Issues and Challenges In Student Access and AuthenticationPESC Technology Summit 2003Austin, TXPresenter: Doug Holmes

Programmer AnalystOntario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC)

What is the OUAC? Central admission application processing

centre for 19 universities in Ontario, Canada Undergraduate, Teacher Education, Medical,

Law, Rehab Sciences, Contract Collect and disseminate demographic,

academic and university specific information Just finished 32nd processing cycle

What student access do we provide?

On-line admission applications On-line review and change of applicant’s

information by the applicant On-line review and change of applicant’s

academics by High School counsellor On-line review by university admissions

staff Paper versions of above still supported but

being phased out (mail and fax; limited phone support)

What other matching do we do? Batch academic updates from High Schools Batch receipt of documents from outside

agencies (CEGEP, B.C., LSAT, MCAT) Postsecondary Transcripts

• Paper and EDI• Sender, End receiver, Flow-through

Referral letters Other supporting documentation

• On-line and paper

What challenges do we face? Incomplete information

• Applicant and/or authorized party does not provide Invalid information

• Applicant and/or authorized party provide incorrectly

Conflicting information• Applicant and/or authorized party provide

different or differently Unsupported information

• Applicant and/or authorized party provide extra

Challenges (cont’d) Suspect information

• Applicant and/or authorized and/or unauthorized party• Trust source of information? (good vs. bad experience)

Unsolicited information• Non-applicant pending files

Timely information• Communicate with applicant and/or authorized party

– Distance (only paper contact)– Hold-ups (invalid contact; timing of contact)– Misunderstandings (access code characters; instructions)

Costly information• Postage/mailing, phone/fax, staff time• Charges for information by other agencies

What solutions have we found?(even partial ones)

Incomplete information• On-line: UI-level edits• Paper: Acknowledgement forms

Invalid information• Individual and relational field edits

Conflicting information• Individual and relational field edits• Trigger manual intervention

Unsupported information• Analysis of database integrity, new information

needs

Solutions (cont’d) Suspect information

• Relational edits (manual and automatic)• High school involvement (data feed, confidential PIN letters)

Unsolicited information• Periodic interrogation

Timely information• Continual improvement of edits• Limit allowable characters• Re-work wording, context / location of instructions

Costly information• Automate, monitor “cleanliness” of data, limit known

“unsolvable” issues