Preparing staff for offshore work and coordinating delivery

1. Preparing staff for offshore work and coordinating delivery Stan Astachnowicz Partner Relationship Manager: International UniSA Division of Business

2. This presentation addresses: • Strategies to ensure effective delivery • Implementing successful moderation processes to ensure standards • Understanding the role of cultural and political context Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

3. Context of my perspectives • Involved as an academic in Transnational delivery for UniSA’s business faculty for 16 years – since inception. • Been a Program Director for Accountancy program for over 10 years – during the growth period when UniSA was Australia’s largest TNE provider, majority in business. • UniSA first to get AUQA TNE commendations • Been TNE PRM for last 4 years. • Been involved in TNE program wind down. • This presentation assumes existence of a local partner. Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

4. Effective DeliveryWhat’s “effective” for you? • Strong operating surpluses? • Brand recognition? • Institutional positioning? • Encouragement of onshore enrolments? • “Effective” delivery will be influenced by your required mix of objectives above. EG do TNE surpluses matter much more than positioning? Attraction of students onshore more important than TNE surplus? Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

5. Strategies to ensure effective delivery • Ensure your required scale of operation. • Well defined agreement on division of academic and administrative duties. • Appointment of specific administrative and academic managers (directors) for your offshore programs. • Regular induction of student intakes and of both local and partner teaching staff. Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

6. Strategies to ensure effective delivery • Sensible formatting and timing of: • Study periods (semesters/ terms) • Subject scheduling (eg separate cohorts v building cohorts within the program/s) (above needed for sustainability of staff workload and underlying cost structures) • Involve your regular local staff in offshore offerings and reward them (time &/or money). Builds goodwill, ensures quality & reduces cost. Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

7. Strategies to ensure effective delivery • Choose your markets carefully, especially whilst $A is so high (trade-offs discussed in previous session) • Ensure implementation of effective quality control mechanisms. Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

8. Implementing successful moderation • Set up a documented programmed structure of set moderation processes and timelines. Set up an admin support structure to make this happen. Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

9. Implementing successful moderation • Establish moderation requirements that answer the key question that TEQSA and other parties will want answered – Is this program equivalent to your main offerings? Moderation requirements may be slightly different to achieve the above depending upon the teaching model used (partner teaching v in-house teaching) Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

10. Moderation in different teaching models • Primarily In-house taught model • Key issue is to establish equivalency with other in-house offerings. May be enough for school/ Head of School sign off approval. • Primarily partner taught model • Key issue is to establish that partner is producing equivalent outcomes. Requires a set moderation procedure to occur which is reported upon and than approved by school/ HOS. • Timing relative to other offerings affects moderation cost and ease. Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

11. Implementing successful moderation • Induction of all new staff (in-house and partner staff) sets expectations in advance. • Collaborative models should require on-going communication between staff. As well as achieving goodwill, acts as a “pre” moderation. • Make student aware of moderation process – instils confidence in quality. Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

12. Implementing successful moderation • Depending upon the institutional scale, 2 levels of moderation may be useful to incorporate cohort as well as disciplinary norms (ie TNE program level as well as disciplinary level). • BOTTOM LINE: Set a quality line in the sand. Whose qualification is this? Whose brand and reputation is on the line? Who gets the TEQSA audit? Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

13. Cultural and political context • Vital to do your homework here, and make your staff aware. Has implications for: • Understanding the motives and likely future behaviour of your partner institution. • The ongoing existence of a market (eg Malaysia), and ability to enhance market (eg local professional accreditation as well as international standing). • How the students approach tertiary study and cope with your expectations (eg In China and Hong Kong, Confucionist style of learning, part time v full time students) Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

14. Cultural and political context • Student interaction with resources (eg textbooks in Malaysia). • Appropriate staff behaviour in those markets (eg dress code, uses of English words that may have other meanings in that location). • Who has the real influence (eg a Vice President in v. Party representative in a Chinese Uni). • Corruption issues Be aware, be flexible and engage, but don’t be so flexible as to sell yourself out. It’s hard to come back. Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz

15. In summary • Achieving effective and sustainable outcomes is costly in the short run. Some will disagree that this is necessary, but this is likely confusing efficiency with effectiveness in most cases. • We need the $’s. But, what does it gain you to make an extra 10% or so in the short term if it risks: • Making you generic and easily replaceable? • Earning you an “easy” reputation? • Opening you to student complaints? • Setting you up for an adverse TEQSA audit? Preparing staff for offshore work & coordinating delivery - Stan Astachnowicz