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Projects

The IT group at the University of Divinity is engaged in numerous projects. This section lists a number of the key projects.

1 - SGR Annual reporting forms online

Convert manual, Word-based forms to online forms

The School of Graduate Research requires each HDR candidate and their supervisor to provide an annual report. The reports consist of three parts, each being filled out and reviewed by different parties. Historically, these three forms have been Word forms that are downloaded, filled out and transferred via email.

This project aims to convert the existing forms to online versions and provide a simple workflow and reporting interface for all parties involved. Further, it will leverage SSO for security, and internal data (via APIs) to ensure only authorised parties can fill out the forms and review the submissions.

Outputs

Forms A, B, and C are now available online at https://portal.divinity.edu.au/

2 - Privacy transparency updates

Updates to public facing information regarding data collection and privacy

The University’s Privacy Policy states that it “respects individuals’ privacy and is open and transparent about how it handles all personal information”. We also have obligations under Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) to inform people regarding information collected and used by the University, along with types of information disclosed to third parties and under what circumstances.

This project aims to prepare materials to better inform people. In doing so the decision was made to align with the EU’s GDPR as this (a) provides a higher standard; (b) prepares us for upcoming changes to the Privacy Act (Cth) which is indicated to be moving towards GDPR; and (c) enables us to engage students from the EU.

Outputs

An introduction has been published at https://divinity.edu.au/privacy/

A collection statement for student being admitted has been published at https://divinity.edu.au/privacy/admissions-privacy-and-collection-statement/

A collection statement for current students has been published at https://divinity.edu.au/privacy/students-privacy-and-collection-statement/

3 - ARK Upgrade (2023)

As a part of our upgrade cycles ARK is to be upgraded at the end of 2023

ARK is the University’s Learning Management System. It is being upgraded to Moodle version 4.1.

ARK will be unavailable during the period Monday 11 December 5pm - Tue 12 December 5pm.

The upgrade will update functionality, add new features and enhance privacy and security. These changes will be highlighted in future communications so that you will be familiar with them ahead of time.

Background work for this project has already commenced. The upgrade will occur during the period 11 December 5pm - 12 December 5pm. ARK will be unavailable during this window. This timing was chosen in order to minimise disruption to students and staff.

The impact to you will depend on your role within the University.

  • Academic staff teaching in December will need to factor in a day in which ARK is unavailable and time to review their unit(s) after the upgrade.
  • Most academic staff will need to allocate a small amount of time to reading communications about changes and then after the upgrade reviewing how their units now look as they prepare for teaching.
  • Those in the ARKLO role will be a part of the project team and key contacts for communication.

FAQ

What will be changing?

The main functions of teaching and learning on ARK will remain familiar to you. The upgrade brings some improvements to navigation, usability and completion tracking. Read the support document to find out what’s new.

We’re stepping ahead 4 versions of Moodle. If you want a more detailed overview about what’s new in those versions visit:

Will I be provided training on the new ARK?

Yes! We’re working on documentation on how to use the new ARK and improving the guides for new teachers at the University of Divinity. We will run some training sessions towards the end of the year and in the new year.

Will I lose my courses?

No. Your courses will be backed up and migrated to the new version.

4 - SSO Migration

Migration to SSO for key UD systems

Single Sign-On (SSO) enables a person to sign into one service and once authenticated use the same credentials for accessing additional configured services. This provides a more seamless experience alongside better security.

The University is deploying a Single Sign-On (SSO) service for the majority of its IT systems. The primary benefit is that you will only need to sign in once and will not be re-prompted as you move across University managed systems. Other advantages include reducing the number of logins that staff need to remember, simplifying the password reset process and improving cybersecurity resilience.

We are currently working with vendors to prepare ARK and the LibraryHub to support this. In preparation, we would like to have all staff migrate their accounts on the Forms and UMS sites to the new SSO service. This way a password will already be set up and you with familiar with its operation when those services are migrated. A number of you have already begun using this method, so please confirm that you are doing step 2.

There is migration guide for setting up your existing account.