On 14th July, due to the current pandemic, Tribal hosted the first ever Empower Online Conference. The event offered customers from the higher education sector all around the world an opportunity to gain insights into the world of education from 6 live sessions with live Q&A and opportunity for discussion, and 20 on-demand sessions, recorded in advance by Tribal employees.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, large-scale events as we once knew them are a thing of the past. We recognise this will have a major impact on university freshers week 2020, with the typical fun-loving, drink-fuelled week now overpowered by institutions striving to follow the guidelines when it comes to meeting government social distancing restrictions.

Did I hear you say Taxi?

Yes, TCSI (pronounced “taxi”), you heard that right! It stands for Transforming the Collection of Student Information (TCSI). It’s a joint project between the Department of Education & Training (DET) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) to transform how student information is collected to build a better solution that benefits both Australian education providers and students.

COVID-19 Response Barometer

The COVID-19 Response Barometer has been borne out of necessity – the necessity for Higher Education Institutions to hear and understand the student voice during the pandemic, and the necessity to understand that student voice in the context of a global comparison. Here we look at how the survey has been received and the aspirations of those institutions that are sharing the survey with their student population.

You are a long-standing Tribal customer and thinking about booking tickets for the Tribal Empower Online Conference. But, you are busy, budgets are especially tight, and your manager wants return on investment. Time away from the day job can be difficult to muster but there has never been a better time to invest in becoming an expert in your field and join the conversation online.

For anyone returning to university, the apprehension and unknows that Covid-19 presents will likely be playing on student minds. Indeed, Student Minds, the UK’s student mental health charity and Headspace in Australia, have been providing unprecedented levels of dedicated support to both students and staff to help them through this period, and publishing up to date  guidance and resources on a regular basis.

Starting university life is challenging at the best of times. From meeting new people, to moving away from home (likely for the first time), and discovering a new way of learning… it’s not unusual for students to feel apprehensive about what lies ahead. Throw Covid-19 into that mix and the new challenge becomes even more overwhelming. With so much uncertainty and lack of clarity on what the future holds, there has never been a more important time for universities to provide a robust student support and welfare service, especially to those first year students who will be joining the university in the near future.

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘Data is King’. Having data at your fingertips provides valuable insights on how well your institution’s student recruitment activity is performing against your desired targets. Being able to quickly analyse and visualise that data is key; no one has the time in their day to spend hours manipulating it just to extract the information they need. The demanding nature of our roles within institutions require the need for tools which do it for us, at a simple click of a button.   

Like many organisations, the rapidly evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the change in people’s working habits, locations and timings has presented a unique challenge to Tribal’s Professional Services team.

Competition to recruit a student  is fierce at the best of times as universities strive to hit their increasingly ambitious student recruitment targets. But in the current climate – with the pool of would-be undergraduate students predicted to be smaller due to the coronavirus pandemic – focusing on the most effective ways to drive applicants and convert them to enrolment is crucial.