University Change Proposal - Living at La Trobe to partner with Uni Lodge
If you have thoughts or feedback about the proposal, have your say and register to the all students forum. Rendezvous, tomorrow on Wednesday 11th August from 12:45pm to 2pm.
Oyez, Oyez, La Trobians!
On the 22nd of July, Living at La Trobe organised a student accommodation forum where residents could give their opinion on the new university change proposal.
According to Vice-Chancellor, John Dewar’s message, the proposal has been developed “to ensure that La Trobe is a strong and sustainable institution that will provide [us] with an outstanding student experience into the future”.
Part of the proposal includes changes to the University’s management of Living at La Trobe.
Under the proposal, La Trobe’s existing partnership could be expanded with Uni Lodge assuming responsibility for managing all on-campus accommodation services.
For its residents, the proposed change would mean an improved level of service including 24/7 specialist support. The proposal will also simplify the way Living at La Trobe connects with vital student services like Security, Health & Wellbeing and Student Complaints making it easier for you to get access to the help you need.
Key aspects of the proposal that will support students’ experience include:
- Expansion of the Student Advising program to cover all degrees and campuses, including specialist support for international, Indigenous and postgraduate students.
- Additional counselling and wellbeing support staff to meet increased demand.
- Academic staffing that is aligned to the new course and subject offerings developed last year, including increased opportunities for industry placements and greater flexibility in how and where you study.
- 24/7 support and improved services for students living on campus.
- Continued core focus on providing high-quality research education and development programs for graduate research candidates.
- Better connected administrative teams to improve service and reduce wait times.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Jessica Vanderlelie attended the meeting with the Director of Living at La Trobe and Bundoora Accommodation Services, Carolyn Burr, and their staff.
The proposal discussed in the residential meeting consisted essentially of extending the provision of the services and facilities that the Accommodation Services offer.
The proposal will also simplify the way Living at La Trobe connects with vital student services like Security, Health & Wellbeing and Student Complaints, enabling more effective and efficient case management.
“There’s a really great opportunity here to drive improvements in quality across the residential experience,” Director of Living at La Trobe and the Bundoora Accommodation Services, Carolyn Burr said.
Here is what you need to know:
How will the change impact residents?
“You shouldn’t see too much change in terms of the way in which our facility is managed. We do see that you have access to a higher level of support overnight, but apart from that, we will have a model of engagement and support activities that Uni Lodge would provide. Uni Lodge would also manage the relationship and the financial aspect of you paying the rent and contract agreements,” Vanderlelie said.
Is there likely to be a change/ increase to the rent students are paying?
“We do need to look at a couple of components around our GST tool kit which relates to our new accommodation. As an overall, I’m anticipating that we’re able to keep our current rental price rate stable until next year,” Burr said.
Will Uni Lodge ensure maintenance of facilities, for example, broken washing machines?
“Uni Lodge won’t be in charge of the maintenance of our accommodation facility. The university owns the buildings. They are responsible and will continue to be responsible for their own maintenance,” Vanderlelie said.
General Q&A:
Will this affect my ability to live on campus?
The proposal will not impact any student’s ability to continue to live on campus. As residents would already be aware, there have been some recent changes to the facilities that are available for students to live in (decommissioning Barnes Way, opening North and South Apartments). These changes are not connected to this change proposal and overall, the university has increased the number of beds available.
Will all facilities be impacted by this change or only some campuses?
Under the proposal, Uni Lodge would manage the full suite of accommodation facilities managed by Living at La Trobe. This will cover all campuses that provide Living at La Trobe.
How will La Trobe ensure that standards are maintained for students??
Oversight of third-party relationships will be guided by La Trobe’s best practice Supplier Relationship Management framework to ensure the University can continue to offer high-quality accommodation and catering options to our students. As part of this framework, we will establish consultative groups with residents to ensure your views and experiences feed into the continuous improvement process.
When would the proposed changes take place?
On July 14 2021, the consultation period with staff will commence. Following the consultation, La Trobe will review all feedback prior to final decisions. Implementation of any resulting changes won’t take place until 2022.
All Student Forum
If you have thoughts or feedback about the proposal, have your say and register to the all students forum. Rendezvous, tomorrow on Wednesay 11th August from 12:45pm to 2pm.
Your voice counts.