Frequently Asked Questions

Our Office and the two lecture rooms are on the ground floor, Building B, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs.

View a map of the USC Campus here.

You can join by completing a simple online form. Select ‘MEMBERS’ then ‘JOIN-RENEW-ENROL’ on the U3A website home page and it will take you to the Member Login page or go directly via this link. There is a low annual fee of $40 which covers administration costs including insurance.

You can choose to pay online immediately by credit card or PayPal, or later by other means. Please call or visit the U3A Office for assistance. Phone: 07 5430 1123.

Office Hours are 9.00am to 12 noon, Monday to Friday.

Please call the U3A Office on 07 5430 1123 and give your details to an office volunteer so they can fill in a badge form for you, then provide your credit card details to pay by EFTPOS. Or, you may call in at the office yourself, fill in a form and pay in person. Your request for a badge takes about two weeks to process, order and receive the badge by mail.

Members may also create their own name badge via their ‘My Membership’ page, after logging in here.

You can find out which courses are available by going to the website home page, select ‘MEMBERS’ then ‘COURSES & CLASSES LIST’ on the U3A website home page and it will take you to the Member Login page or go directly via this link.

Tutors and course convenors are members who give their time voluntarily. All courses are run in various areas on the Sunshine Coast. Venues are shown in the course details.

Unless otherwise stated, all courses start during the first week of the term. Our term dates are listed here.

When you attend a course, please wear your name badge and check with the Tutor that you are enrolled on their attendance sheet. Courses run for Terms (8 weeks), Semesters (16 weeks) or Full Year (32 weeks).

You may apply to join a course online as follows: Login in via the membership page here, with your membership number and password and go to ‘Courses’. All courses will be displayed in alphabetical order. To search for the course you wish to join via category, select “FILTER” then click on “UNTICK ALL”  and select the category from the pop- up screen. All courses under that category will be displayed. You can then read about the Course and Tutor details and, if available, select ‘ADD TO CART’ then ‘CHECKOUT’ to pay the Invoice (if there is a venue fee) either by entering your credit/debit card or PayPal details. Please contact the office to pay by cheque, cash or EFTPOS. Your details are then sent to the Tutor of the Course and a confirmation is then sent to you by email.

If the course is full or not available at present, you may elect to join a waitlist and you will be advised by the Tutor if a vacancy becomes available, and then you pay the fee (if applicable).

If the course is full your can enrol as you would normally, you will be waitlisted in the system and when a spot is available you will be sent an email from the system. You do not need to pay until you have been advised you are able to attend the course.

If your membership details are on the database from the previous year, to enrol for the current year you will need to pay your membership fee if you wish to attend any courses.

Please let the Tutor know that you will not be attending again and they will delete your name from the course list. This allows those waitlisted to attend.

You will receive an email to confirm your deletion.

Persons present at a U3A Sunshine Coast course, whether Tutor or student, whose attendance is not shown on the attendance sheet may have difficulty in making a claim in respect of any injury they might suffer while attending that course. That is why the Management Committee is insistent on the course attendance sheets being filled out for every course conducted, which is part of its duty of care to the U3A Sunshine Coast membership.

All courses offered are published, irrespective of whether they are full for the coming term, as it’s common practice that Tutors may give priority to those on the waitlist for that course who could not be accommodated in the last term. It may also be a continuing course that follows on from the previous term, e.g. a Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced, Course. Another reason is that members already enrolled are given priority for the new term/semester/year.

Unfortunately, the availability of tutors is limited so there may not be another volunteer to run an additional course or activity. We think it best that members are aware of all courses offered, even if they can’t get into some classes for the next term they may be able to plan for future opportunities. If you want to attend a particular course, it’s best to contact the Tutor and find out the options.

Refunds of course fees may be considered if unavoidable conditions prevent a member continuing the course in which they have enrolled and paid a fee, such as course cancellation/early termination or where other special circumstances exist. The Refund Policy for such exigencies may be viewed here.

Your login is your membership number or email address, and your password is created by you when you become a member. The password requires eight characters and one has to be a capital letter. If you have forgotten your changed password or if it doesn’t work, please select ‘I have forgotten my Password’ button at the bottom of the login page and a new password will be emailed to you. Password errors are commonly caused by: entering letters with the CAPS Lock function ON, or entering numbers by using the numeric keypad with NUM Lock function turned OFF.

If you are still having problems please call the office between 9am and 12 noon Monday to Friday, and we can help you resolve the issue. You can then login and change to your desired password later.

Yes, login and go to ‘My Membership’, then click on the ‘PASSWORD’ box to enter your new password twice, then remember or note it, and then ‘SUBMIT’.

Please call the Office, during office hours, and a paper copy can be either emailed or posted to you.

Note: it will only contain the courses currently being offered.

Management of U3A Sunshine Coast Inc. is the responsibility of the Management Committee, comprising the President, Executive members and Committee members who are elected annually. The organisation as such operates under a Constitution that dictates standards and procedures related to efficiency and good governance of an organisation, that complies with the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 and the Associations Incorporation Regulation 1999.

U3A Sunshine Coast is a totally voluntary organisation, including the office leaders and staff.

Tutors are vital to the continued operation of any U3A association and we could not exist without them, so we welcome any enquiry related to becoming a Tutor or as a volunteer in any capacity.

If you are considering becoming a Tutor, starting a discussion group or becoming a volunteer, please find out more on our ‘INFO FOR TUTORS & VOLUNTEERS’ page here or  contact our Secretary via email at secretary@u3asunshine.org.au.

We welcome any enquiry related to becoming an Office Volunteer. Please contact our office on 07 5430 1123 or email our Office Coordinator via email at u3aofficecoordinator@u3asunshine.org.au who will be pleased to provide further information, in confidence and without obligation.

We are thankful for anyone who can provide assistance at special events. Please contact our office on 07 5430 1123 or email our Office Coordinator via email at u3aofficecoordinator@u3asunshine.org.au who will be pleased to discuss this with you.