Victoria University locks in new student experience for 30,000 students
Victoria University (VU) is expanding its online experience with a new student management solution from enterprise software provider TechnologyOne.
VU has several campuses in the Melbourne CBD, the Melbourne Western Region and Sydney, comprising six academic colleges, six research institutes, seven research centres and Victoria Polytechnic.
A new five-year deal builds on the existing TechnologyOne student management system implementation — currently used by 10,000 TAFE students — to also include 30,000 university students.
Improving the student experience has been a focus for universities in recent years, and the events of 2020 have sharpened that focus considerably.
“At VU, the change to one single student management system will effectively support and integrate our requirements for both vocational and higher education,” Naomi Dempsey, VU’s Acting Deputy Provost Academic & Students said.
“Introducing TechnologyOne for all student cohorts at VU will build on existing VU technology platforms and [add the] capability to support a streamlined digital student experience into the future.
“Beyond the consolidation of VU’s student management data sources into one platform, the new system offers many additional advantages to our students, staff and the university, including reduced risks and increased financial sustainability and efficiency through more automated processes.
“The transformation of our data into a single source of truth for the entire student journey will improve the student experience and the management of student pathways from vocational education through to higher education,” said Dempsey.
Student management systems (SMS) are designed to simplify the interaction between tertiary education institutions and their customers, the students. They aim to provide a one-stop shop for administrative services from enrolment to graduation — and everything in between.
Victoria University was an early leader in the use of SMS, adopting TechnologyOne’s solution for its TAFE students in 2017. In March this year, VU began discussions with the company for a replacement to the system used by its higher education students.
“There is an obvious benefit in consolidating the two systems with one vendor. We’ve also been a TechnologyOne customer for 20 years. We already use their financials and there is a clear value in having an integrated solution that is designed to work with other parts of our operation,” said Richard Constantine, VU Vice-President, Resources and Risk.
“Universities are complex and there are significant differences between TAFE and higher education. The fact TechnologyOne operates in both environments gave us confidence it was the right solution,” Constantine said.
Ed Chung, TechnologyOne CEO, said the company’s OneEducation solution is used by more than 60% of the vocational and higher education institutions in Australia and New Zealand and supports more than 1.4 million students.
“We’ve been involved in the education sector for many years. Over that time we’ve invested, and continue to invest, a considerable percentage of our revenue into R&D and a sizeable proportion of that on enhancing our student management solution because we understand how important it is to our customers.
“The leaders in the sector, like VU, see SMS as the focal point of an organisation-wide effort to improve student experience and deliver better outcomes for students, increase the efficiency and effectiveness of administrative functions, and better attract teaching and support staff. “
“It’s been a difficult year for the education sector, but one in which those who’ve previously invested in technology have seen the benefits. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) technologies in particular have played a critical role in allowing universities to continue to help Australians pursue their education and develop their skills.
“As an Australian company we have also been working closely with the sector to enable our customers to meet their regulatory obligations in the most simple way possible,” he said.
TechnologyOne customers will be able to submit returns using TCSI from January 2021 and all providers must transition to the new TCSI system by 31 March 2020.
The TechnologyOne SMS is expected to be in use by VU’s higher education students from January 2022.
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