Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS)
What is ITAS?
The Koori Centre facilitates the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS) for Indigenous students at The University of Sydney. ITAS is an academic support initiative of the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), which aims to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous Australian students. DEST funding covers the costs associated with providing tutors, and there is no charge to the students themselves.
To be eligible:
A student must:
- Be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, and
- Identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and
- Be accepted as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in the community in which he/she lives or has lived.
A student must be enrolled, full time, part time, or by any mode of distance education, in a formal course of study leading to a certificate, diploma, degree, or other qualification, at The University of Sydney, or be accepted for enrolment in a course that commences within one month of lodging an application for assistance.
How to apply:
Applications are available from the Koori Centre website, and through the ITAS Administration Officer. Applications are submitted directly to the University, at either the Koori Centre on the main campus, Yooroang Garang on the Lidcombe campus and with student administration on regional campuses.
How it works:
Once the application has been lodged, an assessment is made of the student’s needs. This is done by Koori Centre lecturers or course coordinators, where possible, or by a counsellor or another appropriate staff member. In exceptional circumstances, an independent assessor may be engaged to provide the assessment, but this must not be an existing or potential tutor.
Successful applicants are then matched, by the ITAS Coordinator, with tutors who have skills, knowledge and expertise of the chosen discipline in which tutoring is required.
The ITAS Administrator then arranges a meeting between the student and tutor, when meeting face-to-face is not possible, telephone and email are used for tutor/student communication. In the first meeting, sessions are negotiated for (in the first instance) a maximum of 4 hours per week.
The ITAS Administrator maintains constant contact with both student and tutor to gather feedback and progress up-dates. Any concerns that students or tutors may have, should be raised with the Administrator.
Please remember:
ITAS has been established to assist Indigenous students in achieving the best possible outcomes in their courses. Students often think tutoring support is only there to be used when they are really struggling with their studies, but in fact, it is available to all Indigenous Australian students enrolled at the Uni, at any stage of their course, whether they are studying part-time, full-time, on a reduced load or by block-mode.
Please read through the information sheets provided and don’t hesitate to contact the ITAS Administrator if you have any questions.
Tutors:
If you are interested in becoming an ITAS tutor, please complete the Tutor Application Form and return to the ITAS Administrator at the address below.
Current ITAS tutors can download pay claim forms and associated information from this page. Please note the cut-off dates for pay weeks.
Contact Details
Freda Hammond- ITAS Coordinator
Koori Centre
Old Teachers College A22
Manning Rd
University of Sydney NSW 2006
Phone: (02) 9351 5177
Toll Free: 1800 622 742
Fax: (02) 9351 6923
Email: itas@koori.usyd.edu.au