Horrific

I began the SFS Australia program with positive expectations, as it is costly and well promoted. Unfortunately, my experience was marked by disorganization, poor communication, and student well-being being disregarded.

Logistics were subpar from the start. The program repeatedly failed to provide students with important information in advance and sometimes left us poorly prepared for field work that required protective equipment or advance warning. At one point, due to botched travel plans, students were left without food for nearly 24 hours. This was an appalling failure of basic duty of care.

Academically, the program was uneven. Although some of the field activities were engaging, a lot of the content was presented in a hurried, disorganized fashion. Feedback was sporadic and, at times, capricious with marks not accurately reflecting engagement or quality of work. For instance, multiple academic staff members seemed not to have formal knowledge of film but were grading cinematography. No constructive feedback was given throughout the course itself.

Staff communication was usually brief and uninformative, and when students had issues, they were greeted with defensiveness instead of resolutions. For a program that costs as much as it does, the unprofessionalism was shocking.

In brief: SFS Australia did not live up to its promises either academically or in student care. I would highly recommend that potential students look to other field study programs that are serious about both learning and participant well-being.