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Successful release of new processes and technology

09 May 2022

Latest developments from SEP

We’re pleased to announce that the latest release of new technology under our Student Experience Programme has gone smoothly. It is now ready to help staff deliver improved processes and better services for students. 

Work took place from 22-25 April to upgrade Campus Solutions and introduce this new technology to student-facing areas across the University. On Monday 25 April, after careful testing, the upgraded Campus system was switched back to live at 2.30pm – 1.5 hours earlier than scheduled. 

These upgrades and new technology will help improve a variety of processes – reducing administration burdens on staff, removing unnecessary communications, and delivering a better experience for students. It also includes improvements to technology released in October, following feedback from staff. 

  • New automated communications around immigration will help us stay in touch with the relevant students and ensure we comply with government regulations.
  • We are improving how we process agent-generated applications, and providing a better experience for withdrawn or rejected applicants.
  • Applicants will now have access to a new component in My Manchester, where they can upload sponsorship letters.
  • There is a new streamlined CAS process in My Manchester, to reduce applicant stress and cut down on enquiries.
  • Student finance improvements will enable us to automate some processes and add payment information to student and applicant records more easily. Better processes around applicant sponsors will ensure they only have to provide letters once and relevant areas will know when a document is available.
  • New processes around reporting eligible students for the Graduate Immigration Route will help us comply with UKVI requirements.
  • A new ‘Right to Study’ process means that administrators will no longer have to collate pre-CAS responses, passports and visas manually. All relevant applicants will be entered into the process automatically, helping us comply with Home Office rules and allowing students to matriculate on time.  

We did face some challenges and technical issues around the last technology release in October. Following discussions and feedback with staff, our team adapted the approach for this release – and as a result it was delivered successfully. Our team are working with staff to resolve any outstanding issues as quickly as possible. 

This adapted approach included the decision to stagger elements of the release, to ensure we could deliver all the technology without issue. The technology and new processes around immigration and ‘Right to Study’ are being delivered in May, with no additional downtime to any systems. 

This release is the culmination of months of hard work behind the scenes, and we commend everyone involved for their hard work – including the SEP technology and process teams, IT colleagues, and staff in the impacted student-facing teams.