Student Business Services Communication Framework

Frequency

Description

Admissions policy and procedures – advisory email

Approx 4 editions per year – usually after CASC meetings

Information for staff about coursework admissions policy and procedures for local applicants, providing a direct line of communication with all staff involved in admissions-related work, particularly those providing advice on selection to future students, and those involved in the selection of entrants to courses and in preparing admissions-related publications.

ask.monash

24/7

• FAQ database and Inquiry Management System with FAQs for students on Admissions, Enrolments, Fees, Scholarships and Timetable.
• ‘Tier 1’ staff at Student Service Centres respond to initial student inquiry.
• Where Tier 1 staff are unable to answer the inquiry, they relay student questions to ‘Tier 2’ content experts in Student Business Services, who then aim to respond within one business day.
• Student Business Services content experts provide Client Services/Tier 1 ask.monash staff with advice and updates as required.

Email

Daily

• Student Business Services units maintain continuous email communication with faculties and other central stakeholders, providing procedural advice, systems support, data integrity advice, data reports, reminders of key dates and processes, and requesting information and contributions to publications.
• Each Student Business Services unit maintains relevant task-based contact lists and production schedules to trigger communications throughout the student administration cycle.

Student Business Services, and Client Services web page

24/7

• ‘Umbrella site’ to all units within Student Business Services and Client Services, linking to separate student and staff only pages for Admissions, Coursework Scholarships, Curriculum and Publications, Enrolments, ESOS, Examinations, Fees, Graduations, Service Centres and Timetabling.
• Organisational charts, Student Administration Network meeting dates, agendas and minutes, link to Student Admin News online newsletter, links to other information resources, publications and systems.
• Umbrella site maintained by Curriculum and Publications unit; discrete operational units that link off the central page manage their own web sites and content, with support of Student Communications.

Student Admin News

Quarterly

• Online staff only newsletter, providing consolidated and authoritative advice to faculties on behalf of Student Business Services and Client Services business units.
• Over 400 subscribers (as at December 2011) across all campuses.
• Archived editions back to September 2005.
• Published by Curriculum and Publications unit.

Committee representation

Year-round

Student Business Services works with faculties and other organisational areas across several levels within the existing governance structure of the university, with representation on a number of peak university committees, including:

• Admission Pathways Expert Advisory Group *
• Coursework Admissions and Scholarships Committee *
• Education Policy Committee
• ESOS Advisory Group *
• Exclusion Procedures Advisory Committee
• Future Students Committee
• Grievance Officers Network
• Learning and Teaching Committee
• Marketing and Communcations Committee
• Student Equity Committee
• Student Experience Network.

Student Business Services staff also service some of these committees (*).

Course for any staff (academic, professional, new or continuing) who deal with international students, outlining legislative obligations and processes to be followed to ensure compliance, and the basics of understanding the broad immigration framework.

Internal meetings

Year-round

• The Director’s Management Group meets fortnightly.
• Each unit within Student Business Services has its own regular team meetings.
• Student Business Services has an annual one-day workshop for all staff.

Student Administration Network

Meetings every 2 months

• The network is a gathering of university administrators concerned with the administration of coursework students in central and faculty organisational units and exists to:
  • Provide a forum and reference point for communication between administrators for matters relating to student administration
  • Discuss current and future business process and technical improvements in student administration.

• Chaired by Director, Student Business Services.
• All faculties, Client Services, Monash College, Student Communications, International Recruitment Services and Student Business Services units are represented.

Welcome to Student Admin workshop

3-4 times a year

• Scheduled to follow soon after each of the Welcome to Monash induction sessions for new staff, to provide new staff with an introduction to student administration activities and procedures at Monash, and their interconnectedness with the ‘Student Administration Life Cycle’.
• Presented by Student Business Services Managers.

Working parties, ad hoc project teams, system development groups, user groups, other university committees

As required

Student Business Services convenes, chairs, facilitates and/or is represented on a number of task-based groups internally, with faculties, and across the university as a whole, both reguarly and on a project or ad hoc basis including:

• Callista Upgrades Steering Committee
• Clayton Campus Open Day Committee
• Curriculum Publications User Group
• Governance Information Network
• project steering committees (eg AHEGS, CAPS, Identity and Access Management, Placements)
• Student Equity Committee (representing Divisional Director)
• Structure, Integrity and Reporting Forum
• Student and Education Administration Systems Board
• Student Recruitment Network (UG and PG)
• Zone 18 OHS&E Committee

Communication with overseas campuses

Semi-regular

• Student Business Services units provide regular assistance to Monash South Africa and Monash Sunway in the development of procedures, processes, system training, and minor ad hoc enhancements.
• Student Business Services units maintain regular email correspondence with South Africa and Sunway; Admissions, Enrolments and Student Finance units engage in regular (fortnightly/monthly) contact with South African counterparts

External user groups

Monthyly-quarterly-biannual-annual

• The Callista Planning and Advisory Group (CPAG) consists of Callista licensees, who collaboratively plan the maintenance and development of the student information system. Underneath that umbrella is the Roadmap Implementation Group (RIG), and a range of web-based collaborative systems – e.g. Calipso for issue tracking and support, various collaborative TeamRooms and a Knowledge Room.
• The Coursework Scholarships user group is a biannual gathering of administrators from Victorian institutions who are responsible for the delivery of scholarship-related administration processes.
• The Enrolments user group is a biannual gathering of administrators from Victorian institutions who are responsible for the delivery of Enrolments-related administration processes.
• The Fees user group is a biannual gathering of administrators from Victorian institutions who are responsible for the delivery of student finance-related administration processes. The annual Fees forum is a gathering of senior student finance administrators from around Australia.
• The Heads of Student Administration (HOSA) is a gathering of senior administrators from educational institutions who are responsible for the delivery of student administration services, held twice a year for state-based institutions in Victoria and annually for Australian and New Zealand institutions.
• The Victorian International Directors Committee (VIDC) is a quarterly gathering of ESOS Managers from Victorian institutions who are responsible for advice regarding ESOS compliance and associated business processes.
• The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) convenes a number of working parties annually, comprising Admissions representatives from across the sector in Victoria. As the VTAC Liaison Officer for Monash, the Manager, Admissions is the Monash representative on these groups.