College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences placement compliance

General placements

General placements provide you with experience and an opportunity to learn more about a business while participating in daily workplace activities and contributing to a range of business functions.

Discipline-specific placements

There are many benefits to undertaking a placement and as a student within the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences your discipline specific placement can provide you with a practical opportunity to put your studies into context.

Areas include:  

• archaeology
• communications and media
• creative arts
• languages (French, Indonesian, Italian, modern Greek, Spanish)
• screen and media
• teaching English as a second language
• tourism and events.

Tasks you can undertake on placement

General placements provide you with experience and an opportunity to learn more about a business while participating in daily workplace activities and contributing to a range of business functions.

Placements can be completed in any industry context, big or small, from any sector – specific to the discipline/major you are studying such as supporting communications, film shoots, camera assisting, developing digital and social media pages, local language communities, marketing and communications strategies, events, or of a more general nature.

Some examples of previous work tasks assigned to student placements include:

• Review and analyse existing community engagement programs, identifying elements that have proven impact, and/or may be applicable within SA communities around emergency preparedness and community engagement.
• Event work including Gluttony, Adelaide Fringe,  State Tourism Awards, State Tourism Conference , Talking Tourism events, Adelaide United Football matches, South Australian Cricket matches, Christmas on KW road.
• Assist with editing video content, sourcing and editing content for social media channels, and scheduling social media posts
• Be involved in creative and production briefs, assisting company graphic design team, and spending some time with the production team. Assist with pre to post production on shoots, radio and photoshoots.
• Communications plans; market research; social and digital media projects; event management and branding.
• Develop of communications strategies and associated products to assist stakeholders and customers.

Will I be paid to go on placement?

Generally, students are not paid, however occasionally, we may have a paid placement. On the occasions where students have been required to travel to regional areas, the student is not expected to be out of pocket for transportation, accommodation, meal expenses etc, and host organisations offering these placements may be asked to assist with these expenses.

How much time is required to do a placement?

Placements within the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences vary in placement hours from 40 hours through to 160 hours. Please contact the HASS WIL team or your topic coordinator for more information. Hours/days can be negotiated between yourself and the host organisation. During the University holidays for example, you may complete additional hours and complete the placement more intensively.

Will I have time to do other topics while I am on placement?

Placements are typically two days per week, therefore you should have time for other topics while on placement; however, it is not recommended that you undertake full-time course load during this time.

You may prefer to go on placement during the winter or summer break where you may have time to commit to only the placement requirements.

There are two main intakes times during the year, and a summer placement intake.

• Semester 1 (March-July).
• Semester 2 (July- November).
• Summer (December – February).
  

Placements are flexible, the commencing times and dates are negotiable between the student and the host organisation.

Note: if you are graduating in the same semester as you complete your placement then you must let the WIL team know this and commence your placement as early as possible.

Industry placements through the WIL team

Our College has numerous partnerships with industry who provide student placements and the WIL team will match students as best as possible to suit your needs and the needs of the organisation.

Self-sourced placements

If you want to source your own placement we will support this process and communicate with you and the host organisation. Your placement needs to be approved by the WIL coordinator, and placement documents completed and signed before commencing your placement.

When liaising with external organisations please ensure that all communication is professional, including resumes and cover letters.

Place of employment opportunities

You may complete a placement with your current employer, however, your duties will need to be different to those of your paid employment for the duration of your placement. The first step is to ask your employer to complete a placement proposal identifying the placement tasks and requirements.

All legal placement documents must be completed and signed before commencing the placement.

Additionally, you will need to be covered by the host organisation's insurance policies as you will not be covered by the University’s policy.

During the application process you will be asked to list your interests, study area, and placement preferences. The WIL team will endeavour to match you according to your skills and interests and the needs of the host organisation.

You may be required to engage in an interview process where the host organisation has the opportunity to meet with several interested candidates.

The host organisation will inform the WIL team of the successful candidate.

You will be contacted by the WIL team to discuss the outcome of the interview.

How you will be assessed

Please speak with your topic coordinator for further details regarding assessment.  

You can log on to the Flinders Learning Online (FLO) topic site to access the topic guide and relevant information including assessment details and due dates. Your topic coordinator will communicate with you via FLO during and after your placement.

What to do if dates change while on placement

If your placement dates change while you are on placement you must inform the WIL team via email.

Date changes effect both your mid-way evaluation and final evaluation dates.

Is there a dress code for placement?

Please ensure you ask your placement host if they have any dress requirements, otherwise you should dress in business attire for the duration of your placement.  

What if I have problems or concerns?  

Students undertaking a placement in a placement organisation are bound by the standards of performance conditions in that workplace. It is suggested that issues should first be raised with your supervisor in the workplace, and if the issue(s) cannot be resolved, or if the concerns require discussion, please contact the WIL coordinator for support.

View more information.

What if I am sick or have any issues while on placement?

Host evaluation reports

Both your mid-way and final reports should be completed by the host organisation in consultation with you. You will be given a copy of these reports upon request.

Final grades

Final grades will be posted once we have received all documentation from the host organisation and all your assessment items have been graded by the topic coordinator.

If you are planning on graduating and need to adhere to a specific timeframe, please let the WIL team know as soon as possible.

Student visa holders must be aware of any work restrictions on their visa. Most students are restricted to 40 hours of work per fortnight.

Placements and work experience (either paid or unpaid) that are part of an elective or option topic are considered work for student visa holders and are included in your work restriction of 40 hours per fortnight. If you are taking an elective topic with placement requirements and you have a job, you must ensure that your total work hours (placement plus job) do not exceed 40 hours per fortnight.

Placements and work experience that are part of a core topic and are a mandatory component of your course are not included in the work restriction of 40 hours per fortnight. If your placement is core to your course, you may exceed 40 hours per fortnight for the purpose and the duration of your placement.

Note – from time to time the conditions relating to working hours for student visa holders may change. Please refer the Department of Home Affairs website for current information.