Blackboard

vUWS: Helpful Guide to UWS Learning Management System 2022

July 29, 2022

Table of Contents

Western Sydney University’s (UWS) learning management system is called Virtual UWS or vUWS (pronounced “views”). It offers a variety of online learning tools. Blackboard LMS is used to make it.

Most of your subjects and your programme may have a vUWS site that has your subject or learning guide, information about your assessment tasks, study resources, and news about your subject or programme. During the term, you should check your vUWS sites often because they could be changed at any time.

How to log into vUWS

To sign up for vUWS or vWSU,

Go to vuws.uws.edu.au to get to the vUWS Login Page.
Click “Sign in using,” then choose “Student Account” from the list that appears.
This will redirect you to the UWS Microsoft login page.
Enter your WesternAccount Student ID number (StudentNumber@student.westernsydney.edu.au).
Click “Next”
Enter your WesternAccount Password.
To get to your account, click “Sign In.”
You can also sign in by going to MyWestern and choosing vWSU from the main menu (without logging in again). Or, click on the vUWS (e-learning) link at the top of the University homepage (opens in new window).

To log in, you’ll need your WesternAccount Student ID number and your WesternAccount password.

Navigating in vUWS

Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be able to see all the sites for units and courses you’re taking.

To see your vUWS sites, you must be fully enrolled.
If you still owe fees or haven’t paid your SSAF, an encumbrance will be put on your account, and you won’t be able to use your vUWS sites until the restriction is removed.

All vUWS sites are different. Explore your site(s) and look at information like Announcements, Unit Outlines, Learning Guides, discussion boards, and other resources to find out what you have to do on the site and how much time you are expected to spend online.

Spend some time getting to know the tools on each of your sites, and keep in mind that site content, announcements, discussion boards, and email can all be changed at any time.

Ask your lecturer or tutor if you are still not sure what you need to do on your vUWS site.

If you can’t figure out how to use the tools on your site, click the “Help” link at the top of the vUWS screen.

How to use vUWS blackboard app

With the Blackboard app, students can get to vUWS from their smart phones or tablets anywhere, at any time.

Follow these steps to get Blackboard Mobile Learn on your phone or tablet.

Visit the app store for your device.
Search for Blackboard.
Install and run the app.
Search for Western Sydney University.
Login to with your WesternAccount details.

Remember that the Blackboard app might not be able to access all of the most important learning and grading activities in a vUWS site.

Manage your WesternAccount

With a WesternAccount, you can safely use important IT services at Western Sydney University.

To start using your WesternAccount, you must:

Enter your staff or student number and click “continue.”
Accept the Terms and Conditions.
Fill out the form, and make sure to include your password, secret question, and answer.
Click on the “Activate” button. You should get a message telling you that you were able to set up your account.
Once your account is set up, you can manage it by entering your staff or student number and clicking “continue.” This allows you to:
- change your password.
- check your account status.
- update your secret question and answer.
If you already have a WesternAccount and want to sign up, go to MySR.

Using your WesternAccount to log into vUWS

You must have activated your WesternAccount, and if you access vWSU from MyWestern, you won’t need to log in.

Every 400 days, you have to change the password for your WesternAccount. If you didn’t change it in time or you can’t get into vWSU, go to the About your WesternAccount page to see what’s going on with your account and reset your password if you need to. If you want to use vUWS, your account password should have fewer than 12 characters.

Non-proctored online exams – vUWS

Non-proctored exams are taken online through vUWS, and neither a real person nor a computer is there to watch over them. You don’t have to sign up or schedule your tests in advance.

Your Subject Coordinator may need you to get more materials to take your vUWS exam (such as Zoom). You can find more information on your vWSU site and in your Learning Guide.

To start your online exam on time, log in to your vUWS site 10 minutes before your exam starts to set up and be ready to open or download when your exam starts.
Make sure that no one in your home or office is using your internet bandwidth to stream content like YouTube or Netflix, as this could hurt how well you do on your exams.
Check to see if your browser is compatible with vWSU before you log in (note Internet Explorer is NOT supported).
From the WSU homepage, you can sign in to vUWS.
Find the subject you have a test on and click on it.
Find your exam in the “Assessment Zone” under “Final Exam or “Final Examination.”
Read the instructions for the test BEFORE you take it.
If you can’t find the link to the test, try refreshing the page in your browser.

How to enroll in self-enroll groups

Self-enrollment groups let you join a group in vUWS by using a sign-up sheet.

Before you can join a group, your teachers will need to put sign-up sheets on the Groups page or in a content area. Ask your tutor or lecturer where this link is on your vWSU site if you don’t know.

Enrolling into a self-enroll group from vUWS

Log in, then find your vUWS site.
Find the Link for Groups and click on it. You can get to the Groups page in a few different ways. More information about groups is in the next section.
If your teacher has made a content area for your group, you can get to it from the menu on the left.
OR
You can get to it through Other Student Tools if it is available.
Clicking on the Sign up button will now let you join the Self-Enrol Group.
Now you can see the sign-up sheet with information about the group. Here, you can see the group’s name, any instructions from the lecturer, the people in the group (if there are any), and the most people who can be in this group.
Be aware that once you join a group, you can’t get out of it. Talk to your professor about dropping out of a group.
Click the “Sign Up” button on this page to confirm that you want to join the group.
You will be taken to the group homepage after you sign up.

Getting help with WSU vUWS

You can get help if you need it. For many of the things you’ll do in vUWS, there are quick guides and interactive resources.

You can find these resources in the vWSU Information for Students site. The Blended Learning Platforms team can also help with vUWS technical issues.

I cannot log in to vUWS

You must activate your Western Account before you can log in to vUWS.

If you have activated your account but still can’t sign in to vUWS, it could be because you forgot your password or it has run out. Every 400 days, passwords get old and need to be changed.

At westernaccount.westernsydney.edu.au, you can set up your account, check its status, change your password, and change the answer to your secret question.

Allow up to 30 minutes for all systems to be updated after you change your password. Then try to log in once more.

Don’t be afraid to call the University’s IT Service Desk at (02) 9852 5111 or send an email to ITServiceDesk@WesternSydney.edu.au if you’re still having trouble.

When to contact teaching staff about vUWS

If you have any questions about what is on the vWSU site, don’t be afraid to talk to your teachers. All vWSU sites are different.

Explore your site(s) and look at information like Unit Outlines, Learning Guides, and other resources to find out what you need to do and how much time you should spend online.

When to contact the E-Learning Service Desk about vUWS

Students and staff who use vUWS can get help from the E-Learning Service Desk. Monday through Friday, it’s open from 8 am to 6 pm.

You can call (02) 9852 5252 or send an email to vuws@uws.edu.au to get in touch with the E-Learning Service Desk.

Terms and definitions

As a student at Western Sydney University, you will use several online systems to access your information and talk to other people from anywhere.

UWS email

Everyone at Western Sydney University has a free email account, which is the official way for the school to get in touch with you. WSU will send you important information about your enrollment, tests, grades, and graduation, as well as news and event information about the University.

Checking your email often will help you get the information you need when you need it. As part of the student declaration you signed when you first enrolled, you promised to check your student email every day during teaching terms and once a week when there are no teaching terms.

If you don’t check your student email often, you might miss important messages that could affect your enrollment.

You must use your Western Sydney University student email account to get in touch with the University by email.

MyStudent Records (MySR)

Your records are kept in a place called “My Student Records” (MySR). It’s also where you enrol, change your enrollment (until the census date), keep your contact information up to date, check your fees, and see your results.

To access MySR,

Student-selfservice.westernsydney.edu.au is where you want to go.
Enter your username.
Enter your password.
Then, click Continue to get to your academic records.

How to register for your subjects through MySR

To sign up for the next semester through MySR, you must first log in with your student email and account password.

When you get to the middle of MySR and see the tiles, click “Register in subjects.”
On the page where you register, click “Register for Subjects.”
Choose the Term or Semester you want from there.
Make sure your study path is chosen.
Enter the subject code or title in the search field for the subject you need and click “search.”
Check the details of the topic you want to write about (i.e., Campus).
Click the ADD button to choose a subject.
From here, you can sign up for more classes by clicking the “SEARCH AGAIN” button and doing steps 7 through 10 again.
Click the SUBMIT button at the bottom right of the page once you have chosen all of your subjects.
You will get a green bar at the top right of the page to let you know that you have been registered.

How to drop subjects

You must drop your registered subject from MySR before the census date of your current semester if you want to drop or withdraw from a class without being charged a fee or getting into debt. Check the list of census dates.

So as to:

Log into MySR.
Click on the register in subjects tile.
Open the Register for Subjects page.
Choose your current Term. For example, the fall semester of 2022 is 2022 Semester 1. You can look at “Which term should I choose?” for help.
Your Program should show up in the field for “study path.” Click Keep Going.
You should look at the Summary section of the page to see all of the classes you are signed up for. Click the down arrow next to the topic you want to move to the “Actions” column.
Choose either:
- Drop Web – this means you are dropping the subject before census date using MySR or;
- Drop Medical reasons – You are dropping due to extenuating medical reasons that would not allow you to complete this subject.
If you want to switch to a different subject after dropping one, check the Conditional Add and Dropbox boxes first, then click the “Submit” button.
Click Submit.

Allocate+ 2022

Allocate+ is the place where you sign up for tutorials and other classes and make your own schedule. Visit Class registration to find out more about Allocate+ 2022 and to log in.