Those of us in Health, Counselling and Disability Services and BetterU commonly talk about the impact that health, wellbeing and disability can have on an individual’s studies.

Accordingly, we seek to help students address the health or disability barriers getting in the way of them studying effectively.

But the relationship between health/wellbeing and study success is a bi-directional (two-way) relationship.

Our health can affect our studies, but also our success at study can affect our health.

Many students find the transition to University level academic work challenging. The quality of work required is high, often higher than that in high school, or other work settings. It only takes a few academic ‘failures’ to really put a dampener on the university experience and leave a student feeling out of their depth and worried.

There are however supports within the university to help you build the academic skills you need to study successfully.

The big players in that area are Student Learning Support Services. In fact, when it comes to academic support, they have swagger.

Here is a semi-formal description:

The Student Learning Support Service (SLSS) at Flinders University is the central hub for helping students build the academic skills they need to succeed at uni. Its focus isn’t just on getting students through individual assignments, but on developing confident, independent learners. SLSS offers support across key areas like academic writing, study strategies, referencing, critical thinking, and numeracy, using a mix of personalised help, structured learning, and self-paced resources.

Students can access SLSS in a few flexible ways. They can book one-on-one sessions with Learning Advisors for tailored guidance on assignments or study approaches, attend workshops or FLO modules to build specific skills, or explore a large library of online guides and videos at their own pace. There are also informal Learning Lounge spaces for drop-in support, along with 24/7 digital tools like Study Buddy and Feedback Buddy. Together, these options create a layered support system that meets students where they’re at and helps them progressively strengthen their learning skills over time.

The short version is there are people, programs and resources, provided by SLSS that can help you build the academic skills you need to survive and thrive at university.

 

Given that they provide quite a bit, what is the best way to interface with them?

You can obviously start by accessing their website and having a look around.

But I’d go with something a bit more proactive….

 

1️⃣ Make a list of the things you are finding difficult about study.

It could be:

“I don’t really understand what the assignment is asking me to do.”

“I’ve never written an essay like this before—how do I even start?”

“I’m spending hours studying but not sure if it’s actually effective.”

“I struggle to stay focused when I sit down to study.”

“Referencing is confusing—I don’t know if I’m doing it right.”

“I find it hard to read academic articles and know what’s important.”

“I leave things too late and end up rushing assignments.”

“I got feedback saying I need more critical thinking, but I don’t know what that means.”

 

2️⃣ Check the times and places that you can connect with a learning advisor

 

3️⃣ Sit down with one (f2f or online) and share your list

They can then guide the conversation on where to start and what of their resources and programs might be most useful

 

And booom! you’re started.

You can thank me later.

 

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