To help ease their path, ACU Ballarat and Federation Universities have each held an O-Week with a difference.

In regular years O-Week is about social activities and building connections but COVID precautions meant the schedule was different for most.

ACU Aquinas campus head Professor Bridget Aitchison said about 380 first-year students were starting this year, out of a total head count of around 1200 students.

"This year we've done a transition to university program and an orientation day on Friday," Professor Aitchison said.

"We're letting them know this is the campus, this is their faculty, these are the support services available and given them all the information that someone new to the university would need."

Theory classes will be held online and practical classes will be on campus. "We're still using a hybrid approach so we can be flexible to respond to anything at a moment's notice," she said.

Federation University has weeks of planned activities to help new students settle into university life.

A series of online social and information sessions have been held, along with virtual music lounges, virtual library tours, scavenger hunt and trivia sessions. Small in-person events will continue in to the semester.

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During the first semester, Federation University will offer mixed-mode educational delivery to comply with density limits in workspaces.

Large group lectures will remain online and as part of orientation, students completed an online technology bootcamp to give them the skills to study better online.

"While large lectures will remain online, we are excited to welcome students to our vibrant and spacious regional campuses where, over the next few weeks of orientation, they will get to know their peers and the support that is available to them," said Federation University vice chancellor Professor Duncan Bentley.

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