Moving Out, Moving Up, Moving On:
Relocating Student Administration at
ANU
Division of Registrar and Student Services
Mark Erickson
Therese Douglass
A Presentation to HOSA
September 2011
What we are going to talk about…
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Who are we…
• Research intensive institution of approx 17000 students
• 75%/25% split between local and international
• 55%/45% split between undergraduate and graduate
• Single 145 hectare teaching campus next to the Canberra CBD
• Highest proportion of students living in residences on campus in
Australia
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Who are we…
• Division of Registrar & Student Services (DRSS) is ANU’s second
largest Service Division
• Approx 125 permanent staff (200+ with casuals)
• Encompasses student administration, recruitment, international
students and strategy, student support services, alumni, equity,
indigenous education support, chaplaincy
• Support the student life cycle and enrich the student experience
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What we look like…
REGISTRAR & STUDENT SERVICES
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AS OF JANUARY
2011
Graduate Education
Unit
Office of Policy &
Regulation
Executive Director
(Administration &
Planning)
Registrar
Chaplaincy
Deputy Registrar, Student
Administration & Systems
Deputy Registrar, Student
Recruitment & International
Deputy Registrar, Student
Services
Director, International
Strategy and Alliances
Admissions Office
International Recruitment
Academic Skills &
Learning Centre
Student Equity
Enrolments &
Student Records Office
National Recruitment
Careers Centre
Student Business
Systems Office
Fees & Scholarships Office
Exams, Prizes, Timetabling
& Graduations Office
Business Office
Student Mobility
Counselling Centre
International
Student Services
Health Services
AusAid Office
Disabilities Services Centre
Web & Publications Office
Tjabal Centre
Alumni Office
Research Student
Development Centre
Statistical Consulting Unit
Staff impacted by the move
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Where we were…
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What we had…
• We occupied not-for-purpose accommodation of various ages and in
various states of disrepair. The main Division building which housed
student administration, international student services and
recruitment since 1974 was built in 1965 (as the student union)
• We had a dismal front of house that was the interface between us
and students and which was overwhelmed during peak periods
• We had fragmentation of services and inefficiencies in resource
allocation because of limited space being available in main building
• We had low staff morale because of poor amenities, vacancies
remaining unfilled because of lack of space, and a general feeling of
neglect
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What we had… (the not so good)
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What we had…(the pretty bad)
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What we had…(and the down right ugly!)
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Then we were told we would be moving!
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What we wanted
• We wanted to take advantage of what was possibly a once in a
(career) lifetime opportunity!
• We wanted a lively and contemporary space centrally located on
campus for the delivery of services and transactions to students
• We wanted to consolidate our footprint on campus to create a onestop shop for the convenience of students
• We wanted a great work environment for staff aimed at improving
our morale and productivity
• We wanted to revise some our existing practices around service
delivery and transactions to improve student interaction and find
efficiencies
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What we wanted…
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What we wanted…
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What we wanted…
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What we were allowed to have…
• A space in a new commercial building on the margins of campus
• Allocated space on two floors that would not fit all of the occupants
of the main building, let alone allow consolidation of our outlying
services
• We would get a completely new fit-out with a new student enquiry
space, air conditioning, new furnishings but delivered under the
University’s new space allocation and management model
• Some consolidation of our student reception points, funding to
introduce automated queue management, and a chance to look at
cross skilling staff.
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What we were allowed to have…
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How were we going to get there?
• A relocation taskforce was created to oversee the project, including
Division executive, the architect, Facilities & Services project
managers and the building project manager
• A Division project manager was nominated (Therese!)
• A Division IT and equipment coordinator was nominated
• Team coordinators were ‘volunteered’ to help with on-the-ground
delivery of instructions and tasks
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How were we going to get there?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Weekly project meetings were initiated
Early finalisation of areas impacted by the move
A space and storage audit was conducted
Plans were reviewed, revised and reviewed again
Managers were regularly consulted for feedback
Previous student surveys were mined for comments on physical
environs
• Development of a liaison plan that included contact with impacted
areas such as facilities, security, mail room etc
• Investigation and adoption of queue management technology
• Timeline established to target the mid year teaching break for the
physical move
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When we were going to do things
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What we knew…
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What we knew…
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What we knew…
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What we knew…
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What we knew…
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Project progress…
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What we knew we didn’t know…
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What we knew we didn’t know…
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What we knew we didn’t know…
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Project Progress…
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What we didn’t know we didn’t know!
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What we didn’t know we didn’t know!!
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What we didn’t know we didn’t know!!!
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What we didn’t know we didn’t know!!!!
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What we didn’t know we didn’t know!!!!!
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Project Progress…
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How did we prepare?
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How did we prepare…
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How did we prepare…
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How did we prepare…
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How did we prepare…
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How did we prepare…
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How did we go?
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What did we end up with?
• After three separate moves (finally) finishing on Wed 24th August…
• We did get a lively and contemporary space for the delivery of
services and transactions to students – just off campus
• We didn’t really consolidate – but we lost a few of us along the
way…
• We got a great work environment where everything is new and the
staff reaction has been fantastic
• We are in the process of installing our queue management system,
we are reviewing our customer service practices and the skill sets of
staff and we have consolidated our student interfaces
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What did we end up with…
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What did we end up with…
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What did we end up with…
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What did we end up with…
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Where we are we now. . .
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What did is there still to do?
• There are still one hundred and one little fixes, touch ups and
installations to happen
• The queue management system is still to be implemented
• Customer service process reviews and reconfiguration of resources
still needs to occur
• There is still a lot signage and other communication to be completed
to help students find us
• The Division restructuring needs to be finalised
We still have to have an official opening!
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What we would do differently!
• We would make sure we had a stronger vision of what we wanted
• We would insist on seeing more of the furniture before agreement
and signing off on EVERYTHING
• We would pick a better time in the year to carry out the moves
• We wouldn’t ask people to coordinate a move and continue to do
their real job!
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Mark.Erickson@anu.edu.au
Therese.Douglass@anu.edu.au
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Some of our old and interesting
things…
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Some of our old and interesting
things…
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Some of our old and interesting
things…
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Some of our old and interesting
things…
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Some of our old and interesting
things…
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Some of our old and interesting
things…
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Some of our old and interesting
things…
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