Orientation update

The Student Transition and Retention (STAR) team will lead the planning and delivery of future ACU orientation programs.

The team, which sits within Global and Education Pathways in the Provost Portfolio, will manage all orientation activities, including orientation programs for pathways students, international students, ACU Online and our Rome Campus.

This change has been introduced to address the challenges of delivering our core transition programs across two portfolios.

The STAR team also manages ACU’s Connect 2 Uni program, while the Student Life team in the Corporate Services Portfolio has previously managed orientation.

Both Connect 2 Uni and orientation provide students with activities and experiences aimed at supporting students’ transition into university life.

We know that students are most likely to face challenges transitioning to university in their first year. Therefore, it is particularly important that these two key transition activities are closely aligned, in support of our Transition and Retention Strategy.

The STAR team will now lead all transition and orientation activities, with the Student Life team supporting the delivery of these activities.

This approach will address:

• areas of overlap between orientation and Connect to Uni, ensuring we are not duplicating services or ineffectively using resources
• the overall reduction in the number of students attending orientation as Connect 2 Uni numbers have grown.

Responsibility for orientation will be transferred to the STAR team, under the leadership of Senior Manager, Student Transition and Retention Sarah Rose, on 15 August.

A national Transition and Orientation Committee will meet in August to discuss the new approach to orientation. Consultation is currently underway with faculties, co-curricular and extra-curricular teams.

For more information or any questions please contact Sarah Rose.