This is the transcript for UTS Business School: General information
Dr Amanda White 0:00
Good morning everybody. And thank you for joining us here at UTS. Open Day 2021. My name is Dr Amanda White. I am the Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head Education in the Accounting Discipline Group. I am an Accountant as well. And I’m joined today by Jasmine who is a current student studying at UTS. Jasmine, what programs are you studying? You’re doing a double degree, right?
Jasmine – UTS Business School Student 0:27
Yeah, so I studied a Bachelor of Business, which I’ve actually finished because I’m in my fourth year. And my fourth year is comprised of finishing off my Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation.
Dr Amanda White 0:38
Which is a we’ll talk a little bit about the combined degrees later. But there is some fantastic work that comes out of BCII. And it’s one of our flagship programs. So if you’re interested, make sure you have some questions, you can put them in the Q&A for Jasmine, and she’ll be able to get to them later. So first off, we start all of our formal events with an Acknowledgement of Country. And I’d like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation upon whose ancestral lands our City Campus now stands. I would also like to pay respect to Elders past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for this land. I’d like to also acknowledge that I’m on Dharug country, here out in the Blacktown LGA today as well and for us at UTS is that Indigenous perspective of knowledge and history is really important to what we do, and learning from them and with them in how we can move forward.
So today, we’ve got a packed agenda within a half hour, 25 minutes remaining. I know there’s many other sessions you’re probably trying to get to today. So we’re going to talk about COVID-19, and how that’s affected our learning, ATARs, how we get into UTS and the different types of courses we have within the business school internships, opportunities, and international opportunities, and scholarships, as well. And I was sort of in a similar position to you, when I left high school, I was trying to figure out what university to go to – and I’m a UTS, graduate as well. So I did a Bachelor of Business. And then I did a PhD at the University of New South Wales. But I’m also registered as an Accountant, I have professional as well as academic experience.
And we know that 2020 and 2021 is not what we wanted it to be, especially with our students and online learning. But our priority is the safety and well being of our staff and our students at this time. So right now our campus is closed. Students who need to access the campus for their learning can do so. But we’re doing most of our activities remotely. And we’ve been working really hard over the last 18 months to provide engaging online experiences for students, and lots of support, in class time and outside of class time as well. So we have lots of specialists, online learning experts, one of those is myself. I am a 2020 National Teaching Award winner. So I was voted by my peers, as the best Academic in Australia in Business, Law and Economics in 2020. And part of that is the innovative approach that I bring to UTS and that I also pass on to all of my colleagues. So just know that we are able to shift and adjust quite quickly, even within one or two weeks notice of changes in situations. And we’re always focused on giving students safe options for their learning.
So how do you get into UTS, there is the traditional pathway of doing your HSC exams which are coming up, which have been extended or delayed until November 9 to get your ATAR, then there are extra points, games or adjustment points to create your selection rank that helps you get into UTS. And traditionally, this is probably one of the most common ways that students come into UTS. And if you studied any economics, the ATAR on the selection rank is simply of functionality of supply and demand.
So these are the selection ranks for our 2021 intake. Bachelor of Business – 86 Full Time. Part time is slightly higher; we have because we have a slightly smaller part time intake. We’ve got Economics, our Management, and a Bachelor of Accounting oh and also Bachelor of Economics. The Bachelor of Accounting doesn’t have an ATAR because it is an interview and assessment process. But we’ll talk more about that later.
Now, you might be thinking, oh gosh, I’m really stressed out about doing my HSC and I’m worried about sitting exams and having to wear a mask and you know my study time and your preparation has been certainly Through a huge process of upheaval, you would have had some of your learning in 2020, when you’re in your 11 online, some on campus or live and some online again in 2021. There are also extra adjustment points or bonus points available depending on which subjects you’re studying in your HSC and if you can get in the top one or two bands of those subjects, there are extra points to add to your ATAR. So if your ATAR was 80 and then you get top bands in some specific areas or the second band from the top, then you can get up to five extra ATAR points, which might be enough points to help you get into your program. And you can go to uts.edu.au/study-year-12-adjustment-factors or if you just search UTS adjustment factors ATAR, then you’ll be able to find that information and look at what subjects you’re doing and which ones can give you extra bonus points to add on to your ATAR. And you don’t need to apply for this, we can see what subjects you’ve done. And if you’ve put us as your first preference, we will automatically look at those subjects and add the bonus points.
Now another way to get bonus points, or a way to get into UTS is our cadetship scheme, I started as a cadet at what is now PriceWaterhouseCoopers. I was 18 going to university part time and working full time. So if you have been offered a cadetship or that type of traineeship program, then you might be able to get direct entry into UTS regardless of what your ATAR is. So you can apply for your cadetship after you’ve chosen your preferences in UAC. But when it comes time to receive an offer, you can write to us and then once we get to I think applications open today. But you’ll be able to say look, here is my contract that I’ve signed with PwC, Ernst and Young, Grant Thornton as a trainee. And you there’s a really strong possibility that that you’ll be offered a place at UTS without needing to worry about that ATAR as well. This is because we recognize that UTS is a real heart of the business community. And we are the number one choice for students in cadetships and traineeships because of our proximity, our flexibility and our linkages to the workplace. And that’s why I chose UTS probably, okay, probably more than 30 years ago. The reason I chose UTS is because it was closely aligned with industry and I needed that flexibility.
So what about students who have experienced long term disadvantage? We know that there are students out there, I’ve met a lot of our input students who have caring responsibilities, especially right now, if you’ve been supervising homeschool, for example, for your siblings, while your parents are essential workers, then for students who have experienced long term disadvantage, then there’s also the InpUTS scheme. When should you just Google UTS and InpUTS, and you can apply and you can get up to 10 extra bonus points to add to your ATAR to combine to create your selection rank. So check out the InpUTS scheme. And quite often, you’ll need some additional evidence from your school and other places but it’s really great to apply down this pathway and those students also get additional support here at UTS, when they come into campus, so they have a network and a buddy system as well, to help themselves feel supported.
Now we had a question about pathways. And there’s lots of different pathways into UTS. When I look at my current cohort, I teach a third year subject that has about 250 students in it. We have some of them that came in through the ATAR from Year 12. But there are students who came through UTS College, which is a private college owned by UTS. If you do one of their diplomas, and you achieve the minimum marks, you’ll be able to go straight into second year at UTS. We also have lots of people with TAFE diplomas. And so the question here was someone studied at a college and they’ve done a subject as well as a diploma program. And they’ve been doing a diploma in Marketing and Communications. But whether that would be an option to consider whether that specific diploma would allow you to get into UTS? That’s a really great question. And for that one, I would actually recommend contacting UTS directly. So you go to business@uts.edu.au; sending them an email with details of the program of the diploma that you’ve done, because we do accept TAFE diplomas. We also accept diplomas from other educational institutions as ways or pathways into UTS. And typically that’s, you know, you’ve done your HSC and you might go off and do a diploma. But if you’ve done one through your HSC, contact the business@uts email address business@uts.edu.au. And they’ll be able to help you figure that out.
All right, so what are our different course options, we have a Bachelor of Business, which is the one that Jasmine’s studying with her Creative Intelligence and Innovation. And so this is a broad based business degree where you study all of the major disciplines.
And then you get to choose a specialization or a major in one of those. And then eight other subjects, which you can do in a combination of a second major, sub-majors, sub-majors and electives, or electives. So there’s the most flexibility here in the Bachelor of Business, if you know you want to go into business, but you’re unsure of exactly what type of business you’re interested in.
For those people who might have very specific vision already for their careers, the Bachelor of Management is aimed at students who definitely want careers in experience industries. So when I say experience industries, that’s things like Events, Sport Management, Creative Enterprises. So there’s some very specific information for the Bachelor of Management and check out the other Bachelor of Management sessions today, to find out more about what’s in their specific programs.
They do a core, which is different from the Bachelor of Business core, it’s all about experience innovations, and being digitally creative. They have a major, and then again, they have another eight subjects for a major, two sub-majors, sub-major and electives or elective combination. So again, there are lots of flexibility for students who know that they want to go in wander into one of these experience type of industries after graduation.
Now, I loved High School economics and the Bachelor of Economics is a relatively new degree. It’s, it’s only a few years old, but really, really popular for those who love economics and think I’d love to go into economics, either in a public service role with the RBA, with a government agency, or into the private sector. We have Bachelor of Economics graduates working in economics departments at banks, and major financial institutions.
So you get a broad understanding of business. But with that focus on economics.
That focus on economics plays out in terms of 11 core subjects in economics. So then they have some economics electives, and business electives, as well as the options of a second major. So if you’re heavily into economics, this one is definitely for you. And it’s relatively new, but really, really popular and does a lot of the things that you might do in a Bachelor of Business in Economics, but even more specialization.
Now, for those people who are really keen on being Accountants hello to those people, that was me, when I was coming into Year 12. We also have the Bachelor of Accounting program, and this is a scholarship program.
So there’s no ATAR entry into this one. But these are people who know they want to build an accounting career in business, they want to be a Chief Financial Officer, or a financial controller as their career goal. It has nine core subjects, you must do the accounting major. And then you have options around majors, other majors and sub-majors. Plus, you do six months of professional internships. Now with the Bachelor of Accounting as well, they study and work pretty much all year round, they don’t get a summer break, because they’re usually doing other subjects. They cram essentially a four year degree into a three year period. And there’s only 35 students in this. Now, if you’re still keen on studying Accounting, but you don’t make it into the Bachelor of Accounting, we have lots and lots of students who do the Accounting major within the Bachelor of Business as well.
Now then we have combined degrees, there’s a huge range of combined degrees, you can check them all out on the UTS website. But Jasmine, you’re doing the BCII combined degree. What exactly is this Creative Intelligence and Innovation thing? What does that actually mean in terms of studying that as a separate degree?
Jasmine – UTS Business School Student 14:26
That’s definitely a mouthful of words. And it can be a little bit confusing, but essentially, Creative Intelligence and Innovation really teaches entrepreneurship and innovation kind of in a degree, which sounds like a really weird thing. But to give you an example, a lot of the work we do is based on client briefs. So a company will come to UTS; to the BCII, which is what we nicknamed Creative Intelligence and Innovation. They’ll come to the BCII faculty and they’ll pitch them a brief and I’ll ask the students to solve whatever business problem they’re having. And we will pitch it back to them as part of our assignments. It’s very hands on and it’s all about thinking about new ways of doing things, and coming up with innovations and starting up new businesses, which is a lot of what we learn.
Dr Amanda White 15:11
And the BCII also is multi, it’s transdisciplinary. So the students can’t do Creative Intelligence and Innovation on their own as a degree, they have to study it with something else. So in Jasmine’s cohort, there’ll be students from communications, nursing, science, IT, engineering, business, design and architecture. And so you get this really rich transdisciplinary approach to study. So we have lots and lots of combined degrees. And a lot of students also start in a combined degree and then realize after you’re like, oh, maybe I don’t like my combined degree. And you can also transfer into the single part of one of your degrees as well if you decide that a combined degree is not for you.
So there’s lots of different permutations and combinations when it comes to combine degrees, depending on what the combination is. Most common is the three plus two combined degree programs. There are a few four year combined degree programs in some of the four year combined degree programs, instead of getting two majors in business, you might only get one so that you’re not at university forever.
So what about internships? Internships are a really important way to get practical experience in your program. So that when you go to find a graduate job, you can say, hey, I’ve actually had some experience in this particular industry. And it helps you understand whether this is the right job for you.
And so a lot of students will do an internship and go, Oh, I thought I’d really like x; it’s not what I thought it would be, I need to shift my career focus. So internships help you get work ready, increase your employability, and at UTS, you can actually do internships in most of our programs as an elective subject.
So you find an internship, you go to your internship, and there’s a subject around it. But students often do internships also in the summer break. So those would be separate but UTS has virtual internship fairs, and lots of ways in which you can get an internship to add that experience component. So that’s a thing a lot of graduate students say; oh, gosh, okay, I’m looking for a job, they say we want some with someone with experience, an internship is a great way to get some of that experience. And you can do that across all of your business programs.
So what about international opportunities? Right now, we can’t go anywhere, because we’re all locked down. But for students starting now, who maybe are thinking of a couple of years in advance, a lot of students will use four electives in their subjects, or in their programs to spend a year, a semester sorry, overseas or doing an exchange program with an international opportunity. There are short term international opportunities as well, with things like BUiLD, which is usually short six week activities. And for students who really want to immerse themselves in another culture International Studies combined degrees means you spend a whole year overseas.
Now there’s also some scholarships available for academic excellence. There’s a $30,000 scholarship for the top ATAR student in our programs, the Bachelor of Accounting has its own special scholarships, and there are equity scholarships as well. So for students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, definitely check out the Scholarships page. In some years, we’ve had some scholarships go unawarded because nobody applied. So have a look through the scholarships and see what might be available to you.
Now Jas, what would be your top tip for students who are trying to figure out where am I going to study? And what top tip would you have for them for studying with us at UTS?
Jasmine – UTS Business School Student 18:48
Um, that’s a tough question. But I think the advice that I would give is something that my mum told me when I was choosing, and it was “follow your heart, but take your head with you”. So when you’re choosing your degree, think about what you’re going to enjoy, what you’re good at and what you think you might like to do. I know it’s really hard. When you’re like in Year 12, especially in times like these where everything’s so uncertain, it’s really hard to know what you want to do. And by all means, you don’t have to know by now I completely did not know when I was in year 12. But when you’re making your decision, just think about what’s something that you would enjoy if you had to start a degree tomorrow. And what’s something you think you’re good at? And if that; whatever it is, maybe it’s business at UTS, wherever it is. My top tip is definitely just when you’re making your decision, follow your heart but take your head with you.
Dr Amanda White 19:40
Hmm, that’s a great tip. I really love that saying there. And I know students will often feel a lot of parental pressure to go into a particular degree. Remember, this is you’re setting you up for your career. So this is not what you’re interested in. You know, think about that really carefully, but it’s also never too late to change. I’ve had students change degrees after a couple of years and switch into something else they really love
Now for more information, obviously, you can download our undergraduate business guide, I will get Erica to put that link in the chat. While I quickly answer one last question that has come up what happens if you don’t want to get if you don’t get the ATAR, but you still want to go into business. Um back on the earlier pathways access; things like UTS College are a great way to study at a UTS affiliated institution, complete the 18 month diploma there, and you’ll be able to come straight into the Bachelor of Business. Another really popular option is to do a Diploma or an Advanced Diploma at TAFE. in accounting, for example, and then those students will come in with mostly credits for their first year. And then they’ll be able to come into second year of the Bachelor of Business. So there’s lots of different pathways. Another one is also you might consider studying at another institution. So we have lots of students that might study at Western Sydney, Charles Sturt, University of New England, and then after one year, and you know, they’ve worked really hard, got really great scores there. They apply through UAC, to come into UTS, and they’ll come in in their second year of the program.
I want to thank everybody for today. We hope you have a really great day trying to find out more you can stay connected with us on Instagram, Facebook, and contact us directly by phone or via email if you have any questions.
So thank you very much everybody for coming. And for those people who are on Instagram and want to find out more about Accounting, I’ve put my Instagram details down there as well (@amandalovestoaudit). I talk a lot about what we’re doing here at UTS and tips for students on my Instagram. So we look forward hopefully to welcoming you to UTS really soon.