Our System

We use the online U3A Membership Administration System (U-MAS) to help manage all aspects of our operations. U-MAS is used by more than fifty U3As in Australia.

The system enables people to join our U3A and allows members to perform the online tasks of renewing membership, updating personal details, enrolling in courses using a preference-based system, and making payments. 

The system is also used by our Management Committee members, course leaders and administrative volunteers to plan, design and schedule courses; manage and book venues; provide financial reports for our treasurer; monitor enrolments; print class lists and attendance sheets; and send emails to members, course leaders, course enrolees and others. 

Some Key Features

  • You can display courses the way you choose, e.g. by term, category, day of the week, or alphabetically. So, if you have particular interests or prefer particular days of the week, making your enrolment choices is easy. You may apply to enrol in as many as ten courses in a term.
  • Payments may be made directly via a PayPal account, credit card or debit card.  Cheque payments are also accepted.
  • The system facilitates smooth operation on desktop and laptop computers, tablets and smartphones.
  • Course leaders and Committee members are able to email attachments to members.

The Course Booklet contains details of our courses. A companion document entitled The Wise Owl is an emailed newsletter that keeps members abreast of what is happening at U3A Southern Highlands.

Enrolling in Courses

You may make your choice of courses by using the “filter” to restrict the offerings to a day of the week or subject category, or you can browse through the list alphabetically. 

There are two course enrolment periods each term. During the first “enrolment requests period” you enter and prioritise your course requests. At the end of the period, a preference system in U-MAS is processed to determine those courses in which you have successfully enrolled and those you have been waitlisted. During the second “direct enrolments period” you can directly enrol in any course that has vacancies by clicking on “add to cart” and, when all your choices have been entered, clicking on “checkout” similar to purchasing goods online.

Help and Training

While many members find the use of U-MAS self-explanatory, there may be some who would like assistance. 

Our website contains written instructions with examples taken from U-MAS. 
Click here for help in using specific functions of our membership system.

Our Committee members are available for contact if you have questions or need help in specific areas. Their contact details are on the Contact Us page on our website.

We hope you enjoy our modern and efficient website and membership system.