Audrey Lindsay, Director Student Systems Richard Spencer, Executive Director, eBusiness

EducauseNov 2003

Student Self-Admission

to the University of British

Columbia

Copyright Lindsay/Spencer, 2003. This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the authors. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the authors.

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The University of British Columbia

in Vancouver, BC, Canada

40,000 students

– many on-line services– 100% web registration

3000 faculty & research staff

6000 other staff

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e-Strategya guiding framework to align UBC’s technology initiatives with the University’s strategicgoals

eBusiness

“ The transformation of key business processes through the use of Internet technologies.”

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Business process re-engineering (BPR)

Process for making radical improvements:

case for action

end result

commitment to implement

facilitated redesign process - timebox!

will the new design produce the end result?

if yes - implementation

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SIMPL case for action

strategic goal of “enhanced web services for students”

our prospective students were less satisfied than those at competitive universities

staff wanted to provide better service

students expect seamless, integrated service, anywhere, anytime

Trek 2000 goal: “We must transform the experience of becoming a student at UBC”

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End result

integrate everything new students have to do

make it easy-to-use, efficient, and timely

reflect student needs

exceed their expectations

no unnecessary tasks and processes (zero stop shopping)

no need to know the University’s organization

one-stop, anytime, anyplace solution that is easy to understand and use

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Role of university leadership

VP Students:

– agreed to implement a redesigned process if it would meet the end result.

– provided funding for implementation Executive steering committee:

– chaired by VP Students– Associate VPs, Deans, Directors– approved end result– approved the new design

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BPR design team

9 person team representing: student services departments

– records and registration, – admissions, – awards, – recruitment, – front counter

IT students faculty

Seconded full time for 8 weeks

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BPR - design process

9,10write final results

8verification

6,7walk through interviews

5design the new process

4external research

3brainstorm

1,2map current process

WeeksProcess

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SIMPL BPR - the new design

New design identified 6 key processes

enticement

information sharing

e.g.: consolidated billing

relationship building

assessment

e.g.: self-assessment and self-admission

hand off

transition

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Stakeholder roles

prospective students: responded favorably to the idea in interviews and focus groups

high school counsellors from across Canada: were very enthusiastic and supportive

faculties: (colleges) were initially somewhat reluctant participants

admissions staff: supportive of the concept, believed it would work. Some concern about change

President: saw a presentation of the re-design, including self-admission, and inspired the team by urging: “just get it done!”

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BPR implementation

Preparation: Jan 2001 to Apr 2002

– refine the BPR vision – 16 separate projects– alignment – engage the rest of campus– organize funding– completion of current systems projects & new

infrastructure

Development: May 2002 and onwards

– focus on two large projectso self-evaluation and self-admission

o consolidated billing & payment

– build & deliver components every 3 to 4 months

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Self-admission implementation team

SIMPL implementation team– project sponsor– process owner– feasibility and business process design

system team– Director of Student Systems– system development team– system design, development and implementation

admissions staff– helped with process design– concerned about impact to jobs

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Old admission process most undergrads admitted based on courses &

grades 25,000 applications,

– all had to be evaluated, even to give a rejection– many called to ask why they weren’t admitted

12,000 offers of admission 6,000 students registered minimum of 4 to 8 weeks from application to offer

of admission

Even with web applications,

this is a lot of work and can result in a slow response!

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Goals for new admissions process

improve the experience of applicants

dramatically improve the quality of service

– applicants understand how the rules apply to them

– applicants get decisions in real-time

make offers of admission earlier

reduce the processing work in admissions

give admissions professionals time to help...

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New self-evaluation & admission

Grade 12 BC high school students:

– complete web application form– select HS courses, enter November grades– get immediate personal feedback on eligibility– admit themselves if they meet the criteria

know immediately if they not admissible, with detailed reasons

15 minutes from application to self-admission

self-admission demo

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40026049

******

Demo - login

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Demo – select self-evaluation

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Demo – select courses

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Demo – enter grades

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Demo – enter grades

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Demo – continue to self-evaluation

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Demo – evaluate for Science

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Demo – admissible – display rules

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Demo – admissible – shows courses used

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Demo – try another program

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Demo – select Applied Science

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Demo – not admissible – display rules

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Demo – return to Science – click Admit me

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Demo – self-admitted

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Measures of success

1,369

1,565

2,159

5,093

not admissible

wait for May or final grades

self-admitted

self-reported & self-evaluated

Web applications from BC high school students

10,204

CategoryNumber

27%

31%

42% of these

50%

97%

Percent

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Self-admission - next steps

Winter 2003 process

available for self-admission in Nov

students enter November grades

admissions staff verified grades with high school counselors for unconditional offers

cutoff percentages adjusted during the process to manage enrolment quotas

all conditional offers, still dependent on final July ministry grades

Process changes for 2004 self-evaluation opens in Dec

students enter March grades better predictor open to all BC students

(linear & semester schools) automate verification against

May interim grades

set firm cut-off percentages before process begins

change admission policy and base admission on May interim grades

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Self-admission – new for 2004 In production: automatic acknowledgement of application improved status information

– display documents received plus any still required support for broader based admission

– collect and distribute documents

In progress: allow self-evaluation without application form self-admitted students can print admission letter self-admission for more groups of students

– more provinces, IB students

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A model on-line application

Self-evaluation and self-admission:

offers real-time self-service

trusts the student

eliminates weeks & months of waiting time

provides added value to students

helps us attract the best students

clearly explains applicable rules.

exceeds the students expectations...but not for long!!

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Conclusions

business process engineering can produce radical change

customers accept change that works for them

executive leadership and support is vital

continuing incremental change is still required

change is hard work, and takes time

process change can drive policy change

this approach could work in other places