to crack open the books, or for those needing space for themselves.
“Some high school students have pretty hectic lives outside of school; others have little siblings who run around and make noise,” she said.
“Others have parents who are home and there’s not really a quiet space for them to study.
“We just want to provide a safe and quiet space for students to help them do the best they can in the HSC.”
Additionally, the Eurobodalla Shire Council Library will have extended hours until 7 pm on Thursdays.
“A lot of the research shows that students cram study for the HSC, and typically they don’t really start studying until they’re six weeks out,” Ms Facchin said.
“We have offered the space for those six weeks prior because that’s when we think most of the students will engage with the space.”
Ms Facchin said the program would provide a dedicated space for students to study.
“We have a lot of opportunities, regionally, but our students don’t have the resources in comparison to their metropolitan peers,” she said.
“In the city, there’s internet cafes, dedicated study spaces, hot-desk-type offices that students can have a space in, there’s huge libraries and university campuses that students can access.
“The impact is hard to quantify, but we’ve identified that there is a need and the hope is that students find it beneficial.”
The hope was also that access to the study spaces would have more than an academic impact on the students, Ms Facchin said.
“There’s a lot of pressure around the HSC, and students feel a lot of pressure to perform well,” she said.
“Having a study space that is safe and quiet and comfortable can make a huge difference in them.”
UOW Eurobodalla is at Hanging Rock on Beach Road, Batemans Bay.
Further information on the Year 12 Future Me Program can be found on the University of Wollongong’s website.
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