SIG Reports | Matthew Flinders Anglican College in April

Thank you to Ally Walburn and her team at Matthew Flinders Anglican College for hosting the Executive Committee meeting followed by the Special Interest Groups in admissions and alumni.

Please see reports for both sessions below.

Moving Forward by Going Back to Basics

The previous two years have been challenging for many people, professionally and personally. The disruption to standard operating procedures has forced many admissions teams to rethink the way they interact with potential families and come up with new ideas and methods of doing business. The idea behind this SIG was to strip it back to the foundations; to help teams focus on the core business.

This special interest group focused on key functions of an admissions office, exploring the fundamental business operations, tasks, and priorities for getting the job done and doing it well. The round table discussion highlighted the following topics:

• The enrolment contract and the associated policies and procedures.
• Getting contracts signed and moving toward digit signatures.
• School tours and the various formats of virtual tours – pre-recorded video as opposed to live video using a phone and gimbal.
• School booking systems and software for various events including tours, uniform appointments, enrolment interviews, and other activities.
• Gaining personal information prior to commencement such as medical information and consent to photograph – how and when can this information be obtained.
• Establishing internal relationships and gaining useful facts from faculty.
• The school prospectus – is it necessary and should it be electronic, or paper based.
• The importance of knowing everything – statistics, names, dates, cocurricular activities, subjects, events, school history etc.
• Accountability and expectations, and finally, ensuring that the admissions office works within its remit and knowing when to push back.

How to Harness the Power of Past Pupils

There was a great feeling of collegiality as those in attendance shared their ideas and experiences as part of the Alumni SIG. The SIG focused on the ‘How to Harness the Power of Past Pupils’ and participants spoke about how their institutions share their Past Pupils successes through their Marketing, Enrolment and Fundraising campaigns with lots of great ideas and suggestions shared.