Message from the President

What an amazing experience it was to be able to attend the Educate Plus International Conference that was finally able to be held in the first week of June. Special mention must go to Kamyra Laurenson, one of our Chapter Committee members who was also on the organising committee. I was certainly a proud Queenslander – 87 of us were able to travel to Adelaide as conference delegates. We were able to learn, share, discuss and even party together.

Huge thanks to our members who spoke at the conference – Bianca Coleborn, Director of Marketing and Enrolments at Concordia Lutheran College, Kamyra Laurenson, Director of Advancement IMB at the University of Queensland, Scott Huntington, Director of Admissions at Anglican Church Grammar School.  It was also fantastic to have Paul Browning Headmaster of St Paul’s School fly the Queensland flag when he spoke on Compelling Leadership. 

We also celebrated the many Queensland finalists in the Educate Plus Awards for Excellence:

Alumni Publication:

Somerville House – Winner in this category

The Women’s College, UQ – Winner in this category

Marketing Campaign:

Ormiston College – Winner in this category

Marketing Video:

Concordia Lutheran College

Institutional Leadership Award:

Karen Spiller, John Paul College

Trevor Wigney Award:

Glenda Fitz-Payne – Finalist

Fellows Awarded to Four Members

Educate Plus Fellows are members who have been a full member for at least seven years and given significant service to Educate Plus. They have also contributed to the Advancement profession through their membership, time on committees, presentation of papers, organisation of seminars/conferences and other forums. Congratulations to the following members who were all awarded Fellowships in 2022

• Peter Franks
• David Miles
• Helen Turner
• Nicole Wykes.

We look forward to seeing many of you at our planned Special Interest Groups and Professional Development session in the second half of this year.

Stay well.

Sue

Sue Russell FEdplus | President
Queensland Chapter | Educate Plus

Educate Plus International Conference, Adelaide 2022 – QLD Wrap Up

Through the eyes of Meg Graham, the Queensland Chapter Secretary and Foundation Manager, Clayfield College

As a ‘fresher’ at the conference, it was an amazingly busy, overwhelmingly intensive and incredibly productive few days!  I had enrolled hoping it would be beneficial, but having the low expectations of previous conferences for other professions that yield few gems of gold and are mostly welcomed as a wonderful break from the everyday!

Not so for the Educate Plus International Conference, Adelaide 2022!

If I was in any doubt that there would be take-homes of wisdom, they were dashed before morning tea of the pre-conference workshop, where we were drilled on the finer points of Capital Campaigns at a whip cracking pace!

The ability to swap between interest groups in short and sharp presentations was great. Though it quickly became apparent I was going to have a LOT of post-conference work deciphering my notes as the material was quality, the delivery rapid and the relevance high in the varied sessions.

As valuable as the learning will be from these workshops, forums and seminars were, the best part of the conference was the opportunity to explore with the Exhibitors/Partners and meet so many colleagues from across Australia and NZ.  Although there can be no doubt that Team Queensland captured every opportunity to have fun and develop new and old friendships, behind it all we are weaving the web of connections that make our jobs easier, better and ever so rewarding!

We may not have the interstate visitors in July 2023, but here’s to the Queensland Conference next year!

Image: Meg Graham (Left) with Queensland delegates.

View all Conference photos

Welcome to our new members

A BIG welcome to our new members who have joined the association in the last few months:

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.

Date Claimers

We have a number of events scheduled for the second half of the year:

28 July at 9.00am – Admissions and Marketing SIGs– Nudgee College

27 October afternoon session – Fundraising and Alumni SIGs – venue and time to be confirmed

24 November 11.00am – Professional Development Session, AGM and Christmas Lunch

We will send you more details nearer the time but please, keep checking the EVENTS pages for updates and additional information!

Advancement Practitioner Training

Are you looking to enhance your skills and develop your career? Are you interested in learning more about other areas of Advancement or do you want to learn about best practice from experienced presenters?

Then we’re very excited to let you know that the Advancement Practitioner Training Course is available again, ‘face to face’ in 2022.

The training will take place on 1 and 2 September at the University of Melbourne, 241 Royal Parade, Parkville, Melbourne.

Educate Plus launched this training over eight years ago to connect and empower Advancement staff across Australasia who are committed to providing the best possible service to their institutions. It is aimed at beginner and intermediate-level practitioners and is perfectly suited for staff who need to upskill quickly.

Feedback from previous course participants encourages us to keep innovating and tailoring our course content to ensure we are providing the best practice in our industry and featuring the latest tools, processes and expertise.

“The information that was presented and shared within each webinar was exceptional. So informative and helpful. I always enjoyed the question time and am very grateful for the generous manner of which all of the presenters were prepared to share their own expertise and IP. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the course. I have more information than I know what to do with!”

-Graduate from the 2021 online course

For more information, course outlines, costs and to register, click on the button below

FIND OUT MORE

All Chapter Webinar

Making data-based decisions – using census results to leverage strategy (Webinar)

Does your school, college or university make fact-based strategic decisions from reliable data and information?

Do you know where to find reliable sources of data – both free of charge and by subscription?

Do you have a way to cross-match your data with a specific area?

What are some of the latest findings to come out of the 2021 Census?

What does the ACARA data tell us on future direction and the effects from CoViD-19?

For answers to all of these questions…and more, join Spectrum Analysis for this Collaborative Webinar presentation on Thursday 18 August 2022

Start Time: 12 – 1 pm

Location: Online (via Zoom)

Cost: $35 for Members and $50 for Non-members .

Spectrum Analysis would also like to provide 2 x entry level mapping prizes valued at $800 each for registered and online participants during the webinar. Peter would randomly select the winners during the webinar and make the announcement of winners at the conclusion.

Guest Speaker: Peter Buckingham

Can’t make the live session? Don’t worry…it will be recorded and available post event.

 Learning outcomes

✔ how to identify school, college and university age populations around your educational facility

✔ how to find out what percentage of children attend Independent schools in your area

✔ understand the demographic attributes of local populations including socio-economic status and religious affiliations

✔ understand population forecasts by gender and age groups from 2021 to 2032

✔ other data available for making data-based strategic decisions for your school, college or university in the areas of marketing, enrolments, alumni and community development

✔ see how these data sources can assist a school, college or university make data-based decisions

Who this event is for?

✔ principals, governors, vice chancellors, college leaders and board members of schools, colleges and universities

✔ business and operations managers in schools, colleges and universities

✔ staff in the areas of marketing, enrolments, alumni and community development in schools, colleges and universities

✔ advisers and service providers to schools, colleges and universities

✔ community members interested in understanding reliable data sources and information

✔ students studying education management, governance and management

REGISTER HERE

2023 Queensland Chapter Conference

Please save the dates of Thursday 27 July 2023 and Friday 28 July 2023 for our 2023 Queensland Chapter Conference.

Brisbane city location to be announced. 

Educate Plus members and advancement professionals from schools and colleges across Queensland are invited to attend the Chapter Conference for two days of professional development, networking and inspiration. 

Conference and travel bursaries will be available to regional and low fee paying school applicants.

Please email an Expression of Interest to qld@educateplus.edu.au including your name, institution and contact details to receive further information about bursaries and the conference program.

Stay Connected

Stay connected with your fellow Advancement professionals to keep abreast of best practice, discover new approaches and technologies and gain valuable industry insights.

To keep you to up to date with what’s happening at Educate Plus and within your sector, please connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn 

You can also now join the QLD Facebook page, a local hub in which to discuss issues and latest trends, ask questions, share insights or tell us others about your achievements.