I sat in on a presentation yesterday.
My colleague Scott Nichols , Director of Student Connect at the University of Canberra, shared progress on a new student portal that aims to provide a single point of entry that supports choice of course, enrollment, studying, graduation and on-going alumna/alumnus connection.
The portal will respond dynamically to each student log in and provides an exciting approach to supporting personal learning journeys. I hope this access can be available for the lifetime of the learner.
Scott’s presentation was shared in confidence so I am unable to provide the detail of a platform that will be launched in 2019.
I was fascinated by Scott’s talk and I focused on the personal potential of the platform. It will provide a data rich environment, that with students’ informed consent, could lead to a profoundly ethical resource to support personal learning journeys and personal learning environments.
I believe that the impact of such a portal could be amplified if we are able to appreciate the success of the national Vocational Education Training’s Unique Student Identifier (USI) registration scheme.
At present, six million students who are taking or have taken nationally recognised training opportunities have a USI. This is a reference number that:
- creates a secure online record of recognised training and qualifications gained in Australia, from all training providers
- gives access to training records and transcripts
- is accessed online, anytime and anywhere
- is free and easy to create
- stays with you for life
These ten numbers become a portkey in my vision for innovations at the University of Canberra. The USI transcript service that became available in May 2017 underscores this portkey potential.
With the appropriate checks and balances in place, the USI connects school, tertiary and lifelong learning in a wonderfully transparent way.
The announcement of the USI transcript service included these observations:
- Training participants and graduates can view, download or print their USI Transcript and share it electronically with future training providers if they wish.
- It will help training participants and graduates when enrolling in further training or applying for jobs as well as support Australian businesses to get a better understanding of their employees’ level of training.
- The service will enable the Federal Government and policy makers to get a clearer picture of the skills pathways that Australians pursue, and importantly, the ones that work.
In this context, the University of Canberra portal becomes part of a nationwide and global learning network. It has portkey potential (“an enchanted object that when touched will transport the one or ones who touch it to anywhere on the globe decided on by the enchanter).
