VCESS 2015 Program Report Cam Bloye, Tom McQuillan, Liz Peak and Tom Walker

Contents

Thanks and Sponsors (2) Executive Summary (4) Introduction (5)

The VCE Summer School Vision Statement Artistic Design New Initiatives in 2015 Director Personal Reflections

Program Preparation (9) Tutor Recruitment Tutor Training Student Enrolments Student Preparation Bursaries Sponsorship

Program Overview (13) Structure English Statistical Overview Special Role Structure Workshops Activities Program Group Meetings Residential Program Zine

Logistics (20) Student Application Process Student Data Management Tutor Data Management Timetabling System Contacting Students Venues Printing Supplied Food

Program Assessment (23) Overview Quality of Program Survey Quality of Teaching Survey Quality of Residential Program Tutor Feedback Survey Informal Tutor Feedback Special Roles Meetings

Finance (29) Overview Income Expenditure

Summary of Recommendations (32) Thank you (34)

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Thanks and Sponsors

The Student Union The support the Summer School receives from the University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) and MU Student Union Limited (MUSUL) is vital to its success. The space, offices, funding and assistance received is of great benefit to the Program. Special Thanks: UMSU Administration, Security & Facilities, Clubs & Societies, Information Centre, Communications & Marketing, Entertainment, AV@Melbourne, Legal, 130 Degrees, IT Services, Finance, Arts and Theatre. A huge shout out to Goldie Pergl who acts as the Guardian Angel of the Program.

The University of Melbourne A huge thanks to the University of Melbourne for providing rooms and lecture theatres for classes and events. Thanks to the Office of Admissions which provided 68 half-bursaries to Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars. The Office of Admissions also gave us access to their events to advertise.

Bursaries & Scholarships Many of our students’ places were funded by various organizations. For 2015, VCESS students received bursaries or scholarships from:

★ The Rotary Clubs of: Daylesford, Geelong, Keilor, Lakes Entrance, Melton Valley, Mornington, Point Gellibrand, Sandhurst, Somerville-Tyabb and Southern Mitchell

★ The Lions Clubs of Frankston and Wantirna ★ The Geelong RSL ★ Koo Wee Rup Secondary College ★ Lavers Hill P-12 College ★ MU Student Union Limited ★ Red Kite ★ University of Melbourne Student Union ★ Work Trainers

Additional Support and Resources ★ Gelati for the Residential Students: Gelatissimo, Helados Jauja, Casa Del Gelato and

Brunetti. ★ Teach for Australia providing training for our tutors.

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★ Participants of the Tertiary Expo: Australian Catholic University, Deakin, La Trobe University, Melbourne Polytechnic, Monash University, RMIT, Victoria University, and various parts of the University of Melbourne: the Office of Admissions, Faculty of Arts, Biomed, Engineering, Environments, Science and the VCA.

Our Suppliers Summer School wouldn’t be possible without: PromosXchange, Payless Promotions, Scott’s Copy & Print Express, Log Cabin Camp Creswick, Newman College, Coles Online and Impact Digital.

Volunteers VCESS is run by our volunteer tutors, and is most of all for our students. Thank you all for your commitment and dedication to the program. A list of all tutors is contained on the inside back cover.

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Executive Summary The VCE Summer School is a program to prepare secondary school students going into their VCE studies, both Year 11 and 12. Aimed primarily at students from any form of disadvantaged or underrepresented background it is a non-profit program that occurs through the generosity of a cohort of university students who volunteer their time to teach classes and run other aspects of the program. Students undertake up to six subjects, with each subject consisting of six hour-long tutorials across the two weeks and provide an introduction, overview and specific skills to prepare students for the coming year. Due to the incredible voluntary support the Program is able to be offered at minimal cost, and in cases of extreme financial disadvantage small bursaries from a range of organisations are able to cover the full cost for some students. Occurring over a two week period in January, the Summer School is based out of Union House and is held across the University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus. As the Program takes place in holidays a strong emphasis is placed on ensuring that it is an enjoyable experience, both for students and tutors. Activities such as a Scavenger Hunt, Trivia and Beach Day occur alongside BBQs, a workshop program and group meetings to add a non-academic side to the experience. It is hoped that the atmosphere created at the Summer School provides students with an enjoyable experience that benefits them over the coming school year. The Program is overseen by a team of four directors who do the majority of the organising, promoting and management of the Program as well as setting its aims and direction. For students from rural and regional areas residential accommodation is offered in one of the University’s colleges and additional activities are arrange for the evenings by a team of tutors. The VCE Summer School has occurred every year since 1971 and is run through the University of Melbourne Student Union. The 2015 Program was the 45th iteration, involving 527 students, 198 tutors and 69 different subjects. The Residential Program took place at Newman College and involved 80 students and 9 tutors.

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Introduction

The VCE Summer School The VCE Summer School (VCESS) is a program of the University of Melbourne Student Union. Begun in 1971 the 2015 Program was the 45th version and continues the goal of trying to correct disadvantage in the Victorian education system. It does this by providing an affordable program to students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds which is designed to give them an edge when approaching their VCE studies. Run by university students, for secondary school students, and with a number of former VCESS students coming back as tutors, the Program has a particularly youthful vibe. This is enhanced by the addition of a variety of extracurricular activities. This Program Report outlines the various components of the VCE Summer School documenting the 2015 Program.

Vision Statement With the broad goal of correcting disadvantage in the Victorian education system it is the aim of the VCE Summer School to encourage the high school students involved to maximise their final years of study to allow them the option of a university education. Of particular importance to VCESS is creating an atmosphere that encourages learning and fosters friendship.

Artistic Design The Artistic Design of the 2015 Program consisted of ‘Tom’ the mountain goat climbing a mountain of VCE subjects, with the goal of reaching a university education, symbolised by the graduate cap held in the goat’s mouth. Once again the Program in indebted to Alana Seal for making the design become reality.

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New Initiatives in 2015 With the program running consistently well over a number of years there were no major changes. Some minor tinkering did happen however. Group Leaders were asked to attend pre-enrolment day to meet their students and ready them with an early introduction. The role of the Teaching Support Officer was better defined and they ran forums for tutors to talk about their ideas and problems. Student signups generally occurred electronically through an online form which allowed for payments and indemnity forms. Absences were reported through an expanded tutor portal. While not an initiative, the Residential Program shifted to Newman College due to a scheduling conflict.

Director Personal Reflections Cam Bloye Being a VCESS Director was a big challenge and a lot of work, but ultimately immensely rewarding and something that I’m very glad I did. Being relatively new to the program, I believe that I was able to offer a lot of fresh perspectives on different elements of VCESS, and I believe very strongly that these new perspectives should be continued to be sought out in the future when selecting Directors. I am very proud of the program that was delivered in 2015, especially due to the large expansion in the number of students involved in the program. While there are financial and logistical challenges facing the program going into the future, the fundamentals of the program remain very strong. The challenge for future VCESS Directors is to continue the gradual expansion and

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improvement of the program while also keeping it manageable within these logistical and financial constraints. I would like to personally thank all of the amazing volunteers involved in VCESS for their continued support of the program. The love and dedication shown by tutors to the program is truly inspiring, and is what I believe makes VCESS such an amazing and special program. I would also like to thank my fellow Directors being such great fun to work with and for all of their hard work and dedication to the program. Tom McQuillan After many years of involvement in VCE Summer School in other capacities, I have perhaps learnt the most in terms of organisation, time management and administration skills during my time as a Director over the course of planning and executing the 2014 and 2015 programs. This year was a great opportunity to significantly expand the program by around 150 students, bringing the total number of students to 530. As a former student of the Residential Program I am always excited to see it evolve, so the fact that we were able to accept an additional 20 students in 2015 was particularly satisfying. The continued birth of new ideas such as an electronic sign-up system for students and the quiet lunches run by the Welfare team showed that even after more than 40 years, VCE Summer School is still innovating and exploring the new. Alongside me throughout it all have been my fellow directors: Cam Bloye, Liz Peak and Tom Walker. It’s been an honour and a privilege working alongside them in support of a great cause, with each of us supporting the others and together forming a fantastic Director team. As ever, the program’s heartbeat is its enthusiastic volunteers, and as ever the VCESS program is heavily indebted to the 200 or so tutors who make the program the success that it is. It is a truly rare thing to find an environment that is as supportive and positive as that found at VCE Summer School, which can be put down to the enthusiasm of our students to learn and the willingness of our tutors to assist them. Directing has represented a fantastic opportunity to influence the way that VCE Summer School works, and after two years of directing I am very confident that our new Directors Angus, Tessa and Kirsty will help to make VCESS bigger and better than ever! Liz Peak I’ve been a part of VCESS for a long time now - this year was my fourth year of involvement in the program - and I still love it. Having previously been a part of the Residential Team over two years, I developed a deep love for the Residential Program, and what it can give to students from regional and remote areas, and how it can widen their perspectives and their dreams, if not change their lives. But it also made me realise how much more the Program can offer residential

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students; and drove me to wish to rectify this, or ameliorate it in some way, with greater opportunities for Day Students. Directing the Program educated me - it made me more aware of why the Program exists, and what kinds of systemic disadvantage it is trying to work against. This knowledge and my love for the Program allowed me to spend my time working to the advantage of all our students, whether that be through initiatives aimed at helping Day Students become more involved in our community, or through sourcing bursaries for some of our financially disadvantaged students so they could attend the Program. I had a wonderful time directing this year, and I feel the Program ran wonderfully. I’m very proud of what our community - from my three fellow Directors, to our special roles, to our tutors, and even to our students - has achieved. Thank you to everyone, and here’s to another great year! Tom Walker Being a part of the VCE Summer School is a heartwarming experience and I very much enjoyed my third year of involvement. My second year of Directing was particularly memorable and, once again, I was blown away by the commitment of our tutors and students to learning. The idea of paying it forward came strongly to mind for me this year. It is the concept where you do something to help someone and do not expect them to pay you back for it, instead you implicitly ask them to do a kindness for the next person who comes along. This is very applicable to the concept of the Summer School program. Tutors donate large amounts of time and expertise - this seemed to be acknowledged by the students and it is my hope that wherever they end up, they are willing to pay the generosity onto another group of students. Working with a huge number of committed tutors is a privilege and having fun with them and my fellow Directors Cam, Liz and Tom made the program another great experience for me. Thanks to everyone involved.

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Program Preparation

Tutor Recruitment Tutor recruitment began almost as soon as new Directors were appointed. Considering the decision to significantly expand the program this year, more tutors were required, and therefore the net had to be cast wider. Advertising was done via a variety of channels including: on the UMSU website; via the facebook page from last year’s Program; on the Melbourne University Student Portal; and by word of mouth from loyal Program enthusiasts. Potential Tutors were required to be 18 years or older, have completed at least one year university education and have a valid Working With Children Check (WWCC) by the start of the program. Interested tutors were required to fill in an online form and subsequently attend an interview with one or more of the Directors. This year interviews were held over two separate weeks and allowed more preparation time for those applicants chosen for a second round Residential Team interview, but didn’t have any other discernible upsides, and we would probably recommend that in future the timeline is brought back to two consecutive weeks. All applicants, regardless of previous experience with the Program, were required to sit for an interview. For subject tutors, these interviews were 10 minutes long, and for Special Roles, the interviews were 15 minutes long. Interviews for the Special Roles Teams were on the whole carried out in the first week, to allow for a) greater deliberation time for the Directors and b) an opportunity to call all those Residential Team applicants who showed promised back for a second round group interview in the second week. A quick recommendation regarding interviewing for the Group Leader position: as so many are required (this year we had 48!), it’s a good idea to keep an eye out during all interviews for people who might be good for the position, and if any stand out, let them know about the position during the interview and ask them if they’d be interested - we had a fair amount of trouble making up the numbers this year. After the two weeks of interviews, Directors deliberated on all positions based on interview performance and sent out offers by email. Some potential tutors who could not be accommodated were placed on a waiting list so we could approach them later if any of those accepted chose not to take up the positions offered.

Tutor Training Every tutor involved in the Program was required to attend a training session, even if they had had training previously (including those who were qualified teachers), to ensure both an understanding of the Program and its ethos, and to ensure a level of consistency amongst the tutor cohort in their approach to classes. Tutors were asked to be available for either Training Day or Tutor Camp, which were held in November and December 2014, as well as our Refresher Day,

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held four days before the Program started. At both training sessions we provided both information about the Program and practical tutor training, including lesson planning and classroom management. This year we were lucky enough to have volunteers from Teach for Australia (TFA) provide training for our tutors at both of our training sessions. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Shane Woon, Sham Sara and Saul Wakerman from TFA for their invaluable help, and to TFA for their longstanding and continuous support of the Program. Both main training sessions (Training Day and Tutor Camp) were very successful, and were a great help to the vast majority of our tutors. Refresher Day, however, has had mixed reviews. There have been complaints that there is no new content taught, and that it is redundant for many, especially those tutors who are studying their Masters of Education or are qualified teachers. We would suggest that perhaps in future Refresher Day only be compulsory for new tutors. Finally, tutors who were approached last minute to help out in the program were given a brief overview of Program rules and ethos, along with basic tutor training, by a Director. In addition to tutor training, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training was made available to members of our Director, Welfare and Residential Teams, as they would be the most directly responsible for the pastoral care of the students. Two lengths of training were available: 3hrs and 2 days. The two-day program was run by Shyama Fuad from Bridging Borders and the 3hr program was run by the Counselling and Psychological Services at Melbourne University. We thank both groups for their time. While those who went to the two-day program indicated it had provided some useful general understanding of Mental Illness, it was not targeted enough to young people or actual first aid tactics. Those who did the 3hr session suggested that it was not worth attending for similar reasons. As such, we recommend that future Directors approach a provider of Youth Mental Health First Aid, rather than general MHFA.

Student Enrolments With the goal of having 480 students at the 2015 Summer School, a large increase on previous years, a variety of methods were used to attract enough students. Initially an online form collected basic contact details and allowed the Program to contacted interested students once applications were properly open. A mail out to over 300 schools on the University of Melbourne’s ACCESS list was undertaken to inform the Program’s target students. Some schools were visited and the Kwong Lee Dow Program sent information out to all its students encouraging them to attend. A brand new online form was created to allow students to apply and pay online. This was an important step as it made the sign up process easier for some students and meant that less data entry was required by the Summer School Office. While there were some delays in creating the

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online form by the Communications Department, this did not end up negatively affecting Enrolment numbers. The online form allowed payment via credit card and for documentation to be automatically uploaded rather than posted in, though this was still accepted. A paper form was also available for students that lacked internet access. Student Enrollment was open till 5 December with Residential and Bursary applications closing three weeks early to allow time to process and select them. Unfortunately we received over 100 applications for the 80 Residential places which meant that we selected the Residential Students based on their references and other provided documentation. The students who missed out were encouraged to come as Day students. The Day enrollments were around 80 students over capacity at the close, however a decision was made to expand the program to allow all of them to attend. A waiting list for students who applied after the close of enrolment was created and a small number of students from it and the Brotherhood of St Laurence were accepted after the deadline.

Student Preparation Once students were selected and approved for the program, an email and mailout and went out to let them know as much, and let them know what the next steps were. Namely, to provide any missing documentation (usually student indemnity forms and class choices), to pay for the program, and to read the information about Summer School scheduling so they know would know when to turn up. Residential students were all called by their residential tutors to give them a friendly, known voice to touch base with if they had any issues leading up to the program. This call was also to let them know specific residential information, such as what to bring and what to expect, and to check they were all up-to-date with what was required of them. The final aspect of student preparation was pre-enrolment day, held the Friday before the program started on Second Floor of Union House - which becomes VCESS HQ during the program. On the day, all available day students signed in and picked up their Summer School t-shirts, lanyards, subject timetables and subject booklets. They were then put into an approximation of their day groups (not precise due to students turning up either early or late) to play some ice-breaker games and also to enrol in preferred workshops.

Bursaries Students were charged either $190 for the Day Program or $490 for the Residential Program. This is unfortunate to have to do, but necessary to the running of the program. Bursaries were sought for those that were unable to meet the fee. Approximately 100 bursaries were found, with many coming from The University of Melbourne’s Office of Admissions - through their Kwong LEe Dow Young Scholars Program, Rotary Clubs throughout Victoria and a number of other organisations. These either covered the full or a partial cost for the student. These are all listed in the acknowledgement section at the start of this report.

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Sponsorship This year we approached major organisations regarding program sponsorship, including the National Australia Bank (NAB) and Officeworks. Despite having a long standing relationship with NAB, VCE Summer School’s attempts to formalise NAB’s financial support of the program in 2015 proved unsuccessful. Repeated attempts by the Directors to get in touch with previous contacts at NAB yielded no meaningful progress, and the inability to obtain sponsorship from those organisations who had previously supported the program meant that $10,000 in revenue had to be obtained through other means in order to keep the VCE Summer School program afloat. While the Directors did manage to raise this revenue by accepting 150 extra students into the program, it is highly inadvisable for this approach to continue into the future. The 2015 Directors recommend that future Directors approach a wider range of sponsors, particularly in the banking sector, in order to obtain appropriate levels of sponsorship from the program.

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Program Overview

Structure The 2015 Program essentially used an identical timetable to the 2014 Program, which is has been consistently similar over the last few years of VCESS. The timetable was structured around seven class blocks, each comprising of six hour-long classes across the program, with the exception of Block 4, which had 7 classes including three lectures for all students in each stream of English (Units 1/2 and 3/4). Because there are seven blocks, and most students do only four or five subjects, all students had at least one block free for free time, which we encouraged them to use for private study or one-on-one tutoring. The rest of the timetable was made up of one hour for lunch every day, group meetings every day at 11.00am lasting for 15 minutes, and workshops, seminars and various activities, as shown on the timetable printed below. Every day ran from 9.00am through to 4.15pm, except for the final Friday, where classes finished at 1.15 to allow time for the final BBQ and the Goodbye Festival, where there was an official goodbye to all our students, as well as thanking all of our tutors, especially those in special roles.

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English As mentioned above, English classes ran in their own dedicated block in the timetable, to allow an extra hour of class to accommodate the time for both lectures and smaller classes. This was a timetabling change made for the 2014 Program, and has generally worked well. One difficulty encountered, however, was that this made it hard to find replacement tutors for English classes when tutors were unavailable, as there was no other English tutors free at that time. As mentioned above, alternate timetable structures are currently being discussed, and could perhaps be used to overcome this problem in the future.

Statistical Overview The 2015 Program was the biggest program on record, with:

● 527 students enrolled (including 8o residential students) ● 231 classes ● 198 tutors (including 9 residential tutors) ● 69 different subjects ● 1 beach afternoon (up from 0 in 2014)

Special Role Structure Activities Team The Activities Team were responsible for the planning, operation and running of the Activities Program (discussed in detail below), and the running of the BBQs run throughout the Program. While some of the planning for the activities was left until very close to the program, and could have been improved with earlier organisation and earlier assistance from the Directors to get this planning started, overall the quality of the activities was very high, and the Activities team did an amazing job with the challenging task of running fun, inclusive and safe activities for over 500 students. IT Operations IT Operations was responsible for running the increasingly complex IT based parts of VCESS, including class allocation, workshop allocation and student absence reporting, which was done online for the first time. As always the IT Operations team did an amazing job, and continues to be an indispensable part of administering the program. Special thanks goes to Patrick Clearwater for his hard work and dedication, especially in the lead up to the program where he spent countless hours helping the Directors. Operations Team

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The Operations Team is in charge of making sure that all classes, tutors and students are where they are supposed to be at the correct time. This is accomplished through room checks which they do in every classroom in every period. They deal with the replacement of subject timetables and nametags, and are a general port of call for students questions and absences. They also answer the Summer School landline for the course of the two weeks, which is an absolute godsend. As always, the Operations team did an amazing job, with the program running as smoothly as ever, despite the many hiccups and logistical problems that happened behind the scenes. One change this year in the role was no longer having the responsibility for setting up and packing up BBQs, which was instead given to the Activities team. This change worked well, meaning the Operations team had a more manageable workload, and the Activities team had the time to run the BBQs. Subject Coordinators Subject Coordinators were responsible for putting together the subject booklet, which in most cases involved updating the previous year’s booklet to the current VCAA curriculum for their subject, as well as making any changes they wanted. They are also a point of contact for curriculum based questions for the tutors of their subject. This aspect could have been managed better, by providing all tutors with the email of their subject coordinator early on. Additionally, the deadline for booklet submission should be more strictly adhered to. Subject coordinators often have difficulty is creating the booklets, and there is often a large discrepancy in quality between different subjects’ booklets. This is a part of the program that remains a challenge, and could be improved in the future. Tutor Support Officers The role of the TSOs is to provide support and training to Tutors in the leadup to the program, as well as during in the program, and being the main point of contact for teaching related questions for tutors, who often have little experience in planning and running a class. This year, through initiatives taken by the TSO team themselves, the role was enhanced through the introduction of drop-in meetings between TSOs and tutors both during and after the academic day had finished, which operated as group discussions on common challenges that tutors were facing. This allowed tutors who were unsure or had questions about their teaching style to touch base with the TSOs and share ideas. The TSO role is still a relatively new role in VCESS, and is one that has often encountered problems in previous programs through unclear boundaries and responsibilities for members of the team. This year there was a focus on choosing TSOs that were approachable and would best relate to tutors, rather than choosing TSOs on teaching experience or qualification alone. While it is still a challenge to assist all tutors, especially those who may be too shy to seek advice, this year's TSO team did a great job, and were an incredibly positive influence in the program and were great at taking the initiative in helping tutors in a non-confronting and approachable way.

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Welfare Team Over the course of a relatively frantic two-week program of over 700 people (counting both tutors and students), issues both small and large do arise. The Welfare Team exists to help mostly students, but also tutors, with issues ranging from stress to long-term mental health problems. The general Director team dictum is: “if we don’t hear from or about Welfare, they’re doing their job perfectly”. We heard from them very rarely. This year the team had 5 members - 4 female and 1 male - and worked brilliantly. A number of fairly serious welfare and mental health related issues arose during the program, and the Welfare team did a fantastic job in managing them. In recruiting the team, the Directors conducted an exhaustive search to find someone qualified and experienced in social work, which was eventually a success and added a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team. While Welfare team members are generally tutors with special aptitude for the role, and they are provided with some training, it is invaluable having someone with proper qualifications and experience in dealing with the more serious issues that invariably arise on the program each year, and future programs should ensure they have someone to fulfil this role. One slight difference from previous years was that there was no official leader of the team, as we thought it was unnecessary due to the collaborative and behind-the-scenes nature of the team. Feedback from the team was that this worked well. There was a suggestion from the team that next year the role involve less meeting and greeting lonely-looking students, and that this task be relegated to all tutors, to give the Welfare team more time to deal with more serious issues. This is something that future Directors should consider, especially in their selection and training of tutors and group leaders. Another recommendation was that designated quiet spaces be found for students in union house, so that more introverted students have somewhere to go without having to leave union house. Zine Team The Zine team is responsible for the writing and publishing of the Zine, the MegaZine, and the Pre-Zine, which was a new addition to the program. These publications are explained below under “Zine”. The Zine team also had the primary responsibility for the running of the Studmuffin competition, which involves the counting of thousands of handwritten votes. The team did a fantastic job as always, provided a high quality daily publication, and a great MegaZine, which is a cherished piece of VCESS memorabilia for many students. The management of the Facebook page was great, with new features such as “Humans of VCESS’ providing more student engagement than in previous years. Despite an aim of including more student submissions in the Zine to increase student engagement, it is a challenge to get students to contribute, and there is a risk that at times the Zine is too tutor-focused, which is an ongoing balancing act that Zine teams need to manage.

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Despite the larger than normal team, feedback from the Zine team was that the added workload of running the Studmuffin competition was a challenge, and that having separate volunteers to run this would make their job more manageable.

Workshops The workshops have been and continue to be a very important part of the VCESS program, providing students with a great range of new opportunities and experiences. Workshops provide to students something other than their studies to break up their routine with material that is intellectually or physically stimulating. There was a concerted effort from the Directors to expand the workshop program in 2014 compared with previous years, which resulted in 46 workshops being run by over 50 tutors over 4 workshop sessions during the program. This year VCE Summer School offered such workshops as:

★ Adventure travel for the coinless ★ Beginners Russian ★ Careers in Aviation ★ Choir singing ★ Communication in Leadership ★ Crash course: Feminism ★ Healthy eating and the VCE ★ Learn to draw still life ★ Managing stress and anxiety in the VCE

Workshop logistics Interested tutors were were invited to submit ideas for workshops and completed all necessary information in an online form. Students submitted preferences for the various workshops at the beginning of the program and the IT Operations Team allocated them to workshops over the two weeks. One of the main difficulties regarding the significance of the workshop program was tutor availability, as a number of tutors had signed up to run multiple workshops. As a result, certain workshops needed to be placed specifically on each day based on tutor availability, specific space requirements and the number of students permitted in each workshop. Combining all these variables saw a functioning workshop timetable drawn up for the program in the first week of January. However, feedback from a number of tutors indicated that earlier organisation of the workshop timetable would make it significantly easier for some tutors to gather the necessary resources to run their workshops successfully. The Directors recommend that the workshop timetable be drawn up before Christmas where possible.

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Activities Program On top of the Workshop Program, the Summer School has an Activities Program to provide a fun break from studies and help build a community around the Student, and Tutor, groups. In 2015 this consisted of a Scavenger Hunt, Trivia and Beach Afternoon as well as four BBQs held at lunchtime throughout the two weeks. This year the Scavenger Hunt and Trivia were swapped at the last minute due to poor weather when the Scavenger Hunt was originally scheduled but no issues resulted from this. For both Trivia and Scavenger Hunt the Students competed in their Groups. Trivia consisted of several rounds of questions, some puzzle rounds and a dancing session. The Scavenger Hunt involved 24 sites spread throughout the main University of Melbourne campus where teams raced around to complete different small tasks. Beach Day was optional (except for the Residential Students) and involved catch the tram down to South Melbourne Beach and chilling out, supervision was provided by the South Melbourne Life Saving Club.

Group Meetings All students involved in the Program were placed into groups of 11 (max), led by an experienced tutor who was their first point of contact during the Program. The main purpose of these groups was to create a smaller community within Summer School so the students wouldn’t feel alienated and alone in the large cohort of 526 enrolled students. Having the groups meet every morning also allowed for easy dissemination of information, and a way to keep track of program absences. Group activities started on the first day of the Program, with a campus tour to familiarise students with the large campus, and took them to all buildings where classes were held. After that, activities were held throughout the two weeks that involved group participation, including trivia and a scavenger hunt (outlined in 3.7). Finally, having groups made logistical problems - e.g. getting the students to South Melbourne beach for beach day - much easier to organise, and ensure an appropriate tutor to student ratio. This year, in an attempt to ameliorate the disconnect day students feel in comparison with residential students (who have bonding time on the weekend before the program starts), day students met with their group leaders and each other on Pre-Enrolment day. This was relatively successful, but could be improved next year with greater preparation and more specific guidelines.

Residential Program In order to ensure that the largest selection of students was able to have access to the opportunities that VCESS provides, the Program offered students from rural and regional Victoria accommodation on campus at Newman College.

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The Residential Program does not just provide accommodation for students; it runs activities between the end of the Academic Program day (4:15pm) and bedtime each day. Examples of these activities are an amazing race around the city, initiative games, and an excursion to the Night Market at the Victoria Market. These activities are intended to familiarise the students with the city and also encourage bonds between them that will hopefully last until they attend university and beyond. This year the Residential Program had two big changes: 1) a move from St. Hilda’s College, where the Program had been held since 2012, to Newman College; and 2) an increase in size from 60 students and 7 residential tutors to 80 students and 9 residential tutors. Newman College was adequate, but lacked a lot of the facilities that St. Hilda’s offered, and added the challenge of students being spread out amongst a larger number of buildings and floors in the college. In the future it is recommended that Directors go with St. Hilda’s. The increased size was an attempt, again, to increase accessibility, and considering there were still people on the Residential Program waiting list when the Program started, perhaps it could be expanded even further in the future.

Zine The Zine team are responsible for layout and content creation for a 4-page magazine (or Zine) each day of the Program, in addition to a Pre-Zine which goes out to all students prior to the start of the Program, and a MegaZine - a wonderful, 20-page, full-colour extravaganza - which is released on the final day of the Program. The Pre-Zine was a new addition this year, intended to introduce students and parents to the Program in a fun, original way. It included orientation details (including a campus map) and a rundown of what to expect during the Program, in amongst a series of comics, sudokus and horoscopes. While there was no official feedback for the publication, there were fewer lost students on Pre-Enrolment Day, and the registration process seemed to run more smoothly. Additionally, the small amount of unofficial feedback we received was positive. We intend to create the Pre-Zine again next year.

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Logistics

Student Application Process For the 2015 Program the application process for students was moved online, though a hard copy form was still available. The form collected student details, included the option to pay online and it was possible to upload supporting documents such as indemnity forms and references for Residential Applicants. A second form allowed for the payment of students who were required to do it at a later date, after they had already submitted their personal details. This dramatically reduced the amount of time spent on data entry. It also dramatically reduced the number of cheques that had to be processed making payment much easier. One challenge that arose was that Students were required to type their subjects, and there was no validation process, meaning that there was many inconsistent naming and spelling of subject names, as well as subject naming that was unclear as to exactly what they meant. This caused a lot of unnecessary work in working out exactly what subjects students actually meant. This could be improved in the future by having a drop down list for subjects, which includes all the possible VCE subjects, as well as a selection of which units they intend to study (1/2 or 3/4).

Student Data Management Once students had submitted applications these were transferred to a spreadsheet which kept track of all their information, particularly subjects (which almosted changed weekly). This was used to send emails, and keep record of which emails had been sent and to who. Important details such as whether Indemnity Forms had been submitted and payment made were also recorded. Using one spreadsheet for everything student related meant that there was a large reduction in double handling of information and things such as students withdrawing or changing email addresses did not get missed.

Tutor Data Management Tutors submitted their applications online as per previous years and their application became part of the Tutor Management System (TMS). During the application process several spreadsheets of tutor data were created, one during the interview process and a second one during the email process. This unfortunately meant that occasionally there were small inconsistencies which meant that often information had to be double checked. An aim of the 2016 program should be to try and only use one spreadsheet for Tutor information in a similar way to how the Student information was kept. Once tutors were accepted into the program their TMS submission was ‘converted’.

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Timetabling System A ‘Block List’ was generated in a spreadsheet. This involved matching up subjects with tutors, the block they would be on and an appropriate classroom. Care needed to be taken that we had enough of each subject and that tutors were scheduled when they were available. The TMS then used the Block List and Student Spreadsheet to create a timetable for every student. Tutors were able to download their class roll and location from the Tutor Portal. Students were provided with a copy of their timetable at the start of the program.

Contacting Students The majority of the communications with students was handled via email, though in some cases students didn’t have email in which case they were mailed or called. Confirmation of receiving their application was generally sent out within a few days of receiving it, though in some cases this was a longer period or in some cases it was skipped and immediate confirmation of their place given. All students were emailed and mailed a copy of their details, particularly subject choices near the end of December. This also included information they needed to know before the program began and a Pre-Zine. Residential Students were also called by their tutor to have more of a chat about what was going on.

Venues The Program is centred around Union House at the University of Melbourne. This is where all day-to-day operations occur, including the VCESS Office, Special Role bases and where one-on-one tutoring and hanging out happens. All spaces on the Second Floor, the Third Floor Training Rooms and North Court were booked through the lovely Info Centre. More space could be useful in future years, suggestions have been made of expanding to the general use area on Level One - particularly to allow more one-on-one tutoring. VCESS could not occur without the use of rooms throughout the University of Melbourne campus - these mean that a huge number of classes can occur simultaneously. 45 tutorial rooms were hired for the two weeks, most for the duration and some ad hoc. A number of lecture theatres were also hired for English Lectures, workshops and seminars. Most of the rooms were in either the David Caro (Physics Podium), Asia Centre or Redmond Barry buildings. These were all booked with the assistance of Venue Management at no cost.

Printing A large amount of paper goes into the Summer School Program, printing promotional material, mailouts, subject booklets, timetables and Zines. Most items are printed though the Student Union printers. Promotional material (brochures and flyers) was printed though the Communications & Marketing Department’s suppliers. The large volume items of Subject

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Booklets and Zines were printed by Scott’s Printing whose flexibility and cooperation was particularly helpful.

Supplied Food VCESS provided students with a BBQ lunch four times over the course of the Program. On the alternate days Residential Students were also supplied with lunch. Food was ordered from Coles Online and deliver to Union House, normally the afternoon before it was required. It was stored in UMSU’s fridge, BBQs were prepared by the Activities Team and the residential lunches were prepared by the Residential Team. BBQ equipment was hired from AV@Melb and lunch equipment was borrowed from 130 Degrees Catering.

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Program Assessment

Overview At the end of the program, there were various surveys conducted amongst students and tutors in order to receive confidential feedback on the program. Overall the responses from all of the surveys were overwhelmingly positive, but still show areas in which the program can look to improve upon in the future. The various surveys are shown and discussed in detail below.

Quality of Program Survey The Quality of Program Survey was presented to all students on the last day of the program, and was conducted with strict confidentiality, with Operations Team members disseminating and collecting the surveys. Academic Program

This graph shows positive responses from the majority of students, but also shows that improvement can still be made in regards to the academic side of the program, particularly in focus tutoring. As the most important part of VCESS, finding ways to continue to improve all elements of the academic program should remain a priority in future programs. Activities Program

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This again shows very positive responses from most students, with no significant trends emerging between the different questions. A number of students in the program each year do not get actively involved in in this area of the program, and the results reflect that, with a significant number of students providing neutral responses. As reported elsewhere in this report, the extra-curricular side of the program is an area in which improvement can be made in future programs. Tertiary study

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One of the key features of VCESS is that it is run at Melbourne University by students, and it aims to give students a taste of university life and to encourage them to pursue tertiary study if that’s what they’re interested in. This graph shows very positive results that most of the students involved are aiming to study at the tertiary level, and that VCESS is a positive influence for many students in making this decision. The significant number of students that answered that it made them want to study at Melbourne University’s Parkville campus is something that could be perhaps used by the program Directors in the future when seeking assistance or support, financial or otherwise, from the University of Melbourne.

Quality of Teaching Survey A Quality of Teaching Survey was completed by students for each of their classes, with the Operations Team going around to each class to conduct the survey to ensure no improper influence of the tutors. While the results of individual tutors remains confidential, they have been compiled into the graph below.

With this survey more focusing on the performance of individual tutors, it is perhaps unsurprising that the results are more spread out than the other surveys, however they are still overwhelmingly positive. The confidential results show exactly how different tutors and subjects performed in these surveys, and therefore provide a useful guide for future Directors on the exact areas of the teaching side of the program could be improved upon.

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Quality of Residential Program The Quality of Residential Program was a survey only given to the 80 students that completed the residential program, and was administered to them right at the end of the program.

These results show a mostly positive response to all significant elements of the residential program, which is traditionally a very popular program for all students involved. The answers with the most non-positive responses related to seeing Melbourne, which is a secondary aim of the residential program, and whether the residential program was necessary for them being able to attend the program. A small number of students providing non-positive answers means that it continues to be important for residential tutors to focus on the welfare and needs of residential students.

Tutor Feedback Survey Around one week after the conclusion of the program, tutors were sent a link to the online Tutor Feedback Survey in the final edition of the Tutor News. A link to the Tutor Feedback Survey was also posted on the official Facebook page for tutors. In total, 75 tutors responded to the survey, which represented a significant increase over the previous year’s Tutor Feedback Survey.

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Overall, the responses were overwhelmingly positive, especially for questions relating to the overall quality of the program, and the enjoyment of the program by tutors. If anything, it looks like improving training could be something to work on, as that would improve the responses to both that question and the question about students benefiting from the classes.

These results show mostly positive feedback relating to special roles, which can often be ones with a lot of stress and pressure during the more hectic parts of the program. The feedback on the

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different special roles outlined earlier in this report provides some more context for the less positive responses, and provides clear ways in which the special roles can be improved in future programs, especially through better training and preparation in the lead up the program.

Informal Tutor Feedback It should be noted that while 75 is a significant number of tutors, the majority of tutors did not respond. There is most likely a selection bias in these results, with the tutors most likely to respond being those that are most enthusiastic about the program, therefore negative feedback is likely to be underrepresented in the data above. Seeking out informal feedback from tutors is therefore important for the continued improvement of the program. Informal feedback from many tutors this year outlined areas within VCESS that need improving. In particular, a number of tutors expressed frustration at low quality of the subject booklet in certain subjects, as well as having to complete tutor training when they already had the necessary skills or had completed it many time before as tutors on previous programs. In addition, while the vast majority of tutors reported having a positive experience, on the program, there was some informal feedback that the tutor cohort can be cliquey at times, especially amongst some of the long term returning tutors, and that a number of in-jokes and established friendships can make it difficult for less outgoing new tutors to feel comfortable at VCESS. Breaking down cliques, and seeking to break with non-inclusive traditions and in-jokes amongst the tutors was a major focus for us in running the 2015 program, but it is clear that this needs to be something that Directors and returning tutors need to continue to focus on. The large friendship groups on the program are a major positive for tutors, and therefore the challenge is to preserve them in a way that makes them inclusive and positive for all tutors on the program. We believe that we saw an overall positive culture shift in the tutor cohort in the 2015 program, largely through a change in a number of tutors, especially those in prominent special roles, and this is something that can hopefully continue to improve in future programs.

Special Roles Meetings Following the conclusion of the Program, the Directors sat down with each of the special roles teams and sought their feedback on what they thought worked well, and what could be improved in future programs. These meetings were very valuable, and relevant recommendations to come out of them are mentioned in the discussion of special roles above. In addition, a lot of the discussions covered a lot of more general aspects of VCESS and the ways in which it could be improved in the future, which are encapsulated in the section above, as well as throughout all of the recommendations in this report.

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Finance

Overview With the 2015 program increasing in size, up by 20 Residential Students and 100 Day Students, naturally the income and expenditure of the program increased on the 2014 levels. The increase in Day Students was used to offset the increase in Residential Student spots. The deficit can be explained by budgeted income for grants and sponsorship failing to eventuate, however this was covered by the surpluses of the programs of previous years. A misbudgeting of the expected printing costs also contributed to the 2015 deficit. The financial position of the program is still quite tenable, with the deficit only around 10% of turnover and should be rectifiable in future years with some carefully sought sponsorship or grants. Minimising the cost of the program to students should continue to be a core aim. Income $123,738.97

Expenditure $136,972.52

Deficit $13,233.55

2014 Savings $27,977.69

2015 Savings $14,744.14

Income Income Total Quantity Amount

Bursaries

Geelong RSL - Residential Program $445.45 1.00 $445.45

Koo Wee Rup Secondary College - Residential Program (2 at half value) $445.45 2.00 $222.73

Lavers Hill P-12 College - Residential Program $445.45 1.00 $445.45

Lions Club of Blackburn - Day Program $172.73 1.00 $172.73

Lions Club of Wantirna - Day Program $345.45 2.00 $172.73

MUSUL - Day & Residential Program $1,000.00

Office of Admissions (KLD) - Day Program $4,059.09 47.00 $86.36

Office of Admissions (KLD) - Residential Program $4,677.27 21.00 $222.73

Red Kite - Residential Program $445.45 1.00 $445.45

Rotary Club of Daylesford - Residential Program $445.45 1.00 $445.45

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Rotary Club of Frankston - Day Program $172.73 1.00 $172.73

Rotary Club of Geelong - Residential Program $890.91 2.00 $445.45

Rotary Club of Keilor - Day Program $345.45 2.00 $172.73

Rotary Club of Maryborough - Day Program $363.64 1.00 $363.64

Rotary Club of Melton Valley - Day Program $345.45 2.00 $172.73

Rotary Club of Mornington - Residential Program $445.45 1.00 $445.45

Rotary Club of Sandhurst - Residential Program $445.45 1.00 $445.45

Southern Mitchell Rotary Club - Day Program $690.91

Students' Council - Day Program Refugee Students $3,000.00

Work Trainers (Shepparton) - Residential Program $222.73 0.50 $445.45

$19,404.55

Donations

Muesli bars $54.55

Rotary Club of Point Gellibrand $181.82

Spanish Club $465.77

$702.14

Fundraising & Grants

Office of Admissions BBQs $3,427.26

Trivia Night $827.27

Students' Council $10,000.00

$4254,53

Fees

Student Fees $86,309.57

Tutor Camp Fee $3,068.18 75.00 $40.91

$89,377.75

Total $123,738.97

Expenditure Expenditure Amount

Director Honoraria (inc super) $43,800.00

Fundraising - Office of Admissions BBQ $2,263.84

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Equipment

Equipment - Lanyards $846.00

Equipment - T-Shirts $6,568.13

Equipment - Tutorial Supplies $116.72

$7,530.85

Printing

Printing - Promotional Material $1,795.00

Printing - Subject Booklets $5,756.70

Printing - Zine $6,090.00

$13,641.70

Program

Program - Activities Supplies $50.00

Program - BBQ $711.60

Program - BBQ & Speaker Hire $1,365.00

Program - Lifeguard Hire $300.00

Program - Stadium Hire $550.00

$2,976.60

Residential

Residential - Activities $239.14

Residential - Lunch $1,122.61

Residential - Program $60,396.36

$61,758.11

Tutor Camp

Tutor Camp - Accommodation $4,663.63

Tutor Camp - Food $1,187.79

$5,851.42

Total $136,972.52

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Summary of Recommendations A number of recommendations or suggestions have been mentioned throughout this report. The following is a summary of them:

1. Tutor selection 1.1. Recommended that tutor interviews are conducted in two consecutive weeks, rather

than split 1.2. Recommended that Directors keep an eye out for potential group leaders during

the interview process, and let them know about the position and ask them if they are interested, as it can often be difficult finding enough group leaders

2. Tutor training and management 2.1. Training is often redundant for returning tutors, especially those with more

experience or teaching qualifications. Recommended that different training is appropriately tailored for new and returning tutors.

2.2. Recommended that there is a focus in tutors training and throughout the program is encouraging a positive and inclusive culture amongst all tutors

3. Welfare and Residential tutor training 3.1. Feedback suggested that general mental health first aid training was not very

useful. Recommended that more youth focused mental health first aid training is provided.

4. Finance 4.1. Previous funding from NAB was not continued in 2015, and a similar large

financial sponsor was not found. Recommended that future Directors continue to seek sponsorship from a range of potential sponsors, especially in the banking sector, with a focus on maintaining long term relationships.

5. Timetabling 5.1. Having all English classes in the one block represents a challenge in finding

replacement tutors for these classes. Recommended that future Directors consider alternative timetable structures that could avoid this problem.

6. Activity planning 6.1. Recommended that the activity program for VCESS is done well before the

program, and that Directors should provide assistance in getting the planning process started.

7. Subject booklets 7.1. Recommended that subject coordinators are provided with information about

subject booklets earlier 7.2. Recommended that the deadline for submission is more strictly adhered to 7.3. Recommended that future Directors look at ways to improve the quality of subject

booklets, and assisting subject coordinators in making them. 8. Welfare team

8.1. Recommended that more tutors are encouraged to take on the role of meeting and greeting lonely-looking students, so that the Welfare Team is able to to focus on more serious welfare issues

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8.2. Recommended that there is a continued focus on having at least one member of the Welfare Team with qualifications and experience in social work

9. Zine team 9.1. Recommended that the Zine time does not have the additional responsibility of

running the StudMuffin competition 10. Workshops

10.1. Recommended that a workshop timetable is created before Christmas, and is properly communicated with IT Operations and tutors running the workshops

11. Day student orientation 11.1. Recommended that the Pre-Zine be used again as a way of providing pre-program

orientation to students 11.2. Recommended that Directors continue to develop ways to provide icebreaking and

bonding opportunities for day students before the program, or early in the program, in a way that replicates the bonding experienced by residential students

12. Residential program 12.1. Recommended that the college be booked and organised as early as possible, in

order to ensure the most appropriate and affordable facilities are secured 13. Student data management

13.1. Recommended that students are required to select subjects from a list, rather than typing them in manually, to avoid inconsistent naming and spelling

13.2. Recommended that student data be recorded in one central spreadsheet, to prevent double handling of information and ensuring that required changes to information, such as changing subjects or contact details, are not missed

14. Tutor data management 14.1. Recommended that one central spreadsheet is used to management of tutor

management, to avoid double handling of information. 15. Program space

15.1. Recommended that the possibility of using extra space in Union House is examined, to accommodate the increasing size of the program

15.2. Recommended that certain areas be designated quiet areas, or one-on-one tutoring areas, to provide quiet spaces for students to study and relax in what can be a full-on program for more introverted students

16. Financial 16.1. Recommended that extra sponsorship, grants and/or fundraising are sought to

lower the cost of the program to target students, and to maintain the financial viability of the program.

16.2. Recommended that the number of printed material is reviewed, particularly the Zine and MegaZine, to minimise the amount spent.

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Tutors A big thankyou to all the following volunteers, without whom VCESS 2015 would not have been possible.

Aaron Hawton Grayson Huynh Melissa Shi

Adam McNeill Hamish Ramsay Melissa Um

Alana Seal Hannah Warren Michelle He

Alec Cam Harvey Chong Mina Arsinevich

Aliza Wajih Hayley Cron MJ Li

Aly Teuben Hayley Kaefer Naomi Wo

Amna Iqbal Heath Gilham Nathan Booth

Anaïs Poussin Helen Vo Neil Fernandes

Aneurin Sarson-Lawrence Ian Archer Nick Buttigieg

Angus Pritchard Imhye Jeong Nick Stobie

Anna Choong Isabella Verrocchi Nicole Carrie

Anthony Lo James Baker Nicole Tay

Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston James Cocks Nipuni Lenora

Averil Astall James Kotsias Oakley Germech

Basit Nurani Jennifer Ngan Octavian Catrinei

Bec Cuzens-Sutton Jenny Leung Patrick Clearwater

Behrooz Niknami Jess Flatters Peter Phung

Ben Doolan Jess McLennan Pratibha Bhardwaj

Ben Kalma Jess Voigt Priyanka Banerjee

Betsy Lam Jesse Heath Quoc Lieu

Blake Atmaja Jessica Kwong Rachel Daymond

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Bree O'Dwyer Jinlong Zhang Rachel Withers

Brigitte Papa Jiny Lee Rachel Yanner

Cass Prigg John Rice-Whetton Rayy Chen

Cassie Lutzko Jonathan Skorik Rebecca Brennan

Cassie White Jonathan Truong Rhys Lawry

Cat Wheller Jordan Bilyj Ria Nagar

Catherine Sloane Jordan Ignatiadis Rob Moore

Celyn Dagmang Josh Biggs Rohit Sharma

Charles Cornwallis Josh Hughes Rona Yu

Charles Peak Josh Murray Ruby Bell

Chelsea Griffiths Kaneeka Gajendra Sara Bolch

Chris Chosich Kara Donchi Sarah Bunting

Chris Choureemootoo Karisma Takah Sarah McKay

Chris Freelance Karly Banks Sarah Strugnell

Chris Heath Kartik Iyer Shirley Chen

Chris Hicks Keit Loi Simone Park

Ciara Redmond Kellen Huang Sinead Manning

Claire Lawson Kelly Connelly Steph Dalrymple

Claire Pollock Kiara Williams Steph Li

Conor Serong Kim Woods Stephanie McHugh

Constance Rubino Kirk Buckland Stephen Ciavarella

Cordelia O'Rourke Kirsty Ha Stephen Smith

Courtney Colclough Kyriako Tsoukalas Susannah Gordon

Daniel Beratis Lainey Allen Tamara Tubakovic

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Danielle Fong Laura Finlayson-Short Tash Clarke

Danielle Loughnan Laura Karantgis Teresa Liu

Danvy Nguyen Lauren Lorenzo Tessa Gould

David Adams Lauren Sullivan Thành Trinh

Dr Paul Fijn Lauren Taylor Thea Williamson-Burns

Duoshao Wu Leannza Chia Tom Hayes

Elliott Cope Lee Nguyen Tom Hopwood

Eloise Verbeek Lisa Ngo Tom Kenwery

Emina Susic Lockie Platts Tom Mundy

Emma Frisch Luke Zappia Tovah Otton

Felicity Rodda Lydia Holt Travis Lines

Finley Charleson Madeleine Johnson Vic Burton

Gabby Camerlengo Mariam Saad Victor Lin

Gabrielle Castelluccio Marlo Zambelli Wei Leng

Gajan Thiyagarajah Matt De Bono Wilbur Li

Gargi Gon Matt Greer Will Vien

Georgia Lumb Matt Shamsolnizam William Rotor

Grace Fogarty Meaghan O’Callaghan Wing Chong

Grace Terdich Melanie Tassos

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