PSC stays ahead of the curve

Photography Studies College Melbourne (PSC) has adapted to the rapidly changing educational landscape by introducing new ways of creating an engaging live face-to-face learning experience for students off-campus.

Despite having recently switched from its former City Rd, Southbank home to new state-of-the-art facilities at 37-47 Thistlethwaite St in the Montague Precinct of South Melbourne, the tertiary institution has been working tirelessly to bring its school community, students and staff closer together, all the while still ensuring social distancing. 

In just a matter of days, PSC has broken down the new world of isolation by optimising technology to facilitate real-time group communication and transformed its more than 40 years of face-to-face on-campus education into synchronous off-campus learning.

By keeping their class schedules and all their individual student support sessions the same as before the pandemic, the changes have given students a sense of normality and continuity to help balance the disruption caused by the pandemic.

“My deepest hope is that we can all survive together through these incredibly testing times, both personally and economically. Keeping our students engaged and our staff employed are intertwined and a priority of the College,” managing director of PSC Julie Moss said.

In the face of ever-increasing fears in the community and in anticipation of a state-wide lockdown, PSC has in the past week successfully completed a learning from home trial for both students and staff. It has adopted video communication software to enable classes and keep communication between teachers and students open to assist with social distancing.

All staff are working in new clusters, using Microsoft Teams, to communicate on a daily basis to support and connect with each other during these unprecedented times.

“The speed and enthusiasm with which our teachers and support staff have embraced the use of technology for education this week is inspirational and has enabled us to do everything we can to be responsive to students and keep them engaged with us,” Julie Moss said.

PSC has also successfully created a virtual learning model for practical photography studio classes, which is a core part of the curriculum. Providing a Bachelor of Photography and a Master of Arts – photography degree, certificate IV and a range of short courses, each class has an average of 20 students or less. PSC is renowned for its award-winning teachers who are all working in the industry, and for its tight-knit community with international and national networks.

Not only can students watch their classes online, but they can interact with teachers and also discuss their assignments with each other.

PSC student Clare Jellie said, “After the trial, I found it so easy to use and now I know that I won’t be missing out on anything by completing my course in this way, I am excited to think that even in isolation, I will be still be able to complete my Bachelor. I also feel thankful that I don’t have to go into the College and can continue to keep myself and others safe.”

PSC also has a dedicated wellness officer who facilitates appointments between doctors and counsellors, which has been found to be an effective way to support the physical and mental health of students. Should the lockdown happen, this interaction and support will continue online.

Until further advice from the state government, PSC remains open. It is offering these temporary measures to students and staff in preparation of a state-wide lock down and for those who wish to self-isolate, but want to continue/start with their education.

PSC has set up a dedicated COVID-19 website page to keep its students and staff updated:

psc.edu.au/covid19