Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre IAAO 2016 Catherine Wills Chris Pollard

James Cook University  (JCU) Adelaide Central School of Art Australian Catholic University Australian College of Physical Education Australian College of Theology Australian Film Television and Radio School Australian Institute of Music Australian Lutheran College Australian National University Avondale College of Higher Education Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Bond University Bradford College Pty Ltd Canberra Institute of Technology Central Institute of Technology Charles Darwin University Charles Sturt University CQUniversity Curtin University Deakin University Edith Cowan University Educational Enterprises Australia Pty Ltd Federation University Australia Flinders University of South Australia Griffith University (GU) La Trobe University Legal Profession Admission Board Macquarie University Marcus Oldham Farm Management College MCD University of Divinity Monash College Monash University Murdoch University National Institute of Dramatic Art Open Universities Australia Queensland University of Technology (QUT) RMIT University South Australian Institute of Business and Technology Southern Cross University Swinburne University of Technology Sydney College of Advanced Education Sydney College of Divinity Tabor Adelaide The University of Adelaide The University of Western Australia University of Canberra University of Melbourne University of New England University of New South Wales University of Newcastle University of Notre Dame, Australia University of Queensland, The (UQ) University of South Australia University of Southern Queensland (USQ) University of Sydney University of Tasmania University of Technology, Sydney University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) University of Western Sydney University of Wollongong Victoria University ACTAC Just like finance, HR, Marketing and sales IT is part of the business If “IT” is to be successful it needs to have strong business knowledge This is VTAC’s strength and a major risk, the loss of a key staff member can have years of knowledge walk out the door Cloud based solutions are key, the cyclic nature of student admission require high levels of resources one day and minimal amounts the next We have low staff numbers having a dedicated desktop support was not my desire and with reduced complexity this was achieved Data security is a key focus of VTAC

Australian Tertiary Admissions Centres Established from the 60’s to provide centralised processing for applications and offers for tertiary courses. Limited number of universities Limited range of courses Single application for multiple institutions and courses Demand driven

What VTAC does Primary purpose is to deliver applications and selection services on behalf of tertiary institutions VTAC delivers this obligation through: In-house software development Support and provision of information to students Support and provision of information to institutions Assessment and management of student data

VTAC 2015/2016 Applicant Group 2015/16 applicants Domestic undergraduate 72,886 International undergraduate 2,606 Total undergraduate 75,492 Year 12 domestic 48,850 Non year 12 domestic 24,036 First preference university 66,819 First preference TAFE 4,698 First preference ITC 1,307 Graduate Entry Teaching (GET) 2,795

VTAC Offers

Reinvention Thank Catherine How does a central admissions organisation reinvent itself? This is a question that we are grappling with. My name is Chris, project manager, 5 years in a few universities 8 minutes - 1.5 minute intro, 2 minute problem/history, 3.5 minute solution, 1 minute conclusion

Higher education in Victoria The Direct Portal: a reinvention example What we’ve learnt so far

are not the only market anymore High school graduates are not the only market anymore International Postgraduate Non - year 12 We’ve been around for 50 years And we’ve been the central service for mainly high school graduates, Year 12s as we call them.

Direct Application

Institutional Trends Politics Funding pressures Centralisation within the institution Opportunity for VTAC Preparing for less government funding

The Direct Portal Institution-branded Access from the institution’s website Offers produced daily Non preferential Free We had blind optimism REbrand the application interface with some tweaks We realised that the direct space is quite different One university was willing

What have we learnt so far? Universities need more information Offer simulations are clunky Workflow is different Customer service challenges

Conclusions Applicant profiles are changing Reinvention The Direct Portal