News Archive

With the Co-op bookshop, the Oak Lawn and Rocket Fuel coffee gathered around the Guild Village, students now have almost everything they need in one place.

This time next year, their final needs will be met.

The new Student Services Precinct is a $6 million revamp and regrouping of many services the University provides for students, in one place.

From early next year, the Precinct will bring together Student Support Services, Student Administration, the Admissions Centre and the International Centre.

"This area, with the Guild Village on one side and the Oak Lawn on the other, is where all the students congregate - thousands of them every day," said Jon Stubbs, Director of Student Services, and the man behind the grand plan. "So it makes sense to bring the services here rather than having them scattered across the campus."

His dream of a one stop shop for all student services on the Crawley campus was cut short by the global financial crisis in 2008.

Instead of the $20 million plan for all services to be in one place and served by smart technology, with offices and service areas linked by roofed courtyards for the comfort of students, the redevelopment was scaled down.

It leaves the Graduate Research and Scholarships office at the north end of the campus and the Centre for English Language Teaching on the Nedlands campus.

But the current building program in and around the social sciences buildings will still result in a much better outcome for students and much better working conditions for staff.

Although the courtyards between and within the buildings will not be roofed, they will be on the same level as the internal spaces, providing good access for students with disabilities or those wheeling prams and creating a pleasant and welcoming flow from one area to another.

The other three departments are currently in Hackett Hall, all of them crowded as staff numbers have outgrown accommodation. Their move further south to the new centre will also help to relieve crowded conditions in Graduate Research and Scholarships, also in Hackett Hall.

The medical centre, in the Guild Village, has been refurbished and is close enough to provide a convenient link to other student services.

Mr Stubbs hopes eventually to include smart technology in the Precinct.

"Students do like face to face contact with staff, but they don't want to stand in a queue waiting for that contact.  They want to be able to go to the bookshop or get a coffee and know they won't lose their place in the queue, because the system will send a message to their phones when their turn is coming up.

"Or if they do choose to wait in a queue, we would like to be able to inform and entertain them with digital content on screens that can keep them updated with news services, information about university courses and services, with a running tape telling them where they are in the queue.

"Students also want to be sure that when they reach the head of the queue, they will be talking to somebody who can help them. A self-serve digital system which asks a few questions of students before they join a queue would help enormously.

"Such a system would also benefit the institution: we would know how many people had come to the Precinct, how long they had to wait, if we had the resources to help them, and whether they were satisfied in just one visit."

While UWA will have to wait for these technologies, the staff in the Precinct will be trained and ‘user-friendly' to make the student's experiences as good as possible.

Building is expected to be complete by December.  With the services to be housed there typically very busy over December and January with enrolments, the occupation will be staged over the early part of 2015.

The paperbark trees in the internal Social Sciences courtyard were removed to allow the courtyard to be used for a wider range of activities, including reception events. One tree has also been removed from the southern courtyard so that the ground level can be raised to ensure smooth access between sections.