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MCDS — MortarCAPS Higher Learning Data Standard

Working Groups

Where the sector shapes the standard.

Working groups are where MCDS is designed, debated, and refined. They run on a public cadence and are the main path for institutions to influence what ships in each release.

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01 Mainline Working Groups

Mainline Working Groups.

Our mainline working groups are key to the development of MCDS and heavily influence each release. Membership of these groups is only open to educational institutions.

See the terms of reference →

  1. 01 · DWG

    Design Working Group

    The DWG is where most of the heavy lifting is done — representatives from across the globe discuss the details of institutional operations and use cases to inform the design of the standard. There are separate streams for each region to accommodate regional nuances and time-zone differences.

    Stream Frequency Meeting time
    Australia / NZ Weekly (Tuesdays & Thursdays) 1pm AEST
    Canada Weekly (Fridays) 2pm PST

  2. 02 · EWG

    Executive Working Group

    The EWG sets the direction for future development. Executive representatives can advocate for new topics to be added to the roadmap or to reprioritise existing topics. It also serves as the forum to resolve issues raised by the DWG and to keep executives up to date on sector-wide initiatives using MCDS.

    Stream Frequency Meeting time
    Australia / NZ Every 4 weeks 11am AEST Wednesday
    Canada Every 4 weeks 2pm PST Wednesday

  3. 03

    General Architecture

    Develops a shared set of best practices and resources for architecture implementing MCDS.

    • Platform-neutral reference architectures and architectural patterns (including region-specific concerns)
    • Interoperability patterns
    • Integration and data processing
    • Deployment models
    • Data governance and security
    Frequency Meeting time
    Every 3 weeks Tuesday at 9am AEST

  4. 04

    ANZ Credit Management System

    Focused specifically on the ANZ Credit Management Initiative in Australia and New Zealand. Key topics include modelling of curriculum and the data requirements for recognition of prior learning.

    Frequency Meeting time
    Weekly 1pm AEST Wednesdays

  5. 05

    Human Capability Record (HCR)

    Supports the development and implementation of the Human Capability Record across active pilots — including the Capability Cloud.

    Frequency Meeting time
    Weekly 1pm AEST Fridays

02 Sub-Working Groups

Sub-Working Groups (SWGs).

Smaller teams tackling niche topics outside general development. They meet less frequently, may organise occasional ad-hoc workshops, and are open to our entire community.

See the terms of reference →

  1. SWG · 01

    Research Administration

    Led by representatives from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (The Alliance). Tackles issues relating to research administration.

    Frequency Meeting time
    Fortnightly 9am AEST Friday

  2. SWG · 02

    Analytics

    Led by MacEwan University. Focuses on how MCDS can be used to support institutional analytics.

    Frequency Meeting time
    Every 3 weeks 10am AEST Thursday

Want to join a working group?

Get in touch and we'll route you to the right group, share the current terms of reference, and add you to the next meeting invite.

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