SEP to reach major milestone with release of new admissions processes

04 Oct 2021

October will mark a major milestone in the delivery of the Student Experience Programme with the release of new Application and Admissions functionality and processes.

This release follows on from, and supports the changes that were made to organisational structures earlier this year, to establish a strong partnership across central Directorates, Faculties and Schools, and to promote a single team approach with consistent roles and structures.

The Application and Admissions release will introduce standardised and streamlined processes for taught and postgraduate research admissions that will improve the experience for both staff and applicants. Some examples of this include:

• A new dynamic direct entry application form, and ability for applicants to upload relevant documents to their applicant record, meaning a smoother application experience for applicants and an easier evaluation process for staff.
• Automated processes and communications will save staff time and reduce reliance on email.
• Standardisation of offer making and identifiers for particular categories of applicant will improve data quality, reporting and tracking.
• Streamlined immigration processes will reduce high volumes of queries across the University.
• Evaluation functionality for postgraduate research (PGR) applicants will facilitate the movement of applications between PS and academic staff, and allow for evaluation and funding decisions to be made.

To prepare for this release, admissions teams have been engaged in transition and training activities over the last six months. These activities have included introductory videos, workshops and training modules, to explain key changes and identify actions that teams should undertake to enable transition to the new functionality and processes. The SEP Programme team has worked in close partnership with admissions managers and leaders to ensure teams are ready.

The new release will also bring positive changes for academic colleagues. Taught Admissions tutors will use some simple Campus Solutions screens to review applications and documentation to inform decisions. Potential supervisors and those with other PGR admissions roles will use My Manchester to access applicant information, re-assign to colleagues, and to undertake applicant evaluations. Short training videos and guides will be made available to access at a time convenient to the user and local admissions teams will be able to provide further guidance if needed.

As with any major release of this scale and complexity there is a possibility that issues may arise post release and the programme team have put in place support and escalation routes so that any issues can be actively managed. Further details on this, along with some frequently asked questions and links to resources can be found on the Student Experience Programme website.

April McMahon, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, and Melissa Westwood, Associate Vice President for Research, who are both members of the SEP Board, were keen to endorse this milestone and said: “We’re sure you will join both of us in thanking the admissions teams, managers and leaders, as well as the Student Experience Programme team. It has taken their vision, cooperation and determination to get to this point and we’re both grateful for their contributions all round; this welcome step forward will greatly improve the experience for applicants, students and University colleagues.”