This questionnaire is part of a DEET funded project to try and establish a link between the services available on campus at James Cook University and particular academic outcomes. You, as a former student, are a key source of information for us on this topic. We are interested in your experience with services, the impact you believe that usage of services may or may not have had on your academic achievements or your decision to withdraw from study, and any gaps you may have noticed in the area of service provision

Your participation is voluntary and you are under no obligation to complete the questionnaire. We would however very much appreciate your time to complete the questionnaire, as the information obtained will help us to make the services better suit student needs.

I you have any queries about the project, please call Ms Carmen Germain on (077) 815662.

When you have completed the questionnaire please place it in the postage paid envelope provided and send it back to James Cook University. If you wish to receive a written summary of findings from this study, please provide an address on the form provided and place this in with your completed questionnaire.

Dr Jenny Promnitz
Director of Counselling
Co-ordinator Student Services

1. What degree were you enrolled in at James Cook University?

Degree:

Major:

2. How much of the degree had you completed when you withdrew?

3. Are you ? female male

4. Do you intend returning to tertiary study at some stage? yes no

If yes, what degree will you enrol in?

5. Is your 1995 withdrawal the first time you had considered such course of action?

yes no

If no, please explain why you did not actually withdraw previously.

6. What was you T.E. or O.P. score when you entered university?

Please rate the how important the following factors were in your decision to withdraw:

A. Employment

B. Academic Preparedness

not important very important

My study skills (e.g. preparation for tests/exams, essay writing, note- taking etc) were not satisfactory.	1	2	3	4	5
I had difficulties organising my study time.	1	2	3	4	5
I couldn’t keep up with the other students in my course.	1	2	3	4	5
I lacked important prerequisite knowledge and found I couldn’t cope with the course content.	1	2	3	4	5
My maths background was insufficient to cope with the course.	1	2	3	4	5
I was ‘burnt out’ by the effort of qualifying for entry.	1	2	3	4	5
The course was not as described in the pre-course information.	1	2	3	4	5
I had been out of school for too long and things were much harder than I thought.	1	2	3	4	5
The transition from secondary school to university was more significant than I thought.	1	2	3	4	5
Other factors related to academic preparedness. Please specify:	1	2	3	4	5

C. Course

I didn’t find the course interesting.	1	2	3	4	5
I only wanted/needed to do part of the course.	1	2	3	4	5
I didn’t get on well with other students in my course.	1	2	3	4	5
I didn’t get on well with the teachers in my course.	1	2	3	4	5
The course lacked relevance to my plans.	1	2	3	4	5
I found the course too difficult.	1	2	3	4	5
The course was not what it appeared to be in the pre-course information.	1	2	3	4	5
I was dissatisfied with the course teaching.	1	2	3	4	5
The teachers gave me too little encouragement or assistance.	1	2	3	4	5
The course was not my first choice.	1	2	3	4	5
I was unable to obtain extra help with the course.	1	2	3	4	5
The workload was too heavy.	1	2	3	4	5
I discovered there were no job opportunities in this field.	1	2	3	4	5
I thought I was going to fail.	1	2	3	4	5
The course was irrelevant to my current employment.	1	2	3	4	5
I only needed some subjects to help me in my job.	1	2	3	4	5
I had a problem understanding verbal and written English.	1	2	3	4	5
Other course related factors, please specify.	1	2	3	4	5

D. Institution

The university environment felt unfriendly and impersonal.	1	2	3	4	5
There was little encouragement or enthusiasm for learning at JCU.	1	2	3	4	5
In general, teaching room conditions (e.g. cooling, furniture, general atmosphere) were not pleasant for learning.	1	2	3	4	5
Campus activities were too distracting.	1	2	3	4	5
There was nothing very interesting to do on or around the campus.	1	2	3	4	5
The institution was not geared to meet my special needs.	1	2	3	4	5
The institution was too inflexible in its administration arrangements (time tabling, course structure, course requirements etc).	1	2	3	4	5
I felt different and unwelcome because of my background.	1	2	3	4	5
Student facilities on campus (e.g. canteen, student union, student services) were poor.	1	2	3	4	5
Academic resources (e.g. library, computer centre, laboratories, equipment) were inadequate.	1	2	3	4	5
Administrative staff seemed uncaring or disinterested.	1	2	3	4	5
Teaching staff seemed uncaring or disinterested.	1	2	3	4	5
There lacked student counselling facilities to help with my problems.	1	2	3	4	5
There was insufficient information given on the course prior to the start of the academic year.	1	2	3	4	5
If I had known the workload beforehand, I may not have enrolled.	1	2	3	4	5
Other factors related to the institution. Please specify:	1	2	3	4	5

E. Distance/Remoteness

Living away from home, I felt isolated from familiar people and places.	1	2	3	4	5
I couldn’t afford travel or phone home as often as I would have liked.	1	2	3	4	5
I couldn’t get over feelings of home-sickness, being away from home.	1	2	3	4	5
It was very hard getting used to a different lifestyle from the one I had at home.	1	2	3	4	5
I couldn’t find suitable accommodation on or near the campus.	1	2	3	4	5
Travel problems caused financial burdens.	1	2	3	4	5
Other factors related to having to live a long way from home. Please specify:	1	2	3	4	5

F. Family

There was too much pressure from my parents to study.	1	2	3	4	5
I felt a lack of freedom and independence in living at home.	1	2	3	4	5
My family didn’t appreciate the demands of my course.	1	2	3	4	5
There was a lack of interest in and encouragement for my studies from parents, relatives or partner.	1	2	3	4	5
I had difficulties with juggling family commitments (e.g. child care, general household duties) and study demands.	1	2	3	4	5
I needed to get away from the family home to establish my own independence.	1	2	3	4	5
There were problems in arranging babysitting/child care to enable attendance at university.	1	2	3	4	5
There was interruption to or distraction from my study because of needs/demands of family members.	1	2	3	4	5
I felt different and unwelcome because of my background.	1	2	3	4	5
I became pregnant during my course.	1	2	3	4	5
Tertiary studies led me to challenge family attitudes.	1	2	3	4	5
There was other tension or conflict within my family.	1	2	3	4	5
I could not juggle family, job and study.	1	2	3	4	5
Other factors related to family, please specify:	1	2	3	4	5

G. Health

I felt depressed and lonely at JCU.	1	2	3	4	5
Conflict or tension in my home environment affected my physical and/or mental health.	1	2	3	4	5
I had to help care for a sick relative/friend which left me little time to study.	1	2	3	4	5
I felt stressed and worried about my progress in my course.	1	2	3	4	5
I felt overworked and exhausted in coping with my course.	1	2	3	4	5
I became ill trying to combine work and study.	1	2	3	4	5
A health condition developed or worsened during the year and I had to withdraw from study.	1	2	3	4	5
My physical health suffered because of a poor diet.	1	2	3	4	5
I became pregnant and it interfered with my studies.	1	2	3	4	5
I felt there were insufficient facilities for disabled persons and this caused me physical access problems.	1	2	3	4	5
Other factors related to health. Please specify:	1	2	3	4	5

H. Personal

I needed a break from study to think about my life and where I was going.		1		2		3		4		5
I was tired of studying.		1		2		3		4		5
I didn’t like being a student.		1		2		3		4		5
I decided to work full-time so I could afford the things in life I wanted.		1		2		3		4		5
I changed my career plans so my course was no longer relevant.		1		2		3		4		5
I changed my immediate life plans and study was no longer necessary.		1		2		3		4		5
I had doubts about the value of the course I was doing.		1		2		3		4		5
I thought I was going to fail.		1		2		3		4		5
Withdrawing was the only way of resolving the conflicts that being a student created in my life.		1		2		3		4		5
A close personal friend decided to withdraw and I followed suit.		1		2		3		4		5
I never really wanted to continue studying.		1		2		3		4		5
Other factors related to personal decisions. Please specify:		1		2		3		4		5

I. Finance

I couldn’t earn enough through part-time work to pay for living expenses, rent etc.	1	2	3	4	5
The difference between my background and that of other students was emphasised by lack of money.	1	2	3	4	5
I couldn’t get a part-time job so I couldn’t afford to continue studying.	1	2	3	4	5
I was always worried about having enough money to get by from week to week.	1	2	3	4	5
I hated not having enough money to keep up with other students/friends.	1	2	3	4	5
I had a major unexpected expense (eg. medical bills, expensive repairs to car/bike, rent increase, expensive texts/equipment) which I couldn’t meet. I didn’t get Austudy/Abstudy, so I wasn’t able to continue with my studies.	1	2	3	4	5
My Austudy/Abstudy allowance was inadequate.	1	2	3	4	5
By the time my first Austudy/Abstudy payment arrived, my financial problems had become too great.	1	2	3	4	5
Payments of Austudy/Abstudy were too erratic to rely on.	1	2	3	4	5
I lost Austudy/Abstudy.	1	2	3	4	5
I didn’t like being dependent on my parents for money, so I decided to work instead of studying.	1	2	3	4	5
I wanted a more comfortable lifestyle, so I decided to leave study and get a job.	1	2	3	4	5
I underestimated the expenses involved in living away from home.	1	2	3	4	5
I had to leave study and get a full-time job to support my family.	1	2	3	4	5
I lost my means of financial support.	1	2	3	4	5
I lost my job and couldn’t afford to continue.	1	2	3	4	5
My spouse/partner lost their job and I couldn’t afford to continue.	1	2	3	4	5
Other factors related to finance. Please specify:	1	2	3	4	5

J. Accommodation

If you were living at home when you were studying, please respond to Question (i).

If you lived away from home when you were studying, please go to Question (ii).

(i) Accommodation at home

There was too much pressure from parents to study.	1	2	3	4	5
I felt a lack of freedom and independence in living at home.	1	2	3	4	5
My family didn’t appreciate the demands of my course.	1	2	3	4	5
I had inadequate study facilities at home (e.g. lack of quiet, unsuitable desk/seating, shared room with brother/sister).	1	2	3	4	5
There was tension/ conflict with my family.	1	2	3	4	5
Other factors related to accommodation. Please specify	1	2	3	4	5

(ii) Accommodation away from home

There was a lack of quietness for study in shared housing.	1	2	3	4	5
There was tension/conflict with or among people with whom I shared accommodation.	1	2	3	4	5
I had inadequate study facilities (e.g. poor lighting; unsuitable desk/chair; poor cooling).	1	2	3	4	5
There was a lack of cooperation in house-keeping duties in shared student house.	1	2	3	4	5
There was too much loneliness in university residential accommodation.	1	2	3	4	5
There were too many distractions from study in student residential accommodation.	1	2	3	4	5
The time needed to shop, cook, carry out household duties etc. interfered with study.	1	2	3	4	5
I needed to change accommodation during term.	1	2	3	4	5
Other factors related to accommodation away from home. Please specify:	1	2	3	4	5

Please rank the following broad factors from 1 to 11, in order of importance, as they influenced your decision to withdraw.

Where 1 = the most important factor

and 11 = the least important factor

Rank Factor

• Employment
• Academic preparedness
• Course
• Institution
• Accommodation
• Distance/Remoteness
• Finance
• Family
• Health
• Personal
• Chance event

1. Please explain if there were ways in which the university, or services at the university could have helped you to stay at university.

2. Please tick any of the following services which you did use while a student at James Cook Uni.

	Counselling		Student Loans
	Study Skills		Union Education Service
	Careers Centre		Fitness Centre
	Accommodation		Sporting Facilities
	Disability Services		Medical Services
	International Student Support		Student Employment
	Student Equity		Union Shop
	HECS Office		Bookshop
	Union Welfare Services		Transportation Services

3. What is your first language?

4. Age (years)

5. Did you come to university in the year following completion of Grade 12? yes no

If no, how many years is it since you performed academic study?

6. Are you a permanent resident in Australia? yes no

7. Are you an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander? yes no

Thank you for your time and cooperation.