a bumpy tcsi ride.

The context

March 2021 should finally see TCSI being used in anger to transmit information from Student Management Systems (SMS) to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

The department and SMS software providers started work on this in early 2018 with a proposed go-live of late 2019, things have slipped significantly, due to a number of unforeseen factors.

The current method to provide data on students and their studies to the government’s Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS) is to generate a series of files from their Student Management Systems. This method of data submission has proved reliable and has evolved over the years to reflect the changes in government’s requirements.

In today’s 21st century environment, however, a system designed to receive data that can be up to six months out of date was increasingly seen as just that: outdated. A new method to collect this information in a much timelier manner was mandated - A new set of APIs that would be called by SMSs.

Aims of tcsI

The major aims of the TCSI project were as follows:

• Remove, as far as possible, manual steps from running and dispatching the returns to the government

• Automatically validate data up-front

• Enable real-time checking of students’ HELP balances

• Streamline claims for students in receipt of Centrelink payments

• Reduce debt incurred by students due to faster processing times for change of circumstances

• Provide the ability for near real-time updates to the department

our experiences

Any major software implementation is a complex undertaking and typically timeframes slip as a project progresses.

As development and testing of the TCSI solution got underway, there were changes to scope as new requirements were elicited, unforeseen problems and areas of development that simply took more time to complete than estimated. Further, the COVID pandemic caused havoc with normal working practices, as well as creating an uncertain atmosphere about pretty much everything.

The knock-on effects of COVID saw the number of overseas tertiary students decline. Staff numbers were cut to mitigate this drop in income, whilst new methods of content delivery were also required. This mode of operation meant that fewer resources were left with the time to understand and test the changes being introduced with the new TCSI solution.

A positive light

Most would agree that reporting of data that has an effect on people’s financial position needs to be accurate and timely. This ensures benefits are paid when due and students do not unnecessarily go into debt. The changes to student government reporting being brought about by the TCSI project must therefore be seen in a positive light.

However, the delays in delivering the software to actually implement this change have been numerous and have caused frustration for all staff working in the tertiary education sector.

There will doubtless be a period of bedding-in for the software and process. Barring a couple of late changes still outstanding, the process works and will put government reporting on a more efficient, timely and surer footing as we move forward.

ESAM’s work

As many institutions face staff shortages due to under-resourcing and the relentless pressure of keeping on top of BAU, ESAM is able to supply experienced, professional consultants to assist with testing, configuring and implementing changes such as TCSI.

For TCSI in particular, ESAM has been instrumental in providing successful configurations and go-live strategy, giving a strong head-start to realise the benefits that moving to a real-time reporting system will bring.

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To learn more about our work for higher education facilities, utility providers and super funds, click through to read our case studies.