USI Updated and Ready for 2015

As everyone in the VET sector fully understands by now, the USI is in force and RTOs have been instructed to voluntarily embrace the new world order. Hopefully the benefits of USI can be realised and everyone should see some marked improvements in processing enrolments and registrations. At least that's the theory.

So what's involved?

Well firstly, you have to make a choice.

• Option 1: you can get a User Key to allow you to log into the USI website and process all your USI records there. The website allows you to create USI numbers for your students, verify any USI numbers that they created themselves and verify any USI numbers in your student management system. The problem with the website, you're working with two applications and trying to synchronise student and USI data between them, and that's another set of user name and password you have to remember. What a mess! Definitely, go for Option 2.

• Option2: Compliant Student Management Systems like BluegemEXPLORE fully support the USI Web Services. That means you can work in one environment, your SMS. You can execute all the USI functions within the SMS, You'll be automatically authenticated (logged in). You can create and verify individual USIs and Bulk Create / Verify multiple USIs. All of this while doing your normal everyday RTO activities.

Unfortunately, neither option is completely free of additional effort; you do have to collect appropriate documents for the USI verification service. Any public funded RTO would however already be used to this and should find the need to do this will minimise over time as more and more of their students are registered on the USI system. But that's about it. The rest should be painless if you've adopted the right SMS. It would be irresponsible of me not to mention that BluegemEXPLORE TMS | LMS fully integrates the USI web services and is therefore a good candidate for Option 2.

The USI Office last month sent out an invitation letter to asking you (RTOs) to choose which of the above options you would like to use for implementing USI in your organisation. We've advised all our clients to make life easy and go for Option 2. We believe we've done a good job of making your USI experience as painless as possible and look forward to your comments and feedback.