Student Services Strategy
NB: This is intentionally unpublished. Douglas knows more.
MISSION
To enable student success and wellbeing through collaboration, innovation and high quality integrated services.
OUR PRINCIPLES
Support effective decision-making through the provision of quality/timely data and information.
Collaborate amongst ourselves, with students and our stakeholders to achieve the right outcomes.
Enable student independence and resilience through ready accessibility of quality services.
Nurture our staff, students and partners to help people achieve at their best through a culture of wellbeing and high trust that supports strong relationships and a thriving community.
Explore new opportunities, be solution-focussed and empower colleagues to ask “what if?”.
Sustain good practice through continuous improvement, innovation and measurable outcomes, in an environmentally responsible manner.
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Across the Student Services Division we aspire to provide services that respect staff and students and to see them as individuals with unique needs and ambitions. Our processes are tools that ensure efficiency and quality but they are not sacrosanct and there will always be room to make exceptions and to tailor and refine those processes and communications to ensure that they serve the needs of our community, support our brand and evolve with our changing environment.
We recognise that Student Services provide part of an integrated offering to students and support for staff. We will place an increasing emphasis on good communication, collaboration and integration with stakeholders across the University and with our partners outside of the University. We will seek opportunities to coordinate, and where appropriate rationalise, services and ensure that students have clear information about where to go for support. We will develop systems that will allow us to reach out to students that we can see require support and we will ensure that there are clear referral pathways and effective systems for recording and monitoring interventions.
We will provide services and experiences which promote wellbeing, encourage participation and support retention. Our services will help students to grow and to develop resilience and independence. Our services will complement and enhance academic achievements and will help ready or better equip students to be successful in their chosen career or future studies.
We will seek opportunities to harness the talent and enthusiasm amongst our student population by providing casual and fixed term employment opportunities. We will also identify internships and work integrated learning opportunities. We recognise that students provide a highly relevant perspective and can enhance the quality of our service by bringing their own experiences and knowledge to bear in providing support and information, designing systems and processes and delivering presentations.
Student Services will make better and more regular use of data to identify issues, monitor performance and inform decision making. Dashboards will become a more regular feature of meetings and reports. Information about our services and the processes we manage will be clear, simple and digestible. Student and staff will find it easier to identify and navigate the services, support and processes they require. The information we provide on the web will be consistent and to the point and will positively promote the quality services and opportunities that we offer.
Highly effective teams require a clear strategy in which they are invested, good communication and a positive and supportive work environment. We will focus on team building and training and development. We will foster an environment which encourages innovation and in which teams constantly reflect on and continuously evolve processes and systems.
The University recognises the need to grow its offering to better serve our community. We believe that with growth comes economy of scale and diversity. The Student Services Division is committed to supporting growth in domestic and international student numbers by providing an outstanding student experience, comprehensive and responsive support services and accessible processes.
We will evolve our cultural capabilities to provide a responsive, respectful and authentic service across the variety of cultures represented at the University. We will provide opportunities to enhance cultural awareness and encourage participation in cultural events and learning.