What is Student First delivering?

In 2021 the ANU Council approved the Digital Master Plan (DMP) which presented the vision for the University’s digital future. As part of this, the University committed to the Student First Program which will be the largest transformation project undertaken by the University.

Student First Program Director, Dean MacDonald, explains that the Program is unique in that it will consist of several initiatives all aimed at uplifting the student and staff experience.

“From the discovery research insights we have to date, we are starting to understand the key themes needing to be addressed, and have developed a plan to activate three initiatives within the Student First remit,” Dean says.

Initiative 1 – Digital Student Experience

Across administration and support services, Digital Student Experience will improve and personalise the end-to-end experience for students and staff along the student lifecycle.

Currently we have over 39 systems that provide CRM capabilities and connected services across the University. We already know that an improved CRM will be a core deliverable of the initiative, with other capabilities to be prioritised based on staff and student needs.

Human-centred design workshops and interviews are currently taking place with staff and students to surface these needs, and future-state workshops are currently being planned for late 2022, early 2023.

Initiative 2 – Learning and Teaching Ecosystem

Learning and Teaching Ecosystem will modernise the learning and teaching environment for staff and students, inclusive of the technology platforms, learning materials and improving cross platform integration and automation.

A roadmap and approach is currently being designed. Human-centred co-design activities and the development of the learning and teaching environment will commence in 2023.

Initiative 3 – Student Voice

Student Voice will enable students and staff to share feedback and work together to improve the student experience at ANU.

The establishment of the Student and Staff Partnership Group (SSPG) is the first step towards encouraging proactive staff-student engagement. The Student and Staff Partnership Group (SSPG) will help build out a Student Engagement Model. Once developed and tested, the Student Engagement Model aims to be utilised by the wider ANU community.

In early 2023 Student Voice will also be launching a physical on-campus location that both students and staff can visit to provide feedback, look at insights, interpret research and actively engage with the Student First Program.

For more information on the Student First Program and its initiatives, visit the Student First Program site or contact the Student First Program Team.