We are pleased to announce that Senior Sergeant GREGORY IAN BISHOP was awarded the AUSTRALIAN POLICE MEDAL on Friday April 4th.
Senior Sergeant Bishop has voluntarily been giving advice to the AHN and recently has agreed to join our AHN Advisory Board and assist on matters to do with security and incident management processes.
The Australian Police Medal Award recognised Senior Sergeant Bishop's dedication to policing and his effectiveness in working in partnership with community groups within the South Brisbane area. He was also acknowledged for contributing significantly to the coordination of policing activities at numerous state, national and international events, including the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and 2001 Goodwill Games.
CONGRATULATIONS GREG AND WELCOME TO THE AHN!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
GREAT NEWS!!!!
One of our first Foundation clients of the Australian Homestay Network is in the middle of the testing phases of our online management system and has;
- completed the homestay host training and assessment
- been a student
- been a homestay host
They are delighted with how easy the system is to use and with the organised flows for each functionality.
In the coming weeks they will move to testing the supervisor functions and are on schedule for a 1 July 2008 commencement.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Student Referrals
There have recently been a few questions coming in about student referrals and what level of involvement agents will have on the AHN System, so we thought we should post the answer here for anyone who may be interested.
There are three ways that new student applications can be submitted to AHN. The first is when a Student comes to the website and fills in the application form first hand. The second is when a supervisor adds a new student or study tour from within their organisation’s AHN account. The third is when a referring agent enters new student details on a page specifically designed for agent referrals. Both the second and third methods utilise an “agent code”, which is a way for referring agents to identify themselves on the system, with a unique code assigned to each office.
Referring agents may be the supervisor themselves, an education provider, or an external agency. It is up to each supervising organisation how they structure their student referrals on AHN, and an agent can only add new students to supervisors who have previously nominated to accept that agent code. A report will be produced at the end of each month detailing the commission payable to each referring agent.
The primary responsibility of referring agents is to make sure the students they enter onto the system receive their AHN login information and know how to access their account, and that they have read and understood the student orientation prior to the start of their homestay placement in Australia.
There are three ways that new student applications can be submitted to AHN. The first is when a Student comes to the website and fills in the application form first hand. The second is when a supervisor adds a new student or study tour from within their organisation’s AHN account. The third is when a referring agent enters new student details on a page specifically designed for agent referrals. Both the second and third methods utilise an “agent code”, which is a way for referring agents to identify themselves on the system, with a unique code assigned to each office.
Referring agents may be the supervisor themselves, an education provider, or an external agency. It is up to each supervising organisation how they structure their student referrals on AHN, and an agent can only add new students to supervisors who have previously nominated to accept that agent code. A report will be produced at the end of each month detailing the commission payable to each referring agent.
The primary responsibility of referring agents is to make sure the students they enter onto the system receive their AHN login information and know how to access their account, and that they have read and understood the student orientation prior to the start of their homestay placement in Australia.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
AHN Transition Training
This is an exciting week here at AHN, as we are about to begin system training and testing with the first of our foundation year members, StudyGoldCoast. A lot of thought has gone into how best to bring new organisations onto the system, and we thought we should document the process here to give everyone a better idea of what’s in store.
In the first phase of training we will have staff members from the new organisation take on the role of a Homestay Host or Student so that they can run through and understand the flow of the system from the perspective of the users they will be supervising. This will also provide them with the opportunity to test out the system by creating different problem scenarios to see how the system handles them.
After new users have completed the student/host flow up until placement we will reverse the roles and have them be supervisors within a dummy organisation we have setup on the system for training purposes. AHN staff will then create a series of Hosts and Students and run them through the flow while generating as many pre-placement issues that we can come up with. This will provide new users with an understanding of how a supervisor manages their operations using the system, including task delegation and incident management.
Once new organisations are confident on the system with a full understanding of its capabilities, we will then begin setting up their custom pages and begin full transition onto AHN!
In the first phase of training we will have staff members from the new organisation take on the role of a Homestay Host or Student so that they can run through and understand the flow of the system from the perspective of the users they will be supervising. This will also provide them with the opportunity to test out the system by creating different problem scenarios to see how the system handles them.
After new users have completed the student/host flow up until placement we will reverse the roles and have them be supervisors within a dummy organisation we have setup on the system for training purposes. AHN staff will then create a series of Hosts and Students and run them through the flow while generating as many pre-placement issues that we can come up with. This will provide new users with an understanding of how a supervisor manages their operations using the system, including task delegation and incident management.
Once new organisations are confident on the system with a full understanding of its capabilities, we will then begin setting up their custom pages and begin full transition onto AHN!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Homestay VS Tuckshop
While not a system update, we thought you might enjoy this mildly amusing story about the surging Homestay industry in Brisbane. One of our neighbours recently came over to visit as she had heard that we were developing a Homestay Network. She was very interested to enquire about the possibilities of Homestay and said that she found out about it through a dispute at a local school. Apparently this “dispute” had involved something of a mass exodus of the school’s tuckshop lady staff after word got around that they could each host a single international student in Homestay for the same amount that the school was paying them to prepare the lunches for 500+ children each week. Needless to say it can’t have been a very difficult decision, and from all reports these placements are doing very well. AHN would like to apologise in advance to any other schools with an underpaid tuckshop staff. Viva la revolution!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Update - Mapping Tools
One of the great things about system testing is that it gives us the opportunity to actually try things out in practice that up until now have been only theory. And while we’re still in the early stages of testing, we can already report that the promised online mapping system for Students is going to be a fantastic feature. Not only will Students be able to get an early look at the region surrounding their placement, but the map itself has customisable place marks with Supervisors and Managers able to populate their region full of helpful information. For example, they might like to highlight the best bus stops and bus codes to get to education providers, or give directions to local shops and cinemas, or even point out which is the best local pub! There’s really no limit to what can be added, and all a Student ever needs to do to check the map is log in to their profile from any computer with internet access. Overall, this is another great way for Supervisors to develop and own their specified region on the Australian Homestay Network.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
System Update - Feb 2008
Apologies once again for the length of time since our last update, but our focus has been on development and planning for our July launch. More regular updates will follow in the next few weeks and months, so please keep checking back!
January 2008 has seen development of the AHN system shift into high gear. We now have a full working model of the system and are beginning the first of several rounds of extensive in-house testing. Over the next few weeks we will be putting the system through its paces to make sure it can handle the many variables associated with Homestay to our satisfaction. From 1st March we will then begin official system testing with our foundation members to ensure that we can meet their specific regional requirements prior to launch.
The system itself is looking fantastic, and its overall simplicity, flexibility and ease of use have so far exceeded our expectations. Supervisors are able to completely manage every aspect of their homestay operations from any computer with normal internet capabilities. There are fully customisable pages specific to each organisation, with event planning and bulk messaging features built into each Supervisor’s access. Put simply, AHN is not just a great way to coordinate your Homestays, but also a way to own your specified region and control it your way to the best of your ability.
January 2008 has seen development of the AHN system shift into high gear. We now have a full working model of the system and are beginning the first of several rounds of extensive in-house testing. Over the next few weeks we will be putting the system through its paces to make sure it can handle the many variables associated with Homestay to our satisfaction. From 1st March we will then begin official system testing with our foundation members to ensure that we can meet their specific regional requirements prior to launch.
The system itself is looking fantastic, and its overall simplicity, flexibility and ease of use have so far exceeded our expectations. Supervisors are able to completely manage every aspect of their homestay operations from any computer with normal internet capabilities. There are fully customisable pages specific to each organisation, with event planning and bulk messaging features built into each Supervisor’s access. Put simply, AHN is not just a great way to coordinate your Homestays, but also a way to own your specified region and control it your way to the best of your ability.
Other updates
- We've completed our Homestay Host training module and assessment, which is currently under final review
- Also under final review are our policies, procedures and supervisors manual, which will all be integrated into the site alerts and emails by the time of launch
- Student orientation is complete and is being uploaded onto the Student section, where Students will be able to read up on Australian lifestyle and customs prior to leaving their home country
- Agent functions have now been built into the site (where applicable), with agents able to create new Students themselves and receive carbon copies of all relevant correspondence
- Site frequently asked questions have been completed specific to each level of access, and will continue to be updated with questions received after launch
More to follow as we get closer to launch!
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