Online TranscriptRequest Submission

Fred VerboomManager, Administrative Information SystemsWilfrid Laurier University

Content• Wilfrid Laurier University• Challenge• Solution• Benefits• Next Steps

Wilfrid Laurier University• Wilfrid Laurier University is a public research university located in

Waterloo, Ontario, founded in 1911.• ~17,000 students across 4 campuses – primarily Waterloo (~13,500),

Brantford (~3500), with FSW in Kitchener, small MBA campus in Toronto

• ~ 1650 F/T Staff and Faculty• ICT Statistics per CUCCIO

• 68 IT Staff • Students per IT staff: 234• Staff per IT staff: 21• Fun Fact: 24 spoken languages

Transcript Challenge from Service Laurier: provide an online mechanism for WLU students and alumni to submit their requests for an official academic transcript, through a customized website which also includes a secured payment method.

Issue – accuracy of information submitted through online forms

Service Laurier – One Stop shop for students, for payment of accounts, course change requests, one-off transcript requests, etc.

Stakeholders• Students/Alumni• Registrar • Service Laurier• ICT Solutions

Objectives:• Ability for students and alumni to submit an

electronic request for a transcript • A secure electronic payment process for

applying charges• Ability for administrative staff (Service Laurier

and Registrar’s Office) to view and fulfill the details of the request

• Ability for the student/alumni to view the status of their request in LORIS (Laurier web Information System)

Solution:• Web – student

interface• PHP web

application• MySQL database• Banner – ERP• Limited manual

intervention

Online Transcript Request Process:Student / Alumni

Transcript Fulfillment Process:Registrar/Service Laurier

Student• Greater efficiency – ease

of access• Reduced lineups at

Service Laurier• Faster turnaround time –

50% reduction• 55% usage in 1st term

Registrar / Records• Reduced cost / resources /

improved accuracy• Fewer calls from students

checking status – 80% savings

• Faster processing – 60% savings in typing/stuffing

• Improved reporting

Benefits

Transcript Statistics since October 2013• Online Transcript request submissions: 3200;

majority with delivery method by Mail and Courier• Form Transcript request submissions: 2726; majority

of delivery method by Mail and Courier• Walk-in Transcript requests: 1209

• NOTE: high number of Form Transcript requests primarily due to Alumni and inactive students not having or remembering their network credentials

Next Steps – Phase 2 for Online Transcripts:• Online form changes:• Forward and back navigation, saving data throughout

online request process• Ease of use

• Student authentication without network id’s for inactive students / Alumni

• Opportunity for student to provide feedback• Notification to student when transcript Sent to

destination(s)

Contact Information:

Fred Verboom, Manager, Administrative Information Systems fverboom@wlu.ca519.881.0710 x3076

Andrei Kovacsik, Systems Analyst III - Webakovacsik@wlu.ca519.884.0710 x

Robert Kalbfleisch – Systems Analyst III (Banner – Registrar)rkalbfleisch@wlu.ca519.884.0710 x

Thank youQuestions

Appendix: Process Flows for Online Transcript and Fulfillment Processes