DSA FAQS During Covid-19 Pandemic

The Department of Student Affairs (DSA) is a central hub for students. It is a department that facilitates students' holistic wellness, fosters their intellectual growth as well as enriches their personal development.

2. What does DSA do? 

DSA is deeply committed to the purpose of enhancing student life from various aspects, as an experiential augmentation to their academic performance:

● To create a sense of belonging for all students during their campus life by providing excellent services. 

● To foster the holistic well-being and development of students as a person via experiential learning, guidance and counselling. 

● To enhance students' leadership and communication skills and enrich their sense of community via organising and joining activities and sports. 

Please send email to dsa@utar.edu.my and state “REQUEST ASSISTANCE” as the title of the email subject. Students are advised to state their full name, student ID and campus when sending emails. 

From Monday to Friday (except Public Holidays) between 8.30am to 5.30pm, you may walk-in to our offices located as follows:

● Kampar Campus: C113, Student Pavilion I 

● Sungai Long Campus: KB006, KB Block 

Should you have any enquiry, you can contact us through DSA telephone line or DSA Hotline below: 

● Kampar Campus:

i) Telephone Number: 05-46 888 88 

‣ Extension Line : 2282 / 2570 - E-Orientation / Clubs & Societies Information 

‣ Extension Line: 2280 - Student Services (e.g. Accommodation, Vehicle Sticker, Bus Service) 

‣ Extension Line : 2281 - Gym/Sports Complex 

ii) DSA Hotline: 016- 2100864 

● Sungai Long Campus:

i) Telephone Number: 03-90860288

‣ Extension Line: 818 / 825 / 825 - E-Orientation/Clubs & Societies Information 

‣ Extension Line: 818 / 820 / 829 / 830 - Student Services (e.g. Accommodation, Vehicle Sticker, Bus Service)

‣ Extension Line: 827/828/864 - Gym/Sports Complex 

ii) DSA Hotline: 016-210 0862 

Yes. The standard orientation week for the new batch of October 2020 Intake students will be conducted in a hybrid mode comprising both physical and virtual activities. Below are the dates of the Orientation programme:

● For Foundation: 27 September 2020 

● For Degree: 18 to 21 October 2020 

All materials that are related to the orientation as well as the training of online learning will be made available to new students via https://e-orientation.utar.edu.my beginning from 21 September 2020, Monday, 8.30 am until 2 November 2020. Monday, 11.59am. New students will also be trained on online teaching and learning during this orientation period in addition to the standard orientation programme. 

Freshmen who are attending the physical orientation session are required to follow the Standard Operating Procedures below:  

● Wear face mask 

● Keep at least 1-metre physical distancing 

● Avoid non-essential gathering 

5. Are students allowed to return to Campus for the October 2020 trimester? 

As the University’s campuses will be fully re-open for the October 2020 trimester onwards, all students are allowed to return to campus to resume teaching, learning and student activities while following the safety and health precautionary measures including temperature screening at entrance, wearing of face masks at all times, the use of sanitizers, maintaining physical distancing and limiting the number of students in any one location. 

The University is currently looking into ways to improve and provide better service for students, especially on blended learning. For instance, the University has added some e-learning materials to the existing resources such as more e-books as alternatives for the textbooks required by students; subscription to Microsoft Teams and license copies of Microsoft Offices under the package; and adding extra servers to support online platforms. Thus, there will be an adjustment on the resources fees which is still cost-effective to the students.

You may purchase the UTAR bus ticket at the Division of Finance (DFN) and it costs RM0.80 per ticket. New students may not be able to get the bus tickets immediately, but the bus service is Free of Charge (FOC) during the Orientation Week. 

For bus schedule information, kindly visit the page as below:

- https://dsa.kpr.utar.edu.my/Bus-Services.php 

- http://dgs.sl.utar.edu.my/Bus-Services.php

1. What can a student do besides academic studies? 

For a student, life at the University goes beyond studying. It can be an enriching journey filled with fun-learning extracurricular activities. Effective learning opportunities beyond the confines of both physical and virtual classrooms are provided to shape students’ development through exposure of new experiences and perspective. DSA facilitates and engages students in activities where teamwork, conflict resolution skills, and leadership roles can be enhanced. 

2. Where can I find the information about the clubs and societies? 

There is a wide range of clubs and societies to serve each student’s interests and emerging needs.

To know more about the clubs and societies available at the University, please visit the following links: 

Kampar Campus - 

https://dsa.kpr.utar.edu.my/Clubs--and--Societies-List.php 

Sungai Long Campus -

Should you have any enquiry about clubs and societies recruitment / activities, please send us an email to dsa@utar.edu.my 

3. How can I join a club and society? Where can I register? 

Department of Student Affairs (DSA) plans to have a physical recruitment drive in the October 2020 Trimester. Students may join the membership via online platform. Please refer to the DSA website for more details: 

DSA Website (Kampar Campus) 

- https://dsa.kpr.utar.edu.my/ 

- https://dsa.sl.utar.edu.my/ 

Students may request to have physical meeting sessions once they have returned to campus whilst adhering to the new norm standard operating procedures. Nevertheless, student leaders and committee members are still encouraged to convene the meeting sessions online to avoid any unexpected issues. 

You may plan and conduct online activities by utilising available digital platforms where the student leaders and the committee members can continue to keep in touch with their members electronically to share matters or items that are related to club/society objectives. 

Physical activities could be conducted following the SOP below once students are physically back to campus. Please keep track of the Mail Master / Student Portal’s announcement / DSA Facebook Page for any activities’ updates. 

  

The UTAR Sungai Long Campus and UTAR Kampar Campus gymnasium is open with strict guidelines and SOPs following concerns regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. Walk-in bookings are no longer allowed and all students and staff who wish to use the gymnasium equipment must make online booking via Google form at least ONE day before the intended use date. Same day booking will not be entertained. The Google form may be accessed via the following link: 

Sports Facilities 

- Sungai Long Campus 

or by scanning the QR code below:

    

Gymnasium/Dancing Room Facilities 

- Kampar Campus 

http://shorturl.at/wzGNY 

or by scanning the QR code below:

Sports Complex 

- Kampar Campus

** For Kampar Campus, Ladies session is only available in session 4 (Wednesday). 

a) The gymnasium now strictly limits 10 pax per session on a ‘First come first serve’ basis via the Google booking form. 

b) The gymnasium sessions will have different timing to allow time for our staff to sanitize the gymnasium after each session. 

c) Some equipment and machines are condoned off to adhere to physical distancing regulations. Thus, please refrain from removing the safety tapes from the respective equipment and machines. 

d) A Personal towel is a must. Those without towels will be denied entry. 

e) Please scan using ‘MySejahtera’ App when registering.

f) A face mask is needed before entry (while registering and paying ticket) and after departure. Those without face masks will be denied entry. 

g) The sanitizer will be prepared by the gymnasium staff to sanitize your hands before entry. 

Please refer to following protocols.

The UTAR SOFT SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CERTIFICATE (USSDC) is a certification system which recognises students’ achievements and efforts to improve themselves in the areas of the following soft skills and life skills: 

● Communication and Language Skills 

● Cognitive Skills 

● Complex Problem Solving 

● Critical Thinking 

● Emotional Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence and Teamwork 

● Moral and Professional Ethics 

● Leadership Skills 

● Lifelong Learning & Information Management 

● Entrepreneurship Skills 

● Digital Literacy 

All students of the University are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to join the USSDC programme because it is a record of students' achievements and efforts to improve their soft skills and life skills in UTAR. 

If you have gained 100 points (a minimum of 10 points from each core component), you will be awarded a USSDC certificate. 

2. How to register for the USSDC? 

You may follow the following steps to complete USSDC registration:

Step 1: 

Login to UTAR Student Portal - 

https://portal.utar.edu.my 

Step 2: 

Select USSDC Programme under Info menu 

Step 3: 

Select Registration (Form 1) on the sidebar menu 

Read all the terms and conditions and complete the form 

Click Register button 

Check the particulars and click Update button to complete the registration 

Yes, there are two USSDC activities specially offered to new intake of students: 

i. Quiz for E-Orientation Virtual Talks 

There will be 11 questions regarding the briefing of different departments. Students must answer minimum 8 questions correctly to apply for USSDC points. 

Please find the link to the quiz here:

ii. Welcoming Soft Skills Programmes For New Students 

DSSC offers two training programmes for new students to enhance their study skills and presentation skills. USSDC points will be granted for students who successfully completed the workshops.

The schedule is available at the following link: 

https://softskill.utar.edu.my/Welcoming-Progammes.php