Online Application Strategies e Enquiries e Applications and alternatives

Online Application Strategies e. Enquiries/e. Applications and alternatives

Why am I leading this? • Flinders International Office seeking enquiry management and online application facilities • Enquiry management also needed for domestic student enquiries • Overlaps with student support needs (eg enrolment helpdesk) ++ • Immediate priority is enquiries, then applications • Opportunity to see what others are doing and focus likelihood of Tech One option

Options? • Enquiries • • Urgency from International Office for solution FAQ and CRM Hobsons EMT e. Enquiries module • Applications • • Important but less urgent Hobsons (large, expensive, overkill? ) Studylink (smaller, cheaper, not bad) e. Applications module • Not considering any in-house development

Systems involved • Student system, including application and offer details • E-applications and associated workflow processing • • • email from web page In-house or custom development Hobsons Studylink e. Applications S 1 module

Systems involved (continued) • E-enquiries relating to course applications • Various in-house solutions • Hobson’s service centre (contractual) • Hobson’s EMT (Enrolment Management Technology) • Studylink partnering with CRM provider • Customer relationship management • Wide range • Whole of service approach (enquirer to alumni)

Interest • Would the development of e. Enquiries/e. Applications be of interest? • Yes - has ranked priority 1 in the ‘new modules’ list • Response to survey: 7/9 said (c) Yes, provided the scope of the development was sufficient to be competitive in the growing niche market

Warren’s picture?

Scope: e. Applications • Allow prospective students to make application to the university via an on-line process with links to appropriate information to assist the applicant in their decision-making. • All international and domestic applicants seeking entry to award courses or units drawn from university award courses, but excludes those people who currently apply through TACs.

Scope… • Intuitive web-based application • a high degree of real-time validation • accessible to prospective students to lodge their (multiple) application details • check on the progress of same, • and receive highly personalised and datarich on-line communications regarding the current status and ultimate outcome of their application(s).

Scope… • Validation checking against • entry requirements • other university defined rules • immediate conditional offer subject to verification by original documents or the electronic transfer of results. • Applications for advanced standing may also be facilitated during this process • Data to be transferred from the application form into appropriate corporate systems without the need for re-keying.

Scope… • Cater for specific requirements of different client groups • • as applicants who are new to the institution former or current students agents university staff. • Users able to seamlessly conduct all application and admission processes on-line including electronic document submission and retrieval and electronic fee payment.

Expectations • Streamline admissions processes and increase client satisfaction by: • improving information flows • improving operational efficiencies assisted by the automation of routine tasks and workflow • providing an immediate response or, at least, reducing current application turnaround times • increasing convenience to prospective students via ‘self-service’ mode

Expectations • improving visibility of process to clients • reducing manual processes including data entry by university staff • moving towards paperless processes for academic and administrative staff which will improve mobility and remote access for decision making • creating greater opportunity for follow-up and recruitment activities to increase conversions of applications into enrolments

e. Enquiries/e. Applications • Suitable for a T 1 SM module? • Can scope of development be competitive in growing niche market? • Your thoughts? • Issues?