the heritage walk as well as the design and fabrication of new interpretation panels for the Female Orphan School.
enrolment experience by allocating tutorials based on preferences rather than a first-in, first-served basis.
All projects completed in 2013 align with the UWS Strategic Goal to excel in the development and application of scholarship and knowledge in regional and community contexts, which promote UWS as an engaged University within Greater Western Sydney (GWS), nationally and internationally.
The student management system, Callista, also supported the implementation of a new Special Consideration eForm for students and School staff in Autumn Session 2013. Almost 15,000 applications for Special Consideration have been processed via the new online form. Improvements were also made to several existing eForms including the Review of Grade application. The ARO worked closely with Student Recruitment to update and streamline the Callista student portal (MyStudentRecords – MySR) and various ARO business units in rolling out the new and improved functionality in MySR – such as Progress to Completion. These improvements have provided a sustainable platform to support the future growth of the University.
Academic Registrar’s Office The Academic Registrar’s Office (ARO) is a portfolio reporting to the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students and International) and is headed by the Academic Registrar. Following the integration of the International division with the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students) portfolio, the ARO team has welcomed International Admissions and the International Student Enquiry and Information Service. These additional business units have allowed ARO to continue to provide excellent student support by expanding and integrating a range of services for international students. In 2013, the ARO processed over 204,083 applications, had 23,969 commencing student enrolments and 277,381 unit enrolments, with 119 new units introduced into courses. The International Admissions team processed over 9,000 international applications, more than a 25% increase compared to 2012. In conjunction with Schools, the ARO has been working towards the implementation of UWS Summer, a new initiative which allows students to undertake an expanded range of units during the summer break. Student enrolments commenced in June for units held across five campuses. In addition, the ARO has been supporting Schools with the UWS Early Offer Program for 2014. This program guarantees eligible participants an offer into a range of courses, dependent on ATAR, in advance of the normal offer timeframes. As a result of this program, many more students received their offer of admission early, with a 22% increase in the number of commencing students who had enrolled by the main round offer date in January 2013. Advancements in technology are once again a focus, with improvements and enhancements benefiting students and staff. As forecast in 2012, advances to reporting software and the Timetable Data Collector resulted in improved timetabling. Additionally, Allocate+, a new Tutorial Registration system has been piloted. Allocate+ will enhance students’
The University graduated 4,165 students in April and 2,521 in September, with 1,322 expected to graduate in December. There were also 627 UWSCollege graduates across three ceremony rounds in February, July and November in 2013. The ARO business units have continued to work towards improving the efficiency of service and communication with current students, and within other areas of the University. In 2013, this has included a comprehensive review of student communication channels and establishing strategic and integrated communication plans. Thus far in 2013, 530 emails and 20 SMSs have been sent by the ARO to various groups of students and over 25,217 individual student documents scanned and trimmed by the Electronic Document Management team on behalf of Schools and other units. Other notable achievements and developments in 2013 include: »» Commencement of a review of course compliance against the Australian Quality Framework standards. »» Managers from various institutions, including the University of Wollongong and Avondale College, visited the ARO team to receive a Callista presentation and demonstration, and showcase how UWS uses the system. »» ARO staff highlighted innovative practices at the Tertiary Education Management Conference in Hobart, Tasmania. Presentations were given on the Student Services and Amenities Fee implementation at UWS, the development and implementation of the Advanced Standing eForm, and changes to Admissions and the Early Offer scheme (titled ‘Challenging the Admissions Traditions’).
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