Monash Memo - 18 July 2001

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University results the SMS way

One thousand Monash students received their course results in the form of a text message via their mobile phone last week.

The trial, which was recently advertised on the my.monash portal, was eagerly received by students, who filled the quota within two days of its announcement.

Deputy vice-chancellor (Resources) Ms Alison Crook said the new system gave students more choice in service delivery.

"It's one of a range of initiatives we are introducing," she said.

According to project manager of Flexible Learning and Teaching in ITS Mr Ron Sawyer, the system is about increasing convenience for students.

"Listening to our students, we realised how important their results were to them. This trial is a step towards delivering this information in a way which students find appropriate and in a way that is more efficient for the university," he said.

Students were posting feedback about the trial through the my.monash portal within an hour of results being sent to their mobile phones.

Mr Alan McMeekin, executive director of IT Services, said the project was a leading example of innovation at the university.

"Monash prides itself on being a cutting-edge innovator, and our IT division is happy to collaborate with other university service areas to experiment and push the technical boundaries if it can help our students and staff," he said.

For more information on the project, contact Mr Sawyer on extn 54756.