Kia Ora e te whanau whānui o Unitec!

Ko Aroha Lewin Tōku ingoa
Ko Ngapuhi to iwi
Nō Waimamaku ahau.

Welcome to our first VOE Improvements update.

My name is Aroha Lewin and I will be leading out the process improvement initiative for VOE (Change Enrolment) Processing on behalf of the Operations Team. I know we are all very busy so I will keep this first email to the point and use as many bullet points as possible! 

We are all very aware that VOEs can be the bane of our Unitec existence at peak season, so analysis and work is already underway around the current VOE processing and the current system set up within Peoplesoft in order to identify key areas of inefficiencies and pipeline blockers in the VOE process.

Below are some of the current 'high level' issues already identified around VOEs:

1. Delays in processing for students impacting on access and learning
2. Lack of reporting around the end to end VOE process for the institute
3. Unnecessary administrative load on Academic Leaders
4. Inability to segment request types for correct approval processing
5. Lack of supporting information around 'permission overrides' in order to complete VOE requests
6. VOEs 'looping' in the system due to process inefficiencies, lack of understanding or missing information
7. Inconsistent or lack of training available for staff new to the VOE processing environment.

How will this improvement initiative progress?

1. Improvement Time frame: April to August (Worked in two week sprints)
2. Methodology: Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement & Design Thinking
3. Improvement Team: Lead – Aroha Lewin, supported by a team of Continuous Improvement Champions from Operations alongside key representatives from impacted areas of the business.

So what will happen next?

1. Become a VOE Champion - we are looking for key staff members to become champions for each 'step' within the VOE process. If you are interested in becoming a key champion please email better@unitec.ac.nz
2. Need immediate training or have access issues? -  Send us an email to book an VOE Change Enrolment training session on current ways of processing. As we progress improvements we will run updated sessions.
3. Give your Feedback - In our next email we ask that you give us as much feedback about what is not working for you in regards to VOEs. We ask that you engage in a workshop session or give online feedback so we can collect as much data as possible. It is hugely important to get a holisitic viewpoint of what is and is not working for VOEs.

Keep up to date and find core information on Operations Improvement Initiatives:

1. Keep up to date on VOE Improvements on the Nest here
2. Understand the Continuous Improvement Process Methodologies being used (scroll down on this page)
3. Check out some of the key Continuous Improvement deliverables under the Operations Annual Plan

We will be sending out weekly email updates on this initiative from now on. If you feel you should not be receiving these updates please click unsubscribe.

I look forward to working with you in order to improve the VOE - Change Enrolment Process which directly impacts on the student experience, their access and learning. We are committed to delivering best practice processing in time for the start of Semester 2, 2019.

Nga manaakitanga,
Aroha Lewin
Principal Continuous Improvement Lead
Enrolment & Academic Operations