University Registry - National Student Survey Action Plan (December 2013)
Strengths & Areas of Good Practice / Areas of Concern
  • Communication: some areas of excellent pro-active communication with students, which utilises the various mediums that are available, including the new text messaging system. There is a need to identify and proliferate best practice in this area.
  • Customer & Service Standards: many instances of excellent customer service, responsive and dedicated staff throughout different Registry functions. There is a need to ensure greater consistency and establish guidelines for minimum basic standards and clear expectations on service standards.
/
  • Disconnect between work on Quality Assurance and Enhancement
  • Identified need for more extensive and effective Planning processes
  • Paucity of management information provision
  • Identified need for comprehensive business process reviews to embed a culture of continual improvement
  • Improvements required to orientation, induction and registration processes
  • Ensuring that the Student Voice is represented appropriately and that greater levels of student engagement are fostered

Section B: University RegistryAction Plan

Ref / Specific Actions / Monitoring Method for Confirming Delivery / Specific Additional Requirements / Individual Lead / Timescale / Progress Update (December 2013)
Strengths to build upon / Good practice to proliferate
1 / Communication: Elements of excellent pro-active and responsive communication with students, which could be further developed and extended /
  • Development of a student communication strategy as part of the overarching Student Experience Strategy
  • Including identifying and proliferating best practice, co-ordinating web based, twitter, hard copy communication and the new student text messaging system
/ Director of Student Experience /
  • Student Experience Strategy drafted and agreed in July ‘13
  • “Tell Us” Feedback Scheme was launched on October 1st.
  • Formal stand-alone Student Communication Strategy is being drafted by the Associate Dean, Student Experience (E+S) and DfSE

2 / Customer & Service Standards: some widespread examples of exemplary customer service with central and Faculty offices, which could be proliferated /
  • Development of ‘Professional Services’ ethos and culture; implementation of improved staff development and training programme
/
  • University wide approach needs to be adopted, not solely focused on Registry
/ All /
  • Dedicated Student Experience Training Sessions are to be developed in conjunction with HR. A draft was shared with VC SEG in September.

Ref / Specific Actions / Monitoring Method for Confirming Delivery / Specific Additional Requirements / Individual Lead / Timescale / Progress Update (December 2013)
Concerns & challenges to be addressed
3 / Quality Assurance & Enhancement:
Review existing procedures and processes to ensure that work on assurance and enhancement are integrated and cohesive /
  • Outcome of review process, ensuring that NSS and BUS results are reflected in analysis and resultant action
  • Review of paperwork and documentation with a view to reducing associated bureaucracy and ensuring focus on value added (consideration of opportunity cost to Academic and Professional Services staff)
  • Review committee structure for assurance and enhancement areas to remove any barriers and impediments to the co-ordination of assurance and enhancement work
  • Develop recommendations for how these processes could foster greater levels of student engagement and ensure the student voice is sufficiently represented
/ Registrar & Academic Registrar
4 / Planning: The need for the more extensive and effective planning processes /
  • Implementation of the Business Planning Policy for 2013/14
  • Conduct and operation of the Termly Business Review
  • Development of detailed schedule for the annual Planning Cycle
  • Alignment and integration of Planning and Resource Allocation processes
/ Requirements to be investigated as part of the review of the role of the Planning Office / Registrar & Head of Planning / Full implementation in 2013/14 AY / Revised and expanded Business Planning Process and schedule confirmed in Oct/Nov 2013. University Performance Review at CMT in Dec. Suite of MI reports, including overview Faculty report distributed in Nov. FBP template consultation underway
Ref / Specific Actions / Monitoring Method for Confirming Delivery / Specific Additional Requirements / Individual Lead / Timescale / Progress Update (December 2013)
5 / Management Information: Improve the quality and quantity of management information, particularly in regard to performance monitoring and student satisfaction /
  • Design and implement new suite of MI reports to support Annual Monitoring reports
  • Develop specification of MI requirements
  • Design and implement new suite of MI
reports to support Annual Monitoring reports
  • Establish ‘dashboards’ for Careers and Employability working group
  • Develop comprehensive MI packs for Business Planning process and to support Termly Business Reviews and establish online repository
/ Work with colleagues in CIS to ensure suitable systems exist to support the institutions MI/BI requirements / Head of Planning / Revised AMR by AY 2013/14
C&E
Dashboard Spring 2013
Business Planning MI 2013/14 / New suite of AMR and Periodic review reports produced with positive feedback
C&E Dashboard produced and reviewed by EAG. Suite of MI report provided to support BPC.
Reports for NSS and DLHE produced and regarded as significant improvement
6 / Business Process Review: to undertake a review of existing business processes, with a view to improving operational efficiency and effectiveness to help enhance the student experience /
  • To develop a proposal for how best to take this forward and build on existing work mapping business processes
  • Registry Process Review via Maxxim Consultants
/ Registrar / Maxxim review to be completed within 3 months / Maxxim have provided emerging headlines from the Registry Process review
7 / Standards of Service and Professionalism: achieve greater consistency and embedding a culture of professional services and continual improvement (linked to action point 2) /
  • Development of ‘Professional Services’ ethos and culture
  • Implementation and utilisation of new CRM system
  • Establishing protocols for more formalised information exchange
  • Clear delineation of areas of responsibility in regard to student facing services
  • Establish clear expectations and guidelines for basic standards as a point of reference
/ All /
  • Dedicated Student Experience Training Sessions are being developed in conjunction with HR. A draft was shared with VC SEG in September.
  • A “Hot Information Points” Proposal will be taken further following a full evaluation of the impact of the “Tell Us” Scheme

Ref / Specific Actions / Monitoring Method for Confirming Delivery / Specific Additional Requirements / Individual Lead / Timescale / Progress Update (December 2013)
by the Assistant Director, Student Experience
8 / Holistic View of Student Experience: the need to take a ‘whole system view’ of student experience and effectively co-ordinate the work of various groups and projects /
  • Co-ordination and integration of individual plans for areas impacting on student experience
  • Establishment of Student Partnership Agreement
  • Student Integration Project
  • Co-ordination of the Associate Deans Student Experience
  • Warehousing information about the student experience, including internal and external surveys
/
  • Establish monitoring framework and ensure resource implications are considered and addressed
/ Director of Student Experience /
  • A series of recommendations relating to survey mapping and warehousing of information was agreed at the Sept VC SEG. A map of surveys live was subsequently produced for the November meeting
  • The Opinion Dashboard system has been approved and went live in November
  • Work on revising the Student Partnership Agreement is being led by the Associate Dean (CATS) working towards a January 2014 deadline.
  • Weekly meetings are occurring with the DfSE, Associate Deans Student Experience and Assistant Director, Student Experience. Many cross-institutional initiatives are occurring and reported regularly to VC SEG.

Ref / Specific Actions / Monitoring Method for Confirming Delivery / Specific Additional Requirements / Individual Lead / Timescale / Progress Update (December 2013)
9 / Student Voice: ensuring that students are suitable engaged and represented in the delivery and development of Registry functions /
  • Development of proposals for how best to engage students in the operation and management of Registry functions
  • Implementations of the recommendations from the Student Voice action group
/ Director of Student Services / Many of the Student Voice recommendations have been encapsulated in the Student Experience Strategy. Actions will be monitored regularly.
  • “Tell Us” Feedback Scheme was launched on October 1st.

10 / Student Engagement: ensuring that Registry is contributing to fostering greater levels of student engagement /
  • Development of proposals for how Registry could support existing engagement measures such as course reps
  • Contribution to the training and support of course reps
  • Provision of professional services support to the Students Union
/ Registrar & Director of Student Experience /
  • The intention is to work with the Beds SU with a view to enhancing Course Rep provision although this so far only been in the form of preliminary discussions with Laura Bright (Beds SU).

11 / Orientation and Induction: to facilitate the shift to orientation and induction being viewed as a longer term process rather than something constrained to the first couple of weeks /
  • Implementation of revised orientation and induction processes as part of registration for 2013/14
  • Improvements to online registration processes
  • More extensive pre-arrival information
  • Extension of student ‘buddy’ system
/ Director of Student Experience and Deputy Academic Registrar / Sept 2013 /
  • The Assistant Director, Student Experience, and the Associate Dean Student Experience (E+S) have led on a raft of enhancements to the Orientation process for the start of the 2013/14 academic year. An Orientation and Induction sub-group has been formed and is chaired by the ADSE E+S.

Ref / Specific Actions / Monitoring Method for Confirming Delivery / Specific Additional Requirements / Individual Lead / Timescale / Progress Update (December 2013)
12 / Assessment: to facilitate the more timely and effective communication with students around assessment, including marking criteria, due dates and results /
  • Shift to a more formalised and systematic method for setting assessment due dates
Support academic colleagues in the effective dissemination of marking criteria
  • Support the timely and efficient communication of results and/or feedback
/ Development work to negate the need to take down systems used to provide results and feedback / Academic Registrar
13 / Support for course co-ordinators: to ensure that appropriate levels of administrative support is available to support this key role with the faculty /
  • To undertake a review of existing responsibilities and duties and develop proposals for how the level of support might be modified in future
/ Faculty Managers
14 / Student Award Predictor: provision of a facility to enable student to use actual and hypothetical grade to predict degree classification /
  • Produce project proposal
  • Successful implementation of facility
  • Review of usage
/ Additional investment to purchase software and external consultancy / Head of Planning / Summer 2013 / Project approved by VCEG. Module purchased and successfully installed. Implementation and roll out complete Oct/Nov 2013
15 / Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR) /
  • Provision of relevant professional services support to facilitate the implement of HEAR and transfer it into ‘business as usual’
/ Faculty Managers / The Registrar is chairing the monthly HEAR Project Board
16 / Student Satisfaction Analysis / To support the development and assessment of NSS Action Plans there is a need to better warehouse data pertaining to the student experience and facilitate the development of a holistic and multi faceted view of performance in different parts of the organisation / Director of Student Experience & Head of Planning /
  • A series of recommendations relating to survey mapping and warehousing of information was agreed at Sept VC SEG

Section C: Further Investigation Needed for Student Experience Issues

Ref / Area of Concern / Uncertainty / Intended Resolution (Inc. Data Triangulation & Student Involvement) / Individual Lead / Reporting Timescale
16 / Staffing resource within Registry Areas / Undertake a review of existing staffing resource and formulate prioritised recommendations for additional investment that would enhance the student experience / Registrar & Registry Heads / Maxxim have provided emerging headlines from the Registry Process Review

Section D: Risk Register

Likelihood of RiskImpact of Risk

1 – Very low1 – Insignificant

2 – Low2 - Minor

3 – Medium3 - Moderate

4 – High4 - Serious

5 – Very High5 – Very serious

Ref / Risk Description / Suggested Internal Control(s) / Likelihood / Impact
18 / Ensuring sufficient skills and capacity are available to support the achievement of exemplary standards of service / Develop detailed business case for additional investment required and effectively prioritise requirements / 4 / 4
19 / Lack of space available to Registry / Undertake an audit of space assigned to Registry and develop a plan for how best to utilise available space and prioritise requests for additional space / 3 / 3
20 / Growth in student numbers in specific disciplines / Implementation of new planning process should enable areas of growth to be identified in advance, enabling appropriate action to be taken to prevent a volume vs. quality trade off / 4 / 4
21 / Late changes in recruitment patterns in Clearing that could impact on timetabling / Ensure sufficient flexibility is built into timetabling processes to enable the impact of such shifts to be dealt with effectively and ameliorated / 4 / 3
22 / Failure to adhere to QA review and approval deadlines that adversely impact on commensurate functions / Work closely with colleagues to communicate the importance of meeting deadlines in a timely fashion and prevent / 4 / 3