Created Tuesday, 11 October 2011 in General News

UNIVERSITY COLLEGES AUSTRALIA
REPORT ON EXECUTIVE MEETING AND MINI CONFERENCE
MELBOURNE, SEPTEMBER 2011

Thanks to those members of the Association who attended the meeting in Melbourne last week, who contributed to constructive discussion and who reported on activities and developments impacting on their colleges and chapters.  Feedback received from members indicated that the meetings were useful and that discussion was both positive and relevant.   A number of members present commented that they appreciated the ‘round table format’ of the meeting as this promoted interaction and the genuine sharing of views and ideas.

In the course of discussions, the Executive and members agreed on a number of strategies and courses of action, including the retention of Leadership, Advocacy, Communication and Collegiality as the four priority areas for the Executive.  Having said that, a statement clarifying what is meant by each of the four priority areas will be developed within the next month together with appropriate action statements for each area.

 

In addition, the following goals were set for the year ahead:

 

Membership matters

• Engagement with members will be enhanced
• A list of member benefits will be developed
• The annual membership fee/subscription will not be increased 
• Subscription notices to be accompanied by a letter from the President detailing member benefits and encouraging payment
• Payment of subscription to be followed by a thank you note from the President
• The University Colleges Australia  logo will be made available to members with the request that they place it prominently on their websites

Support for members

• The practice of visits to chapters around the country will be continued
• An information pack for new members will be compiled
• Financial support will be provided to assist Heads attend conferences of relevance to the work of the Association.  Further information about these grants and an application form have been posted separately on the website
• The Executive will also consider other forms of financial support to assist members in their work and professional development.  Further announcements about this support will be posted on the website.

Involvement of members

• A description of the role of state liaison representative will be developed and a member in each state and territory will be approached and asked to take on this role
• Members with particular expertise and/or interests will be identified and asked to share their expertise with other members by writing news items for the website, speaking at conferences etc

Communication with members and others

• It was agreed that the concept of a corporate style magazine t is not efficient in terms of time or cost and that content may also be out of date at time of publication
• The Executive will investigate the use of social media such as LinkedIn
• Have a promotional folder and single pager to promote the organisation and its work (We should commission this as a matter of urgency. We have a great graphic artist who might be approached to do this at the end of the year.)
• More frequent use of website 
• The Executive will liaise with Executive of AACUHO with a view to scheduling regular meetings between the Executive of each organisation
• Links to other similar associations – ASRA, WEW, NZTEAP, IHWW – will be included in the website

Website

• The Executive  will communicate news to members on a weekly basis via Shout Outs.  The Executive Officer will compile and post these news bulletins on the website each Thursday
• The Executive Officer will liaise with our web developers with a view to improving the functionality of the website

Once again, I acknowledge the contribution of those present in Melbourne last week to the development of the priorities of the Association for the year ahead and look forward to communicating with members about the development of these and other initiatives.

Barbara Green
October 2011