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Free - First 4 Units of The Diploma of Sustainable Living (Includes Science of Gardening) at UTAS Online

1500

Similar deal to the one last time.
All students will receive a UTAS email address.
Enrolments for the next intake close on the 14th of June 2019.


Diploma of Sustainable Living (8 units in total)
The Diploma of Sustainable Living allows you to pursue a passion for sustainability, in whatever that means for you, through a range of exciting, multi-disciplinary study options.

  • The first four units you study as part of the Diploma of Sustainable Living will be receive a 100% HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) scholarship. This means the entire cost of the first four units is covered by a scholarship. You can withdraw from the Diploma after completing the first 4 free units.

  • As per surtr's comment below, "the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) - approximately $45.45 per unit in 2019 - is waived for the first four units studied under the Diploma of Sustainable Living"

  • The second four units you study to complete the Diploma of Sustainable Living will receive a 50% HECS scholarship.

  • Example of usual cost: KPZ001 Science of Gardening - Foundation Unit is normally $1,169.00 (CSP Student Contribution) / $2,200.00 (Full Fee Paying - Domestic)

  • If you need any extra info, UTAS are responding to questions on this facebook post.

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University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania

closed Comments

  • +10

    Thanks OP. Great course to get a student email address :)

    • +12

      As well as the office 365 for 5 devices and 4tb of OneDrive storage. Also a free copy of windows 10 education with the email through onthehub.

      • How do you get 4TB of OneDrive Storage?

        • It comes with the .edu email.

    • Keep in mind the UTAS email addresses expire (posted by others)

      • If you graduate, you keep the email. :-)

        "A lifelong email address will be made available to all graduates of the University of Tasmania from early 2015. New graduates will have automatic ongoing access to their email account. Graduates pre-2014 will need to apply for an account. For more information or to apply for an account email the Alumni Relations Office."

        http://www.utas.edu.au/alumni/services-and-benefits

        • So you have to pay for the extra units and pass them/full course to get the email address ie, no free lifelong email address

          • @daydream: Yes, that's correct, you have to graduate from your course. From the UTAS website "Ask Us" section:

            I've finished my studies, can I still access my university email?

            If you have finished studying but are not graduating from an award, you will have access to your email for 12 months after your last enrolment.

            If you have graduated from an award since 2015, you will have lifelong access to your UTAS email account. Visit the Alumni homepage for more information.

            If you graduated pre-2015, contact the Alumni Office at [email protected].

  • +10

    A further three free units are also available: "The first four units studied as part of the Diploma of Sustainable Living will be receive a 100% HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) scholarship."

    • +24

      And the final four are at a 50% discount. The closest thing my generation will get to a free university education!

      • +4

        Gough Whitlam is turning in his grave.

      • +1

        Lol

        100% hecs? Who's paying the fee? If it's the gov then UTAS is going to make alot of money

  • +1

    what to learn in this course?

  • +1

    No language requirements !.

  • Should come with free Office 365 for a few years too.

  • +2

    I don't get it, you get the email but then you need to apply for it and pay too? Where's the free part? Also what happen if you don't do the online training? You'll lose the email for sure?

    • Nope.

      I finished my degree 2 years ago, and I still have access to my student email address.

  • +13

    To complete the Degree requires eight Units. The first four are free.
    The remaining four units will cost between $440 (Social Justice, Equity and Diversity) and $585 (all other majors)

    So potentially $1,760 for the diploma

    • Social justice for gardening?

      • +9

        Equity and diversity?

        Though shalt not favour buffalo grass without due consideration of other varieties

      • It’s a sustainbility diploma, of which gardening is a unit or two. The other units relate to sustainability issues.

  • +3

    Thanks OP

    Finally one of these of interest to me

  • +2

    Too much hassle to sign up.

    • +3

      Yeah i'm starting to think that way…

      20 minutes in and i'm still not done

  • +2

    do you get a free student id card too?

    • +3

      Yes.

      I got one last time with the free Fitbit.

      This course is good for access to unidays, discount movie tickets, potentially concession public transport, etc.

      • How did you get a free fitbit?

        • +2

          It was part of the offering for a health course

          • +1

            @edrift: Mine is still in the box. Was a useless device with no screen…..says I who had a cheapie miband at the time….and still wearing :-)

  • +1

    I assume if you only have PR (Not a citizen) that you can take this up?

    • -1

      Yes, that’s correct. Only Australian Citizens can gets HECS-HELP

    • +1

      on the web page

      Domestic students* may receive a full HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) scholarship for the Science of Gardening unit in 2019.

      *Domestic students include Australian citizens or students holding Permanent Humanitarian Visas or with Permanent Resident Status. Citizens of countries outside of Australia (excluding New Zealand), are not eligible to study this unit

      • That's the reason I asked. My understanding was hecs is for citizens only but this is saying you can get it with PR.

      • Ah lame :( so wanted to try rip

    • I've asked whether PR's will be eligible for the free course. Will report back on Monday when they reply.

      • Cheers thanks, will appreciate if you reply to my comment.

        • I haven't heard back, but @Surtr posted below that PRs are eligible. I'd go ahead and apply - if it turns out otherwise, you can still reject the offer of a place (from my understanding after enrolling 10 years ago for my first degree :P)

          Edit: I also called and they confirmed that most PR visas will be covered. Maybe call in with your exact subclass if you're concerned.

    • If the same rule applies to the previous deal on healthy living (comes along with a free fitbit flex 1st gen, too!), then PRs should be eligible for this free course. Would be interested to enrol in this one too.

  • +9

    the degree component is in the degree of difficulty in signing up

  • +1

    "..Science of Gardening is one of many units available to study under the Diploma of Sustainable Living. The first four units studied as part of the Diploma of Sustainable Living will be receive a 100% HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) scholarship. The second four units you study to complete the Diploma of Sustainable Living will receive a 50% HECS scholarship, the remainder which applicable domestic students may defer under the HECS-HELP Scheme. For further information on HECS-HELP consult the Australian Tax Office (ATO) guidelines.."

    AFAIK, HECS is not really free - it's a loan which you have to pay back later. Happy to be corrected though.

    • +1

      the scholarship makes it free.. well at least partly free

      • When I look up HECS scholarship, Uni of TAS seems to be the only uni that offers this payment scheme. It doesn't provide much info to whether you pay for it for as a loan, or if it's free. say it in OP's link. But checking the criteria for the scholarship: the scheme is only available to those in a CSP?

        • +1

          Sorry, what's CSP?

          EDIT: NVM, googled it
          :..Eligibility
          Your provider will assess your eligibility for a CSP against the criteria below. If you have any questions, please contact your provider.

          To get a CSP, you must be one of the following:

          an Australian citizen, who will live and study in Australia for some of the course; or
          a New Zealand citizen, who will live and study in Australia for the whole course; or
          a permanent visa holder, who will live and study in Australia for the whole course…:
          taken from https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans/commonwealth-suppo…

      • Is there any condition whereby the HECS scholarship won't granted, applicable or revoked?

        • +1

          I would need to dig a little deeper but as a past recipient of the APA scholarship I might be ineligible.

  • Do you need to populate all the prior education etc field and provide transcripts ?

  • +11

    I need a course on how to apply for the bloody thing

  • Scientology eh?

  • +2

    I know it is hard to study in uni, but it is harder to get the application through.. gave up.

  • A lot of work to take huge advantage of them just to get a .edu email address.

  • Any have their application accepted yet? How long does it take?

  • Did you guys apply for the Winter school (late) or Summer school?

    • +1

      Wondering the same thing. Did you end up choosing?

      • I chose winter school (late). I think you it's just choosing your starting time, winter school (late) starts on the 24/06/19. This lets me start KPZ001 Science of Gardening on the aforementioned date (only provided during the winter school late study period), and then semester 2 courses when it starts.

        • +1

          Thanks for that. I chose the same thing. See you in class ;)

          • @asdffdsa: Where do you do in to choose this unit?

  • +8

    Ok, so just to clarify: it is free for you, but the federal government pays UTAS through HECS?

    In that case signing up to this without any intention of completing the course, just to get a student ID card and a .edu email, would be a massive waste of taxpayer's money. Perhaps they should offer the same deal for an ethics course…

    • No it's a scholarship.

      • "HECS scholarships are only available to students studying in a Commonwealth Supported Place." see here

        So basically: they are waiving the out-of-pocket, call it a scholarship, in order to attract more students to get more commonwealth $$$.

    • would be a massive waste of taxpayer's money

      Beats paying for wars, crony deals and heaps of other stuff people are already paying for but not talking about.

      • So true

      • +7

        Are you saying 'because lots of money gets wasted, it is ok to deliberately waste some more'?

        How about instead minimising waste on all fronts so the money can be used to build infrastructure, top up newstart or perhaps lower taxes?

        • +2

          Yes we need money to build stadiums.

      • -1

        Are you saying 'because lots of money gets wasted, it is ok to deliberately waste some more'?

        Read my comment again and tell me - did I?

        How about instead minimising waste on all fronts

        Sure! (Notwithstanding, pointless educational course still beats wars and crony deals as a better spend of tax money.)

    • Yeah this is pretty ridiculous if that's whats happening. The uni getting paid thousands of dollars to just provide a .edu email. What a joke.

  • +1

    Do you need to complete the course to keep the edu email?

    • +1

      Nah you can drop out after a week or two if you want.
      Remember to get your student card first!

  • +8

    E-mailed UTAS:

    1. I recently got a mortgage and am planning to refinance, the bank looks at credit ratings, debts, HECS etc. Will this have any impact on my loan application?

    2. If I try to go for a HECS loan in future, will this affect it, will I not be able to apply for another HECS in the future?

    3. What happens if I don't complete or fail the Science of Gardening units?

    4. I'm going on a holiday for a month in July-August, what happens if I don't participate during this time, can I catch up when I return?

    5. Is there any other caveats which I should be aware of that may impact me financially?

    • +4

      Thank you for doing this, would you be so kindly to get back to us with the answers/replies? I would like to know as I'm planning to apply as well.

      I'm particularly interested to know whether there are conditions where the HECS scholarship are not granted or not applicable and what happens if I cancel after the first 3 units.

      • I'll let you know their response :)

    • +2

      1 & 2) This unit is $0. Won't have any effect on mortgage or a future HECS loan.

      3) You get a fall recorded if you fail.

      4) depends on the homework and if they require timely weekly participation. Some units do, some don't. You'd need to ask someone specific who coordinates the unit, not a general student services staff.

      5) you'll be provided a link to read about HECS, I'll bet. Which you should do.

      • Thanks Omitsukasa,

        I'll start reading about HECS so I'm ahead of the curb :P

    • +2

      UPDATE FROM UTAS TEAM:

      1. As the unit KPZ001 Science of Gardening is offered with a 100% HECS scholarship, this means that you will not incur tuition fees for the unit. The scholarships are available to all domestic students within Australia. Domestic students include Australian citizens or students holding Permanent Humanitarian Visas or with Permanent Resident Status. Citizens of countries outside of Australia (excluding New Zealand), are not eligible to study this unit. The way the scholarship works is that your student contribution amount for the unit is fully waived. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the way the HECS-HELP scheme usually works, but for domestic students in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP), the government subsidises part of their tertiary study and the other part can either be paid upfront or deferred onto a HECS debt to be paid when the student graduates and starts working full time. In this situation, the 100% HECS scholarship we offer completely covers the tuition fees meaning that you will not pay tuition fees now or in the future. Therefore, to answer your question in quite a long way, there will be no implications when applying for a bank loan.

      2. You will still be eligible to apply for courses with Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) and therefore be eligible for HECS-HELP in the future if you are a domestic student.

      3. If you do not complete the units, you will not be eligible to pay back tuition fees or anything like that. You can choose to continue on with the course if you choose to do so, or else you can withdraw, with no financial penalty. You will also be able to study the units again in the future if you choose to do so (for example, if you do not pass the unit this does not prevent you from re-enrolling in the future for another attempt).

      4. Although we are able to offer short extensions for assessment pieces, generally if you are going to be away for a good proportion of the unit we would encourage you not to enrol into the unit. KPZ001 Science of Gardening is structured in the same way as regular university units in that the unit must be completed within the study period it is offered. We do not tend to offer generous extensions to complete assessment except in exceptional circumstances. If you were able to log in and complete assessments where possible, you should still successfully be able to pass the unit. However of course this is completely up to you and your individual circumstances while travelling.

      5. While domestic students receive HECS scholarships for the units in the Diploma of Sustainable Living, they will need to pay the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF). This fee is $45.45 per unit in 2019, is applicable to all units, and is allocated to the improvement of services and amenities for students of the University for both on-campus and online students. If you choose to study the Diploma of Sustainable Living full time (i.e. if you decide to go on and complete all of the units in the diploma), the maximum SSAF charge is $303. However, you can defer this fee onto a SA-HELP debt if you wish to do so (SA-HELP is the SSAF version of a HECS-HELP debt).

      I hope this helps! I would advise reading the landing page for the unit here: https://www.utas.edu.au/courses/university-college/courses/z…. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to get in contact.

      • +1

        Thanks for sharing that info, surtr.

        Regarding the SSAF, I'll fix up the post to include that info.

        I didn't realise that it was applicable in this case - I did the free UTAS unit 'Technology for Healthy Living' a few years ago and didn't have to pay the SSAF, so assumed that this one was the same.

      • +3

        On the Diploma page (http://www.utas.edu.au/sustainable-living), its states: "The Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) - approximately $45.45 per unit in 2019 - is waived for the first four units studied under the Diploma of Sustainable Living. The second four units will attract this fee, which is typically applicable to all units, and is allocated to the improvement of services and amenities for students of the University for both on-campus and online students."

        If you're worried about the SSAF, maybe query this point? Otherwise it's effectively $45 for a unit which isn't anything really. I'm actually interested in this course, so it's well worth it for me.

      • +2

        UPDATE E-MAIL, they have waived SSAF fee for first four units:

        Thank you again for your query below. I just wanted to let you know that I sought advice on your fifth question, regarding whether there are any other financial costs involved. I advised that the units were associated with a SSAF fee, however I have since confirmed that the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) - approximately $45.45 per unit in 2019 - is waived for the first four units studied under the Diploma of Sustainable Living. Therefore you will not need to pay the SSAF for KPZ001 Science of Gardening. Only the second four units will attract this fee.

        Apologies for any confusion caused with this error!

  • +1

    I do some backyard farming so this could be useful, is there a way to access course content without formally enrolling?

    • Following, hopefully someone here will share

  • Hi All,

    Can I enroll and just do the free units and then cancel the course?
    Would there be any penalty for not completing the course?
    Not really sure how this works.

    thank you in advance for the help.

    • There are other ways too to get am edu email if you r just after it.

    • Only enrol in the subjects you want to complete. You do not have to complete all eight for the diploma, if you do not want to do that.

  • +1

    Can anyone explain what this actually gives you academically/professionally if you completed the diploma of sustainable living? Some people above are saying degree but its just a diploma right which is just above a cert IV in real terms?

  • +1

    I enrolled in this last year and withdrew. I found the other courses interesting enough to stick with and finish a get a final grade. This was just to dry for me. YMMV.

    • Which other courses/subjects did you take?

      I've done one last year (healthy living with free fitbit) and quite enjoyed it- learnt a thing or two from the course.

      Will look this up on the topic areas and decide if I'd enrol in…

  • Science of Gardening isn't coming up in the 'search course' section. It's annoying me and I'm about to give up.

    • You have to apply for the Diploma of Sustainable Living. After you have been accepted, then you choose which units to study in that course.

  • I have received an offer. Offered 28/5/19. Validity 30/12/19. Does this mean I have until 30/12/19 to accept or reject the offer?

    The offer letter also mentions you should enrol for both Semester 1 and Semester 2 units. How many units are there per semester? I only want to do the 4 free units.

    • There are 19 units from which to choose. Some are offered in semester one, some semester 2 and some both. It is up to you when you want to study them.

      Semester one this year is over.

      • Thanks, so I would enroll for semester 2 units only and just choose 4 units, then not enroll in anything after that?

        • Yes, or you can just enrol in one now and more later, or only one overall. You have three years to do the diploma.

          • +1

            @Ms Bargainer: Thanks. So I might do 1 unit this year, 1 unit next year then cancel.

            Thanks for your input.

  • +1

    Accepted my offer, gone to next steps

    This is what it says:

    You must perform the following actions to activate your study plan BEFORE you will be able to enrol:

    Provide your HECS-HELP Government Assistance Form.
    Confirm your Parent / Guardian Highest Educational Attainment details.
    <

    Anyone else get this?

    • Yeah. Well I didn't get the first one because I elected to pay remaining costs upfront instead of using HECS-HELP.

      But I had to go edit the Parent/Guardian and choose 'None'

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