TILS Quinquennial Review Update
In April/May 2008, the Division was reviewed as part of the QUT Corporate Review process. Many staff from around the Division were involved in either the preparation of review materials or participated in interviews with the review panel.
The panel consisted of Mr John Puttick, Chairman, GBST Holdings Limited and External QUT Council Member, Professor Bruce Shortland-Jones, Director, Learning Support Network, Curtin University of Technology; Dr Angela Bridgland, Deputy Principal, Information and University Librarian, The University of Melbourne and Professor Wendy Patton, Executive Dean, Faculty of Education, QUT.
The panel have drafted a report with recommendations that will provide the Division with valuable input into our future strategic planning exercises. It can be found on the Finance and Resource Planning website.
A draft implementation plan will be worked on at the TILS planning retreat in August 2008, and will form the basis of further strategic planning for the Division.
Service Portfolio Office
The Service Portfolio Office (SPO) is a new section formed within ITS. It is responsible for supporting best practice in IT service management for services delivered through ITS and IHS departments.
In 2007, as a result of the Business and Services Improvement (BSI) Project for direct client IT support, ITS and IHS embarked on a combined change process. One of the project recommendations was to establish the Service Portfolio Office to support ITS and IHS in ensuring their service delivery aligned with both the university's strategic direction and the needs of end users.
IT Service Management best practice will be achieved through the implementation of the Service Management Framework which is an internal guide for service managers. This framework outlines their role and responsibilities within the QUT context.
The Service Portfolio Office is responsible for:
- Managing the Service Portfolio and the Service Life Cycle
- The Service Management Framework
- Quality of Service
- A support program for Service Managers
- Standardisation of reporting for Governance
- ITIL compliance
For further information, please contact the ITS Client Quality Manager, Avril Grant (phone: 3138 1053 | email: a.grant@qut.edu.au) or email the team at spo-dec@qut.edu.au.
QUT Virtual: eStudent User Interface Design Project
The ITS Intranet Services Team has currently undertaken major redevelopments of QUT Virtual in preparation for the release of the new student administration management system (SAMS) in early December. An important aspect of this work includes the redesign of the QUT Virtual user interface for students.
The new design is based on considerable student feedback gathered from the 2007 TILS Survey of Online Services for which 1350 students commented on QUT Virtual, other key internal stakeholders (FAMS, Student Experience BSI project team, etc) and an environmental scan of other university portals across Australia and abroad.
Many students provided comments about the need for further integration and consistency of QUT’s online services generally; both in terms of functionality and look and feel. A number of students also indicated they experienced difficulties in navigating across different systems due to dead ends and applications that did not ‘speak’ to each other.
The new interface encompasses 5 different tabs: Quickview, Study, Services, Personal Information and QUT Life. Under each of these sections, data from a number of different systems will be displayed in order to provide students with access to as much information about their activities at QUT, in the one interface.
To view further information about the project including a screenshot gallery of the proposed interface, go to the QV - eStudent User Interface Design wiki space. Please direct all enquiries to the Intranet Services Manager, Vanessa Hall (phone: 3138 4369 | email: v.hall@qut.edu.au).
kickSTART, studySMART: a central portal to TILS learning resources and workshops
The redeveloped webpage for TILS learning resources and workshops, kickSTART, studySMART, was recently released at www.kickstart.qut.edu.au.
The portal points students to commonly used guides, tutorials and workshops/training provided from across the Division (Library, TALSS and IHS, ITS and QPS). kickSTART, studySMART forms part of the range of initiatives to come from the Integrated Literacies project, which focuses on increasing student access to academic and information literacy support.
Central registration system for student events
A key feature of this resource includes access to the new central registration system for all student events. All areas of the Division can now advertise workshops via this interface which is run from the Library catalogue. To view all upcoming student workshops, got to www.kickstart.qut.edu.au/studysmart.
For further information about the Integrated Literacies Project, please contact Judy Peacock, Library Information Literacy Coordinator (phone: 3138 2893 | email: j.peacock@qut.edu.au).
Carseldine Library relocation
Plans for the Carseldine library relocation are well underway with the Science and Language collections relocated in late June to the Gardens Point campus.
Architectural plans and designs for the Kelvin Grove Library (and some surrounding areas), to accommodate the relocation of staff and collections, are progressing well. It is anticipated that the Library Resource Services staff currently located on level 6 of R Block will move during September to their new location in D Block. Lending Services staff will relocate to level 2 of I Block, with timing yet to be finalised. Carseldine staff and the remainder of the collection will relocate after the branch library ceases services at the end of Semester 2, 2008.
The Library has established a Steering Group whose purpose is to oversee relevant planning and communication strategies associated with the library relocation. This group is chaired by Sarah Fredline, A/Associate Director, Development.
If you have any questions regarding the relocation of the Carseldine Library, please contact the Library Secretariat on 3138 1821 or Sarah Fredline (phone: 3138 2962 | email: fredline@qut.edu.au).
