As you are no doubt aware, from 2020, Macquarie students will be studying a new curriculum – providing them with greater control over their studies and setting them up for future careers that they design.

In addition to other projects linked to the Student Strategic Success Framework, the Program Beacon team was tasked with the implementation of this new curriculum. And it was no small undertaking.

Achieved in 2019

Rolled out the new curriculum

We prepared our students, staff, processes and systems for the implementation of:

• WAM (Weighted Average Mark)
• a change to our credit point values – now in multiples of 10
• a change to unit naming conventions – now four numbers and four letters.

Moved 20,000+ students to the new curriculum

This involved determining what to move them to, moving their student record in our student system, telling them what we’d done and encouraging them to enrol in 2020. Sounds simple right?

“Student migration has been an enormous undertaking achieved largely due to the dogged determination of the people involved. It has been an excellent example of cross-unit collaboration with so many people from across the institution working together to make it happen,”
– Professor Kevin Jameson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) explaining how “simple” the process has been.

But there’s more to come on this story. There are still thousands of students to be migrated. The migration team will be working throughout December and January to ensure all students can begin their 2020 studies in the new curriculum.

Implemented the MQCMS

The MQCMS system manages the new curriculum from course and unit proposal, all the way through approvals, to publishing in the handbook. It’s a one-stop-shop resource for our new curriculum now, and into the future. It goes without saying that one system managing workflow, record keeping and published information is a great improvement for Macquarie. The MQCMS also makes it easier for us to be TEQSA compliant in the management of our courses and units.

Delivered a new-look, fully integrated handbook

Released in October, the new handbook is fully integrated with the MQCMS. This means that not only are we being consistent in the degree information we publish for students, but the integration has replaced a previously time-consuming manual and error-prone handbook production process.

Moved to the cloud

Our Academic Management Information System, or AMIS as it’s affectionately known, was moved to the cloud – AMIS 8.

Cloud technology delivers more stability and security for our systems. It also allows us to take advantage of system upgrades and provide enhanced digital services to our students.

“The cloud upgrade is an exciting way forward for Macquarie. Aligning perfectly with the Student Success Strategic Framework, it is a clear investment in our student experience,” says Gail White, Executive Director, Student Engagement and Registrar.

A new approach to student communications

In a world where we’re constantly exposed to different messaging it can be challenging to cut through the noise and convey important information to our students. In line with the Student Success Strategic Framework, Program Beacon took a student-centred approach to student communications, by implementing a peer-to-peer communication strategy.

As the name suggests, peer-to-peer communications at Macquarie is all about students talking to students. Approximately 30 students were employed as Rovers and strategically situated around campus. The Rovers’ job was to chat to current students about changes to the curriculum and what that might look like for them. They were also tasked with gathering intel and feedback.

Launched in October the Rover initiative has been a success. Students are engaging with the Rovers and we are gathering feedback from the current student body.

As at week 4 of this initiative (end November) the stats look like this:

1. What did the enquiry relate to? (could be more than one per enquiry):

Enquiry type	Number of enquiries
What are the changes? How will I be affected?	439
GPA/WAM	255
Study plan questions	186
Enrolment	181
Need for academic advice	121
Transfers (courses/majors)	107
Unit guide info	104
Communications (didn’t see them/didn’t understand them)	96
eStudent access	71

2. How do you feel about MQ2020 overall?

Level	% – end week 1	% – end week 2	% – end week 3	% – end week 4
Upset	1.7%	1.6%	1.8%	1.7%
Somewhat upset	5.2%	4.6%	4.5%	4.4%
Neutral	28.5%	27.4%	28.0	28.1%
Somewhat happy	21.6%	25.0%	25.0	25.0%
Happy	42.9%	41.5%	40.7%	40.4%

 

You can find a copy of the complete week 4 Rover Report on the student communication page of the Program Beacon wiki.

Program Beacon will continue to utilise the peer-to-peer style Rover communication initiative throughout the start of 2020 with a view to expanding Rover content and engagement to other channels such as social media.

Collaborated to promote the marketable outcomes of the new curriculum

The new curriculum provides some unique points of difference for Macquarie University, which in today’s highly competitive global education market presents an opportunity. Our degrees were redesigned to ensure our students are offered the best academic experience, courses and units to prepare for a successful future. That’s highly marketable!

• Flexible degree structures – choose units that lead you to the career that you design
• Postgrad and undergrad double degree combinations – why choose one? Double your knowledge, fast track your learning and multiply your career prospects
• One-year master degrees – Save time and money and get to where you want to be in your career quicker.

In conjunction with Future students, two animations have been designed to promote our UG and double degrees. In collaboration with the PG and Mature Age Future Students and Macquarie International teams, design of an animation to promote the new PG entry pathways and double master degrees is currently underway.

Working towards in 2020

• Completing student migration
• A double degree advisor to help students choose the double degree for them
• A Replacement Course Finder – a fully integrated digital solution making it easier for new and future students to review, compare and choose MQ courses
• More system integrations and optimisation of new AMIS 8 functionalities to enhance service delivery and replace manual processes
• Single sign-on for staff and students for AMIS 8
• Handbook user experience improvements
• An institution-wide CRM
• The TCSI project (Transforming the Collection of Student Information) – an initiative of the Department of Education and the Department of Human Services, aimed at standardising the collection and reporting of information about current students.

Summary

2019 has been a big year for Beacon, with 2020 shaping up to be even bigger as we continue building on the Student Strategic Success Framework. Everyone involved in Program Beacon activities this year is to be commended for their achievements, hard work and dedication.

FROM THE PROGRAM BEACON TEAM – THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK THIS YEAR. ENJOY THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND WE’LL SEE YOU IN 2020.