Our Getting Off To A Good Start Guide is a collection of tips and advice for new or returning students who want to start the year as best they can. Originally a print guide, it is now a series of interlinked blog posts that you can bookmark and return to at any point and resume reading. Living online, the guide is constantly updated. This section talks about the supports available to you and how to find them.
You may not realise it, but you are surrounded by services and programs within Flinders, in the community and online that can help with different problems.
Services at Flinders
Because Flinders is such a big community, often the support you need can be found at Flinders.
The starting point for getting support within Flinders is the Student Support Service Directory.
There you will find support services for different needs.
- health and wellbeing
- study and learning
- financial support
- enrolment and course
- admin and technology
- careers and employment
- security
- international students
- indigenous students
- HDR students
In addition, the team at Oasis also maintain a FLO topic called Oasis Online which is a growing repository of wellbeing focused services, programs, resources and groups from around the university.
Services in the community
If what you need can’t be found at Flinders, you might need to start looking into the broader community.
Navigating community services can be a little daunting but there are a few tools to help you out.
We’ve got an article on getting help in the community. We also keep track of the various phone and chat support services.
There is a great app/website for finding support services in the community called AskIzzy. A similar site focused on those struggling with the costs of living is Affordable SA.
And remember that if you connect with support people within the university (e.g. a counsellor, career advisor, financial counsellor) they can often recommend services in the community as well.
Online services
When it comes to mental health and wellbeing, Australia has a fantastic selection of online tools and programs.
In fact, we have so many that we need websites to specifically keep track of them.
One of those websites is Head to Health. The older version is a great catalogue of digital mental health resources. The newer version is more focused on the process of linking you to something that might help.
A more traditional catalogue of services/apps/website can be found at the eMHprac Mental Health Directory.
Lists of digital mental health resources, with specific populations in mind can be found at:
Recommendation 🟢
Bookmark this guide in your browser of choice so you can refer back to it if you are going through a tough time. It is a good jumping point to the many supports that are available.
Section reflection 🤔
Who are the main support people in your life? What kinds of support do they provide? Who are you a support person for?
Sections of the guide 📘
- Introduction
- Know your way around
- Getting off to a good start with your studies
- Know what is involved in being a successful student
- Allocate an appropriate amount of time to your studies
- Use evidence-based study techniques
- Use available services for study tips, writing and assignments
- Tackle procrastination directly
- Know your advocates
- Get off to a good start by looking after yourself
- Engage in self-care
- Ensure any known health or mental health conditions are being well managed
- Try not to isolate yourself
- Familiarise yourself with the support environment
- Further reading
- Final words