1. Audrey Lindsay, Director Student Systems Richard Spencer, Executive Director, eBusiness Educause Nov 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.

2. 2 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

3. 3 e-Strategy a guiding framework to align UBC’s technology initiatives with the University’s strategic goals

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

5. 5 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

6. 6 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”

7. 7 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

8. 8 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

9. 9 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

10. 10 BPR - design process 9,10write final results 8verification 6,7walk through interviews 5design the new process 4external research 3brainstorm 1,2map current process WeeksProcess

11. 11 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

12. 12 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!”

13. 13 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 projects oself-evaluation and self-admission oconsolidated billing & payment –build & deliver components every 3 to 4 months

14. 14 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

15. 15 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!

16. 16 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...

17. 17 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

18. 18 40026049 ****** Demo - login

19. 19 Demo – select self-evaluation

20. 20 Demo – select courses

21. 21 Demo – enter grades

22. 22 Demo – enter grades

23. 23 Demo – continue to self-evaluation

24. 24 Demo – evaluate for Science

25. 25 Demo – admissible – display rules

26. 26 Demo – admissible – shows courses used

27. 27 Demo – try another program

28. 28 Demo – select Applied Science

29. 29 Demo – not admissible – display rules

30. 30 Demo – return to Science – click Admit me

31. 31 Demo – self-admitted

32. 32 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

33. 33 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

34. 34 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

35. 35 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!!

36. 36 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