Victoria University’s TEU members are campaigning against yet another change proposal.  This time the university is proposing to break up its Student Academic Services (SAS) team and then merge separate parts with two separate Information Technology Services (ITS) teams.

Student Academic Services is responsible for the IT support of Victoria’s student management systems. The university is also proposing changes to ITS that local members believe will reduce its technical and strategic planning capacity. The change will also disestablish the Enterprise Architecture team which has responsibility for the overall plan, architecture and standards of IT at Victoria.

TEU organiser Michael Gilchrist says SAS staff want to continue to function as one team.

“Everyone agrees that works very well for them.”

“On the other hand, the university’s proposal does not have a coherent strategy behind it.  There are no measurable objectives or means of auditing the outcomes.  Risks have not been accurately identified or covered off. And, importantly, there is no support for staff – including recognition of the actual changes in roles or an adequate transition and implementation plan,” said Mr Gilchrist.

“The proposal epitomises the defects we find in too many change proposals at Victoria. It is arbitrary, the alternatives have not been properly explored and we end up losing vital staff, knowledge and function. And that‘s just when, as in this case, there is no cost cutting involved.”

TEU members will be asked to send hundreds of postcards to the vice chancellor next week calling for a halt to the change and better standards for change in general at the University.