Swinburne University of Technology

I have tried contacting the university on numerous occasions via email & phone, to try to employ a student that had completed a pre apprenticeship course in electotechnology, they have totally ignored all my requests

Horrifying. Shoddy course material and even worse management. Actually, one of the greediest universities in Australia. Once they have your student fees you basically don't register as a priority with Swinburne. In fact, given their management crisis, massive debt and the AI boom etc.. Is there even going to be a Swinburne in a few years time?

100% THINK TWICE BEFORE TRUSTING THEM. Only giving one star because you can't give zero. They should be shut down. They make promises they can't follow through on. You get overloaded with emails and information to process, that's isn't relevant to you. The course material is questionable and There is no real support despite every attempt to… Read more

seek it. The several different platforms they use for the course are not as easy to navigate as promised and when I did finally get a hold of them to discuss the problem, (only twice out of daily attempts to several different departments for weeks on end), they told me to go to a different department for assistance.

I'm now in a few thousand dollars extra debt because they're claiming I didn't put a form in before census when I did.

None of my experience except the sign up process was evidence of a reputable organisation that can provide what they say they can.

Swinburne may be a great place for students, but it's a different story for staff—particularly within the cybersecurity function, which is grappling with significant structural and leadership issues. Since 2024, a revolving door of project managers—many lasting only a few months—has led to disrupted initiatives, shifting project scopes and… Read more

priorities.

As a result, project staff are operating in a state of uncertainty, often under intense pressure and with limited support. The environment is increasingly stressful with staff suffering from anxiety, disrupted sleep, and other signs of deteriorating mental health.

Leadership marked by entitlement has only deepened the instability, negatively impacting team morale and undermining long-term outcomes.

Really bad customer service and student HQ support. They do whatever to make it harder to enrol as domestic students. I guess all they want to sell overpriced courses to international students.

In March, I enrolled for Swinburne Open Education, certificate IV bookkeeping and accounting. I have just un-enrolled and received a full refund. From beginning to end, my online learning experience was poor. From dead web links, to typos and actual incorrect information provided in worked examples. Due to staff shortages, marking of assignments… Read more

took up to 2 months.

I passed on my concerns to student services, who dealt with them efficiently. Now I need to find a new course provider and make up for the 3 months I have wasted with Swinburne.

By far, the worst place I have studied. At this point, I am only trying to complete the course so I don't feel as though I have wasted my money. Everything mentioned in previous reviews over the sales team over promising and the education and support teams underdelivering is spot on. I was promised all of the support, as was everyone else, and… Read more

have received nothing. I deferred the course for 4 months due to personal issues, they notified me it had been deferred, but did not make any type of contact to let me know it was back to working again and I was expected to be completing the tasks.

The online portal is forever lagging and never a quick and easy move from one page to another, the quality of information and assessments is definitely below the quality expected. I have completed my Bachelor of Business, and was only wanting to obtain a Cert IV in Business Finance to further my knowledge around this, they point blank refused to accept my previous studies as any type of credit due to them being different courses - even though I can see a strong correlation between the expected learnings of this and that I completed as part of a 4 year degree. So, out of the 12 modules I am expected to completed, 8 are similar to things I have already completed.

I find the staff to be condescending when engaging with them, and honestly wish I would have completed my studies through a local TAFE, where I know the support would have been there, the quality would have been there and I wouldn't be questioning how much of my time and money I have wasted.

Here's hoping I can complete the course in time, because I refused to do any of it for an extended period of time, just based on the treatment received from their staff - but in the end, its my money thats lost, so I would like to try and have something to show for it.

I'm a Cert III sucker. Don't enroll, they have high pressure sales people that pursue you and you'll regret it. Once you're enrolled you're entrapped to pay 50% of the course fee when you discover its poor quality AI generated rubbish. Boarding on unconscionable conduct. Portal is full of dead end links. It goes on.... Not happy Jan!

Unsupportive & rude. You are just a number and money in the bank to them – I commenced my Cert IV in HR Management after begin seduced by a Swinburne sales rep. I was promised a supportive learning environment with after hours classes being held once a week. I was told there was assessments to be completed and a majority of them were assignment based with the odd role play needed. I was told it was very achievable to… Read more

complete whilst also working full time. Well wasn't I shocked! There are weekly touch bases with assessors but these are held on a weekday during working hours. You do have an option to email your queries to your assessor but waiting for a reply could take some time. And there are only some modules that require you to complete and assignment based assessment with most requiring a role play.. which could sometime need 2 to 3 people to complete. Relying on other students to help you out is frustrating. You are provided zero assistance to use the LMS and when you request workforce like documents for this you get told 'It isn't that hard to work out' Don't get me started on requesting details on applying for RPL!!!! I paid my fees in full but will need to pay a further $3k to kick off the RPL process... well at least that is what I can gather from the drips of information I have recieved from my RPL query 3 weeks ago!! Trying to seek support from student services has been an absolute nightmare with zero accountability for their failings taken! This has had serious effect on the wellbeing and should anyone ask me where I would suggest they study I would say without doubt DO NOT ENROL WITH SWINBURNE. So disappointed!

The worst of them – Terrible at communicating, take your money and don’t reply until they’re in the time to not refund you anything. Putting me in financial distress over a course I can’t complete due to family medical issues. Don’t keep supporting this business

Study elsewhere to save yourself – Waste of money. Lack of communication. Find somewhere else. Studying a certificate 3 with them has been an honest nightmare. You don’t even know who your trainer is/why you’re trainer isn’t replying due to lack of communication and probably the layout. So you have to email around. Then when you find out why your old trainer has stopped responding… Read more

it’s because they left ages ago. This cycle repeats. How are you even suppose to get any timely help and finish your certificate within the deadline??? Completing something simple like a certificate has been difficult due to how poor it is. Completing a single module is difficult with this place! Quite dissatisfied and wish I knew earlier. Along with other things that you try to do with SOE! They make it difficult to do anything! I think this is the worst place I’ve ever studied with! Such a waste of money! Do your research and find somewhere better!

This place is quick to take your money, but disappear when you need help – This place is quick to take your money, but disappear when you need help, whether its trying to change your course into part time or even help understanding the material. I would give them a 0 if I could, having a TBI disability is hard enough and this UNI makes it harder. they have no care, the only thing they care about is the money. sad this has happened.

Don't waste your time and money – One star is too many, even just trying to do a cert II through them has been the most painful, frustrating and regretful experience in any course I have undertaken. Do not waste your time and money with this lot.

Ignorant people running the show there – Swinburne Online is pathetic. Not worth the money and they do not have my respect any longer. Pure theft of money for the service they provide. And it's never their fault, a typical trait of a narcissist.

Conflicting - bad place to study!! – I am studying there right now. Assessment information is wrong and conflicting. Follow assessment you're wrong because they want you to follow there another assessment guideline that theyve created on top of the assignment thats where it doesnt make sense and they mark you wrong with using what they tell you to do and limited feedback or… Read more

teaching? Not the assignment? CONFLICTING information and limited resources. Most are foreginers keeping a visa who are not literate.

Not a good university Not for 4k

A damn joke – Swinburne open education. The experience I have had the last year to complete a cert III is beyond a joke. I have sent multiple complaints about the time it has taken to get assessments marked and returned so I can move on and “learn at my own pace” the level of work that is expected also is beyond a joke and not a cert III Level as I sent a few… Read more

of my last assessments to another trainer assessor who said they didn’t even do that work load in diplomas or higher. The level of lack of respect given. The lack of help. Even though I asked: worst RTO ever delt with in my education experience. Would not recommend. Would be -1 stars if the option was provided

Unprofessional and demeaning my enquiries – The customer support agent from Swinburne Open Ed was aggressive, disrespectful, and lacked understanding. Firstly, I was unpleasantly surprised by their approach of requesting my personal information while I was simply seeking basic details about a course. Secondly, all I wanted was clarifications about a diploma course to determine if the… Read more

content and level were suitable for me. However, Agent A repeatedly questioned why I wanted to study and whether I met the admission requirements, which was beyond her business. There is a clear difference between kindly asking and being demeaning, and unfortunately, Agent A's approach fell into the latter. She interrupted me a few times, and I felt that she was only trying to screen high-potential customers and looked down on anyone who didn't met her criteria. Her ignorance and prejudice earned a 1-star rating.

Avoid – I use to be a big fan of Swinburne Online. After the experience in my last unit, I’m left with a very sour taste in my mouth. I have been studying a Bachelor of Business online, as they tend to recommend 10-15 hours study per week per unit. I have found myself studying 20+ in my last unit and still failed it at the end. The eLa’s seem to be… Read more

marking harder than previous years, I would say I have a basic understanding of what I studied. Units are becoming too heavily exam focused which is not good for students who may do better with written assignments and group work. In my last unit which weighted 50% of the overall mark. The mean was 52, that’s pretty concerning when the majority of students are just scraping a pass.

Online unit material appears to be just a few YouTube videos and a couple of lecture slide material thrown in. If you are doing a unit which requires calculations. The textbook will most likely not have an answer section to know if you are on the right track.

I have now failed a second unit and will be issued with a show cause notice. This unit the mean was 34.4 for the final exam. Yet eLa’s had spent the semester marking major assignments easy where students were getting distinctions. Upon asking about an exit award for study completed. I was told it was take 15 days before they would respond.

Nothing but a stressful and costly nightmare – Firstly Swinburne online claim to “Study at your own pace” is grossly misleading. I had to take two weeks off due to a severe illness, I provided a doctors certificate on return which specifically stated I was unfit for attend work and university ) and had missed submission of an assignment (not even an exam) and was told my illness was not… Read more

‘severe’ enough and that they wouldn’t accept my assignment. I failed the unit because of this and have had to wait an entire year to redo the unit plus pay to do it again! Content for course is outdated you are basically learning from YouTube videos! There is no classes, no support , ELAs take ages to respond. Nothing but an expensive nightmare

Awful. They want the money without providing the service – I was sanctioned out of my account due to an “overdue payment” prior to the census date, and was later advised the information I had provided wasn’t accurate (past the census date), even though it obviously wasn’t as I was charged anyway. The Ombudsman has been contacted.

Absolutely appalling – Absolutely appalling!! The worst experience I have ever had an any academic institution in my life. The quality of teachers ranges drastically, assignment instructions lack detail and the grading criteria is vague and subjective. My RPL (I was originally from Monash) was not processed correctly so I was placed into units that I didn’t have the… Read more

required pre-knowledge for and then penalised for it.

In one assignment marks were deducted from my reference section for no reason and the only comment provided by my teacher was “good work”, when I questioned this it was never resolved.

In one exam there were errors which I had to make the Uni aware of - I have no idea if they ever fixed it.

In another exam, I was kicked out for 40minutes for no reason, ProctorU took 20minutes to respond and then replied in broken english and did not understand what was happening. It took 40 minutes for them to let me back in which drastically impacted my grade. I was told if I wanted to fix it i’d have to retake the entire thing in person 6 weeks later.

No one will ever speak to you on the phone if you need something resolved. You cannot speak to the exam or results teams at any point.

I’ve then tried to leave and go to a different Uni because this place is so and they’ve even managed to f—k that up too, as their results team failed to post the grade from my last unit so my academic record is not accurate. I’ve been trying to get it fixed for 2 weeks and no one gets back to me, so now i’ve missed the RPL cut off elsewhere.

I was/am studying a graduate diploma of psychology

They have no flexibility with support – For context I had 4 family members die in the span of 6 months and I also lost my baby with the fight of an abruption and hemorrhaging so bad that I myself almost died as well. When they renewed the whole program so I had to start fresh halfway through, so during grieving and obvious struggles, I requested the school for help and support with… Read more

possible extension. The school has now suspended me access to the course because Ive spent enough time on it? And they are so cold-hearted to the situation with no understanding at all. What a waste of $6,000 just to be suspended with no flexibility to my situation.

Waste of Money – I signed up to Swinburne open for the flexibility as I am a single parent, and with the promise of plenty of support. There has been little to no support. Swinburne is grossly understaffed which has lead to, at times, 8 week or more delays in having assessments marked. This has greatly affected my motivation. With out the support of other students… Read more

I wouldn't be as far along as I am. This is a nightmare. TAFE NSW are running the same course for $240 and offer 7 hrs of classes 2 nights a week. Don't pay Swinburne $5100 for what they are offering.

Unethical Conduct – Swinburne has changed. I have started with distinction to high distinction grades when all of a sudden Christopher Heidenmanns graded my work to pass only which affects my average overall score. I highly recommend avoiding him as aLA. However, overall average student grades plummeted dramatically due to Swinburne grading. I suspect they grade… Read more

students very low to lock them in the Swinburne. If you don't perform average 65 you can not transfer to another uni, therefore Swinburne has secured their income stream but it will impact student's career opportunities. So, I highly recommend choosing a different university or you will waste your money.

This is a SCAM!! Do not use Swinburne – Decided to do a book keeping course Cert IV but needed to do it online. I thought Swinburne University would deliver a quality online course given their good reputation. It is the worst learning experience I have ever had and I feel completely scammed. - The course material is error ridden - There is only a single lecture per week and it is… Read more

usually during work hours 9-5 so I cannot attend it as I have a full time job - Most of the lecturers are located overseas and speak English as a second language, so some are difficult to understand. I presume they outsource to India/Indonesia to rip off those people as well. - The course is time limited, so you have 18 months. Problem is, you can submit an assessment and it doesn't get marked for 4-8 weeks, and the next module is locked. So you are stuck and the clock is ticking. - A huge proportion of the learning is on YOU. That means googling for answers and trying your best. There is no text book, just the poor online material. - When you email a lecturer, don't expect a response. - You are truly on your own, you paid good money for nothing. - Some of the lecturers care, but I feel like they are also being mistreated and underpaid.

I would love to see criminal charges placed against the people organising this type of course. I am on the verge of quitting from sheer desperation. You won't receive an education. I suspect the drop out rate is 75%+ and most of momney they scam is from the government who are paying to train unemployed people.

Swinburne Online University – Specific to Online learning, not the university itself, here are the issues I have encountered: 1. Expensive. Around double the price of other providers. 2. Very gated unlocking of units. "Study at your own pace" is not true, it takes at least 12 months due to the module unlocking system that requires assessors to have completed marking before the… Read more

next module is unlocked. Longer due to upcoming issues. 3. High turnover in assessors. Many assessors quit, leaving month long plus marking backlogs that were not rectified all year. This resulted in Swinburne being in breach of their own contract for the majority of the year. 4. Little to no support from assessors. 5. Poorly written and unintelligible content subcontracted out to another provider and not properly reviewed. Broken links & errors abound that make completing the course close to impossible without multiple attempts. 6. Problems in synergy between Swinburne open & Swinburne university that meant that my transcript was not accurate. 7. Extremely dissatisfied students who had given up or were forcing themselves through. Expected very low course completion rate (though I don't have the data, aside from extremely despondent student forums.) 8. Very low willingness to compromise for students given the above problems. At best "Have another two months to complete the course." Stay away, unless you rhetorically enjoy smashing your head against a brick wall and like to waste $5000 while doing so.

Swinburne Online is a franchise (Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology) – You might get a piece of paper with the Swinburne logo on it, but Swinburne Online is a completely separate organisation to Swinburne University. Swinburne Online students do NOT get access to all Swinburne University facilities. The course material consists of 5-10 minutes clips from actual university lectures, out of order and spread out over… Read more

several web pages with blocks of text that repeat the content of the videos. The "Weekly learning objectives" do not match the learning material for that week, or in some cases, are just not covered at all. The "teachers" (eLAs) are not qualified educators - they are tutors (look it up on Seek). The live sessions consist of the eLA reading out text on a screen that they have clearly never seen before, nor are they able to provide any further insight or assistance. If you are a working student, look elsewhere. The assessments and exam schedules are not released until the last minute, which leaves no time to arrange leave from work. I asked for another day and was told that employment is not sufficient for special consideration, but I can repeat the unit (at full cost) if I can't attend the exam. Okay, maybe that was a one-off? No, same thing happened the following semester. It has been an incredibly expensive lesson, but I've transferred to another university.

A Promising Start on the Path to Justice: My Swinburne Online Experience – My Review: Having embarked on my educational journey with a clear goal in mind, I chose to pursue a Bachelor of Criminal Justice and Criminology through Swinburne Online at Swinburne University. As a resident of regional Victoria, the convenience of online learning proved invaluable. The flexibility offered by the program allowed me to balance my… Read more

studies with my other commitments.

In my pursuit of knowledge and growth, I made a significant decision to relocate closer to Swinburne University's Hawthorn campus. This choice was driven by the desire to make the most of the university's facilities and resources, including access to the campus internet facilities. By bringing myself closer to the heart of the institution, I aimed to enhance my learning experience and immerse myself fully in the academic environment.

As I progress through the next three years of my Bachelor's program, I am committed to reviewing and updating my experiences on an annual basis. With each passing year, I anticipate sharing insights into my academic journey, the challenges I've overcome, and the accomplishments I've achieved. By documenting my experiences, I hope to provide a comprehensive perspective on the Swinburne Online program, the transition to campus life, and the overall quality of education and support provided by Swinburne University.

Stay tuned for my annual updates in 2024, 2025 (deferred until Feb 2026), 2026, and 2027 as I continue to navigate my path towards a rewarding career in criminal justice and criminology. Through these reviews, I aim to provide valuable information to prospective students considering Swinburne University as their educational destination.

Here's to a promising start and an exciting future of learning and growth!

Kind regards, MK (he/him)

Strategist in Australian Politics Candidate in the 2028 Australian Federal Election M: +61 48 1525 007 SMS E: mk@indep.au W: www.evbaad.au PO Box 987CP, Mildura Centre Plaza, VIC 3501, Australia

I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognise the continuing connection to lands, waters, cultures and communities. I pay my respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and emerging. I recognise the continuing sovereignty of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations.

YouTube certified – Was blatantly lied to by the admission staff and glossy brochures regarding the time requirements for the course (8-10 hours a week for a course that requires 36 hours of work? Sure, that works out). Student support is non-existent. Course content consists predominantly of third party YouTube videos, dead weblinks and websites trying to sell… Read more

commercial products. Not much in the way of learning content. Got a group project to do? You're on your own for that. Got a complaint? They won't respond. Want to pull out and get a refund? They tell you that you can, but you'll not get a response for that either.

An overwhelmingly stressful and unnecessary process to have gone through, a complete waste of my time and money. I'm off to the education and training ombudsman on Monday to hopefully get something out of the ordeal.

Not Impressed! – I am not very happy with SOL. I made a request to transfer to another course, the student adviser told me to withdraw from the current course or I would still be charged for it. I followed his advice, and now I am told that I can’t transfer because I withdrew from my previous course. My advice, don’t study with Swinburne Online, I hope their campus is more efficient, I am off to another Uni.

Just wanted to have a look – I simply went on the website to start doing some research about studying and find out the cost of courses and am now getting nothing short of harassed. They have rang multiple times including at 7am this morning, emailed multiple times and sent text messages all within only 3 days. I have a 4 month old so can't easily answer phone calls and didn't… Read more

even want to discuss anything, I simply wanted the basic info. I am already put off by this place and won't be looking any further as it's obviously all about sales.

Study elsewhere – Avoid Swinburne at all costs. There are other far better Universities to gain an MBA from. They talk about studying online as being accessible and inclusive, but too bad if you work full time and you actually want to pick up a physical copy of your testamur once you are done (that is after 4 phone calls and several months to get them to issue… Read more

one), as they only have options Monday to Friday 9 to 5! And they could not care less. I will never recommend this University to anyone and will undertake future study elsewhere.