Student services at QUT involve “an extraordinary number of manual, repetitive and duplicated activities for staff in faculties,” dean of education Carol Nicoll says.

“At present, there are multiple touch points for students throughout the university but no single accountability for the catalogue of student administration services and underpinning business processes.”

And change sponsor Professor Nicoll has proposals to fix it.

One idea is move from the existing silo-based services, in line with a whole of university, single service provider approach. The student services HiQ system, (student business services, IT help and library) is a catalyst for the change and is set to be the first student contact at faculties.

Another is to consolidate curriculum development and student services under assistant deans for learning and teaching, to replace the existing confusion in the three faculties where the two functions are separate.

The proposal details new structures in all faculties but while just about all staff are effected, in line with other QUT restructures, job losses are not extensive, although a few staff whose jobs go may look to fill new, lower grade positions.

The proposal has a long way to go before it meets enterprise agreement change management conditions but it appears to conform to QUT’s MO of restructures that do not end up in the Fair Work Commission.