Strategies to manage stress and maintain academic success
Have you noticed how your moods affect your decision-making? Stress-inducing behaviours such as pulling an all-nighter to get that assignment in, isolating to cope with overwhelm, or not asking academics questions because it feels awkward are some of the ways we might trick ourselves into taking shortcuts when producing academic work that isn’t entirely our own.
Maintaining academic integrity through the tough times is an opportunity to develop your skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving. And fortunately, there are ways to recognise the signs of decision-making fatigue before you reach for that Red Bull at 2 am.
And if you’re not sure what Academic Integrity means for you, visit our website Academic Integrity for Students.
For Academic Integrity Awareness Week, we spoke with some of our academics, student leaders, and the Student Health and Wellbeing team to get across the issues and the strategies you can put in place to achieve success.
Nicole
Your calendar: Managing your time so you have enough time.
Nicole, second-year undergraduate studying a Bachelor of Computer Science:
“If you’re a uni student you probably also have a part time job, commitments to family, friends, or significant others, maybe a volunteering role; you’ve got a lot going on.”
“Sometimes all your assignments are going to be due on the same week, to just have that flexibility to move things around a bit can prevent much bigger fallouts. As for an effective strategy, for me it’s probably my Google Calendar – I just put everything in one place.
“Any opportunity to see where [your activities] are overlapping means you can look at the week ahead and know ‘oh no, I double booked myself, let me fix that now instead of next Tuesday when it’s too late.”
Indianna, third-year undergraduate studying a Bachelor of Psychology:
“I think the best thing is knowing your limits because your body needs rest. Having a calendar with all your responsibilities in it is great and personally good for me to know where my limits lie.
“So you can put in (the calendar) when you have your classes, external responsibilities, and I’ll even put in travel time to uni from home. If it can’t fit perfectly in the calendar, it means that you have applied yourself too much and to reduce your time. I try and make everything fit in the calendar and then I reduce it by about 20% and that’s how I can manage myself.”
Indianna
Get advice and feedback from student support services right here on campus
Jessica, CSEI lecturer and Academic Integrity Officer:
“If you go to a student support service like a GP, Counselling or Student Care, a note from them goes a long way - these services can advocate for you. If you need an extension or some modifications, request documentation from a service and present it to your instructor.”
“We know that sometimes students take shortcuts because they need to get something done, and it's fast to copy something from Chegg or AI. Often this is because they were in a highly stressful situation in their lives and they’ve just gone on auto-pilot to get the task completed. We would much rather have a chat with you, give you help, give an extension, etc, than have you risk academic integrity.”
Nicole:
“I can almost guarantee there’s a service at the university that can help. You’ve probably heard of the academic supports like the Maths Learning Centre, enrolment support and maybe counselling as well—but there’s also services like Student Care!”
Jessica
Ask your academics; the only bad question is an unasked one.
Jessica:
“Asking questions means that you are engaged. You won’t look silly – you’ll look smart. Just putting yourself out there and being proactive is highly valued by instructors.”
“The students that do well are the ones that make time to see their instructors. Some instructors are hard to catch, but you’re entitled to their time. All will have Office Hours available. The students who chat with me before and after class and send me emails about little things are the ones who do better - they refine their understanding of content and assignments”.
Indianna:
“On MyUni you can see who your course coordinators are, and they usually do post office hours there as well. So, you can double-check there, that’s the easiest way to find it. Also, if I ask a question on a discussion board it saves a lot of time down the line during exam season, so I recommend asking as many questions as you want.”
Jacqui from Student Health and Wellbeing
Make self-care a priority!
Jacqui, Senior Project Officer with the Student Health and Wellbeing Team:
“I’m sure we’ve all had the experience when you’re really tired and your decision-making has been a little bit off. If you’re not eating well, not sleeping well, perhaps you’re feeling isolated, not getting exercise, we tend to not feel our best and are therefore not in the best position to be making good decisions.
“You need to find the things that make you feel good. Eat the foods you really enjoy and find an exercise program that you like, whether it’s through one of our sports clubs, or walking the dog – finding healthy habits that work for you will put you in a better position to be able to engage well with your studies.”
Free, confidential support:
PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions)
Studiosity offers free after-hours online study help.
Counselling Support provide a free, confidential service that addresses issues affecting students’ study and life.
Disability Support give information and advice about how to negotiate a range of Reasonable Adjustments with academic staff. Including assignment extensions, alternative exam arrangements, and attendance.
Student Care is a free, confidential, and independent advocacy and welfare service. You can speak with an Education & Welfare Officer about issues affecting your studies and personal life. They can assist you with strategies to manage issues, referrals to specialists and student loans and grants.