The myAU portal is the gateway to AU studies, yet It’s often rushed through on the way to course pages. Indeed, if you bookmark your course homepage, you can skip the portal almost completely.
Yet, there’s a wealth of info at the portal gates, and even more on the student homepage that follows the login screen. Students new to AU may take the time to look around but after a few passes the myAU login routine tends to become nothing more than a series of mouseclicks.
It’s easy to forget how many AU resources are available to students. Here’s a look at what you might be skipping over in your haste to get to your course page:
myAU Help Page for Students. The link for this page is on the initial myAU login page, which you’ll find if you follow the myAU link from AU’s homepage. The login page has several sections covering FAQs, Help, and AU News. The myAU Help Page for Students is one of three links in the Help section. In addition to basic info about logging in to myAU, this page gives instructions on how to change your password, a browser compatibility list, and rules of student conduct for discussion groups. There is also an overview of the myAU student home page, which is where you’ll land after you log in.
Student Home. The Student Home page is the core of your AU studies. From this page you can access your current courses as well as register for or withdraw from courses, request exams, and check your grades or request a transcript. You’ll also find all your electronic letters here: confirmations of registration, tutor letters, and statements of grades, as well as exam request confirmations. Buried down at the bottom right, beneath the letters section, you’ll find a Career section. Here you can access Career Cruising, a service provided by AU Counselling Services. Career Cruising provides “assessment tools, goals & career exploration activities” and a résumé builder.
Student Services. Access the Student Services tab from near the top of the page, next to the Student Home tab. There is a wealth of information on this page for students. In the At Your Service section, you’ll find links to Advising Services, Counselling Services, Financial Assistance, the Ombuds Office, Scholarship & Awards, and many more AU services. In the Forms section you’ll find links to request forms for new courses, examinations, letters of authorization, application to graduate, as well as requests for counselling appointments. In other sections on the Student Services page, you’ll find links to information such as the undergraduate calendar, PLAR, transfer credits, and the student handbook.
Community. The next tab, to the right of Student Services, is the Community tab. Here you’ll find links to the new AUSU Forums, AU’s social network the Landing, as well as various student social media outlets. The Community page also has a News section, with links to recent posts from the AU newsroom.
Library. The library tab provides quick access to the AU library homepage and the library information desk. You can also click on the View Your Account link to request or renew library materials, or to see when your current loans are due.
Student Help. In addition to a repetition of some of the help-related links from the myAU login page, here you’ll find links to the AU Information Centre and the IT Help Desk. The Student Help page also has an Ask AU section, with links to common questions as well as Ask AU’s “Ask a Question” feature.
There’s a wealth of information in myAU. Information can be added or changed over time and your needs as a student change too. It’s worth spending some time looking around to see what resources are there to help you with your studies.
See what’s new at myAU: access the myAU portal from the link at the top of any page on the AU website.
Barbara Lehtiniemi is a writer, photographer, and AU student. She lives on a windswept rural road in Eastern Ontario.
