More than 500 staff gathered at Kickstart earlier this year to talk about how we’re building a culture that’s in line with the NZQA’s expectations of a Category 1 institute. In workshops we discussed the working environment we need to support this culture, the barriers we need to overcome and the actions we each can take to help change the way that we work.
Some very clear themes came through in the feedback collected on the day so here’s just a flavour of what was raised:
When we think about the 7 habits of Category 1 ITPs, what are the main…
…Enablers?
- Clear and consistent vision, processes, tools and resources,
- Collection and use of multi-directional feedback
- An environment where staff are connected, aligned and communicate effectively
…Barriers?
- Processes, policies, systems and platforms are complex and difficult to access and navigate
- Constant change with no consultation
- Silos and disconnection
…Actions?
- Every staff member to understand how they contribute to student success
- Consult more widely and act on feedback – be transparent
- Be proactive, take personal responsibility, be involved, collaborate and connect
There’s loads more feedback so if you’d like to see the detail, then click here!
How are we using that feedback?
The Category 1 Rōpū is the group responsible for overseeing and monitoring the activities and projects that will contribute to us becoming a NZQA category one education provider. They have reviewed all of the feedback and summarised what we’re working on that connects to it.
We’ll share regular updates on progress throughout the year and the Rōpū is also developing a timeline of all the key initiatives, which will be ready to share in a couple of weeks. You’ll find it on the EER page on the Nest, and we’ll keep updating that to highlight latest news and useful resources.
So, here’s just some of what’s going on.
Academic quality
- We’re developing an Academic Quality Management Framework that clarifies all the processes, guidelines and policies for academic staff and makes them available from a single place.
- We’re continuing to improve the manual Academic Dashboard and are also developing a Power BI
one to support a consistent approach to self-assessment. It will contain all the data required to evaluate educational performance, self-assessment capability and academic compliance at programme, Pathway, Network and organisation levels for use by all staff, management and Council. - There’s a benchmarking exercise underway against Otago Polytech to understand specific activities and areas of focus for improvement
- Moderation plans are now complete and we’ll soon be launching a moderation training module to encourage a consistent approach to providing and using feedback
- We’ve made good progress in recruiting our Academic Quality Administrators to provide more admin support where it’s needed. We expect to have the first of these people in place within the next two weeks with a plan to introduce more over time.
EER preparation
- We’re going to prepare for the EER in November with a rehearsal (or an Independent Evaluation Review – IER) in June to assess those areas that will require further attention or coordination prior to the formal EER.
- Part of the EER will review how effectively we can self-assess our performance as an institution. So we’re going to complete an organisation-wide self-assessment report by the end of July.
Student engagement and experience
- We’re establishing a student liaison and mentoring network and standardising the recruitment of student representatives across Unitec
- We’re also developing a student events plan which covers both campuses and outlines workshops, social and cultural connection opportunities. There will also be an onboarding plan and a student care framework to clarify roles and responsibilities
- We’ll continue to improve our new enrolments system and the supporting processes to provide a more customised experience for our students.
Stakeholders
- We’re creating a consistent relationship management register of key stakeholder groups, including Māori, Pacific, Alumni and industry
- We’re aiming to bring more industry voices to our programme development through Industry Advisory Boards
Teacher capability
- This year, we’re introducing a Professional Competency Framework for teachers that aligns with the NZQA’s Key Evaluation Questions (KEQs) and Tertiary Evaluation Indicators (TEIs), that teachers can use for self-assessment, evaluative capability, and to guide their development planning.
- The Competency Framework and tools will be incorporated into the Performance Partnering Process (the ‘D’ of ADEP) and other related people practices (including HR).
- We’re redeveloping our Professional Development Suite for teachers to support and enable the competencies in a way that will also allow for recognition of teachers’ existing competencies
Māori success
- We’re currently redeveloping the 2011 Māori Success Strategy
- We have reviewed Te Hono o te Kahurangi and will start a pilot in Social Practice to guide the embedding of mātauranga Māori during the process of programme development
- There will also be a formal benchmarking process with Whitireia Polytech around factors critical to Māori success and engagement approaches.
- We’ll be using a self-assessment tool developed here at Unitec – the Poutama toolkit – targeting specific Practice Pathways and encourage everyone to complete a Poutama self-assessment as an annual process.
Pacific Success
- As featured on the Nest at the start of the month, the Pacific team has launched their five-year success strategy and is working across the rest of Unitec to implement it.