Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a great break and got to lie back somewhere (beach, park, sofa), read a book, start a hobby, or catch up with family and friends. I had the opportunity to do all of this, and it felt like the three weeks break was beneficial to both my body and mind.

I like even years. I always feel as though good things will happen in even years. 2022 has started quite briskly for us at DVE, with many projects already underway and clients reaching out for support in 2022. I didn’t think I would mention COVID-19 this year, but unfortunately, this latest variant keeps everyone on their toes again.

Many of our DVE staff have had friends or family infected or ill from other things, and we have again realised how important good health is to a happy and fulfilled life. Next quarter, take the time to ‘Niets Doen’ (‘do nothing’ in Dutch).

Conferences

I’m planning to attend the Universities Australia Conference as well as the Heads of Student Admin (HoSA) and TEM Conferences this year. I hope they can be held in person this year. While the virtual conferences were great last year, I miss the in-person chats and coffees with everyone. Networking isn’t the same online.

Sadly, I could not attend the National Association of Field Experience Administrators (NAFEA) conference, but I understand it included some great discussions about the quality of student experience, amongst other topics.

In November, Helen Ryan from Federation University and I presented jointly at the TEMC and had a great response to our presentation ‘Navigating the 8 Wastes in Higher Education’. I spoke about the DVE 8 Wastes theory, and Helen spoke about how Federation University implemented those training outcomes across their division. It’s a great success story. Many people asked for our 8 Wastes postcards and action plans. Feel free to email me dianne.vaneck@dvesolutions.com.au if you would like some of these as well.

I will be running 8 Wastes Training in February. You can register your interest at info@dvesolutions.com.au if you would like to learn more.

Sector Opportunities

There are some exciting opportunities for new positions at various universities across the country. I try to share as many as I can on LinkedIn, so be sure to keep an eye out. If you have a position being advertised, please feel free to PM me on LinkedIn, and I will share it across my networks too.

DVE also has several positions available in our Governance and Compliance team, and we are also looking for those with Education and Process Improvement or Systems Implementation experience. You can view more opportunities on our Careers Page and LinkedIn.

Sector Happenings

Over the past two months, several people have moved into new positions. Congratulations to the following:

• Dr Romy Lawson has moved from Murdoch University to Flinders University.
• Swinburne University has appointed several new leadership positions.
• Prof Jo Cys has been appointed Provost at the University of South Australia.
• Prof Anna Sullivan has been promoted to Professor of Education at the University of South Australia.
• Damian Scanlon has been named as the new MBA Director at James Cook University.
• Penny Johnston has been appointed to Executive Director – Academic Development at TAFE SA.
• Meredith Parry has been appointed to the role of Executive Director for Student and Community Engagement.

Credit

Determining a student’s potential credit or advanced standing as part of the application/admissions process is essential for attracting students in this more competitive world.

Over the last six months, we have been working with several universities to help them understand their current capability and map new procedures to make the credit process as seamless and straightforward as possible. This has been an exciting task as it is clear that universities can get an immediate return on their investment through more admissions and simplified administration.

It has also been great to talk with students to understand how important it is to get an offer in their hand, how good it is if that offer also includes confirmation of credit, and how the first one received is usually the one they accept.

Compliance matters are also at the top of consideration when mapping credit and DVE has a suite of highly qualified experts who can review your process from a compliance perspective as well. If you would like to get credit under control in your university, please call 1800 870 677.

Rural Health School Support

Thirteen years ago, we launched a simple clinical placement student management system that enabled a small number of Rural Health Schools to manage their student placements, support, travel, accommodation, schedules and reporting all in one system.

We have been upgrading this system regularly and are pleased to now be moving forward with further developments and making it accessible to a larger number of universities on an affordable subscription model.

This is an exciting niche product that fits the specialist needs of students and staff in rural health schools. What’s more, it is delivered at a low cost and is easy to use. It is wonderful how low-cost targeted systems can still deliver great results as part of a large corporate IT infrastructure. If you are interested in knowing more about this, please call me at 1800 870 677.

That’s all for this edition. I will be back in touch next quarter!

Cheers
Di