Intelligent CIO APAC Issue 19 | Page 58

CASE STUDY
All students , new and existing , were required to apply online via an impersonal public website . For each application the student was asked the same information again with all students also required to undergo an interview process prior to acceptance in their courses . To facilitate this each applicant was contacted manually by phone or email .
The application and enrolment process could take up to 65 days , which was a deterrent for some students from committing to the institution . In addition , the interview process also opened up the possibility for interviewer biases , for example , based on physical appearance . This led to the decision to enhance ebs to fully support online applications to enrolments with ebs : ontrack and to increase student enrolments by 2 % after completion .
The solution
After a 12-month project starting with initial phases of design thinking and scoping to go-live , Toi Ohomai realized benefits immediately from the ‘ My Enrolments ’ portal . This has brought the entire applications process online for domestic learners .
A significant process review was undertaken to maximize the features and functionality of the new ebs : ontrack portal . This included staff procedures covering a wide range of tasks from curriculum set-up , through application processing to enrolment . The change process was soon incentivised by the results the team were able to achieve in a short amount of time and by demonstrating the value of a well-utilized student management system .
The portal was designed to replace the previous impersonal public website as the main system for receiving new applications , transforming the application and enrolment process for Toi Ohomai . Students required visibility of application progression , and the application process time had to be significantly reduced from the 65-day timeline to complete enrolment .
ebs : ontrack now provides enhanced visibility for students including :
• A fully interactive online application form for domestic learners
• Dynamic application progress tracking
• A document upload repository
• Interactive interview self-selection and booking
• Interactive application offer review with acceptance and rejection
• Dynamic and automatic notifications and reminders for staff and applicants throughout the application process
Other ebs modules that Toi Ohomai has utilized include :
• Data Miner , providing dynamic reports based on filtered data in ebs ; and
• Correspondence Manager , providing tools to manage and maintain letter and email templates sent to students
Combined , these features enable the organization to deliver a vastly improved student experience .
Benefits
The features of the new ebs : ontrack portal have allowed Toi Ohomai to consolidate online application processes and provide the students and staff with a more efficient way of accessing information , specifically with the introduction of mobile accessibility .
This removes manual processes , such as sending communications via post to its student network , reducing transactional timeframes , while introducing new efficiencies in reporting , administration and enrolment processes .
The application and enrolment processing time , which was previously up to 65 days , has now been reduced to just one week on average with the help of ebs : ontrack and Toi Ohomai ’ s revised processes .
Head of Information Technology , Rabindra Das , said : “ Toi Ohomai has been driving more digitization into existing process and it seemed logical that this would
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