Last week, we launched the new online scholarship application system.

2018/19 entrants can now use the system to apply for the centrally managed group of scholarships aimed at international and EU students. These were formerly the International Office scholarships.

It is part of the expansion of the use of Campus Solutions in Admissions and follows on from the go-live of the applicant portal on Monday 23 October. Now, offer holders can now apply for one of these scholarships through the ‘finance’ section of their MyNottingham portal.

Accessing the University’s other scholarships

The University offers a huge variety of scholarship opportunities to our prospective students. In the immediate future, there will continue to be different routes for accessing different scholarships. The MyNottingham site is just one of them. As always, offer holders will be able to access information on how to apply for one of the many scholarships that we offer on the University’s website:

• For undergraduate courses: Bursaries and Scholarships
• For postgraduate courses: Postgraduate Funding

Over the next year, we will be monitoring the success of the new application system. If it is successful, we may choose to expand its use to include other scholarships. If we decide to expand the use of the system, we will look to do this next autumn.

The benefits of the new system

The major benefit of this system is that offer holders are only presented with a list of scholarship opportunities they are eligible for. As MyNottingham holds information about the offer holder, including their programme of study and nationality, it is able to pre-filter the list of scholarships available to just those relevant to the offer holder.

The result is that offer holders are no longer able to apply for scholarships they are ineligible for. They can avoid the situation where they are automatically declined based on eligibility after taking time to complete the form.

There are also benefits for staff and students, notably that holding all the information in Campus Solutions means that applicants, students and staff can all see the latest information through their view of MyNottingham. They can use the system to see the latest status of their scholarship application and track the payments once they are a student. We hope that this will mean a reduction in the number of queries from students and fewer emails between staff and students about their scholarships. This should make the process easier to manage for both staff and students.

Thank you for your support with these changes. We hope that the new system will be beneficial to applicants and students.

For general information about the Admissions go-live, including information on the Applicant portal, please visit the Project Transform workspace.

If you have any other questions about the new system or our scholarship programmes, please email the team: scholarship-assistant@nottingham.ac.uk.

The post New online scholarship system launched appeared first on Project Transform.

This weekend marked a milestone for Admissions and Project Transform! It is now less than one month to go before the launch of Campus Solutions for Direct Admissions on Monday 23 October.

In the next few weeks, colleagues from across Admissions, and those in Student Services working with Admissions, will have their final training sessions. These will be the role-specific “In-Depth” sessions. Colleagues will learn how they will use the system day-to-day to complete the specific tasks they are responsible for.

To mark this milestone, we catch-up with some of our Admissions bloggers to hear how they found their previous training course – the Fundamentals course.

Scroll down to read all the posts or click on the links below to jump to a particular blogger’s post.

• Chloe Brereton
• Leanne Williamson
• Lucy North

For my session there was just five of us, which worked really well. It meant we could go at the pace that best suited the group. We had plenty of opportunity to ask questions.

The session was very focused. This was a huge improvement on the training I received as part of GoLive 2. We really were just given the fundamentals – the key training needed to enable us to carry out, what will become, the basic everyday tasks.

A refresher course

Having been through GoLive 2, I was already familiar with the key areas covered. This meant working through the tasks was more of a refresher exercise. This was helpful as it gave me a clearer understanding of how the systems differ in terms of the processes for Direct Admissions compared to UCAS admissions.

The most useful thing about this training session was that the trainer had clearly spent time developing a level of understanding of how Direct Admissions works. The training was delivered in context which instantly made it easier to follow. The whole session was very positive. I came away from it feeling excited about using the new system and the improvements it will bring to the Direct Admissions process.

The post One month to go! Our bloggers talk about training appeared first on Project Transform.

One of the most common questions our Business Readiness team are asked by staff is “What will Campus Solutions do?”

If you have been wondering what the answer to this question is, you’ll be glad to hear about the latest addition to the Business Readiness Workspace. On the Workspace, you will now find a section called “What Campus Solutions does”.
This part of the site looks at the different areas of Campus Solutions and gives a top level summary of what to expect from that part of the system. The information has been provided by Process Owners from across Student Services and Admissions.

What does the site look like?

The information is split into seven functional areas:

• Admissions, Visas and Immigration: Information in this section includes processing applications, financial aid and immigration records
• Student Records: Learn about the management of student information including personal details, course and module history, marks, progression and extenuating circumstances
• Student Financials: Read about processes relating to fees, charges, balances, transactions and debt management
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management): The support and enquiries tool
• Oracle Business Intelligence (OBI): The new management information tool
• MyNottingham: The student administration portal
• Campus Solutions for Academics (Academic WorkCentre): The portal that academics will use to access information from Campus Solutions

A look at the “What Campus Solutions does” screen

You’ll find each area splits down into different topics that you can click on to read about that part of the system.

An example of the second level of the “What Campus Solutions does” site. This example is for Admissions.

Under each topic, there is a short summary of what the system will do and an example of what this will mean for staff, students or applicants.

A look at one of the information screens. This one is for UCAS Teacher Training admissions.

Four of the areas are already built and the others will be available soon. The team will continue to work on this site over the next few weeks. “Watch” the Workspace pages to receive email notifications when changes are made to it.

If you have any feedback about this new area in Workspace, please contact the team.

Want more detailed process information?

If you want to access more detailed information about the student lifecycle processes that will be supported when Campus Solutions goes live then you can access the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This site is only available to colleagues with a University staff account. If you have an associate account and require access, please contact your Business Readiness Manager.

The post Find out what Campus Solutions will do… appeared first on Project Transform.

Earlier in August, MyNottingham – the new student and applicant administration portal – was launched in China.

Using MyNottingham, students can view their student record and complete administrative tasks such as manage their finances, request support, check course information and register for graduation. Moodle and other systems relevant to studies are also linked to the portal.

UNNC students will first be using the portal for online registration. The go-live started on Monday 14 August, when system generated invitations were sent out to nearly 2,000 of the incoming 17/18 students. Around 150 students completed registration in the first day. Over 1,500 students had completed the online registration by the end of August.

Dr Jennifer Weinman, Executive Director of Global Recruitment and Project Transform Sponsor for UNNC, had this to say about the go-live:

“The go-live of MyNottingham marks the culmination of months of work for Project Transform teams to bring the China campus live onto the new system in a steady, phased approach.

With the launch of MyNottingham, students will be able to complete a range of administrative tasks from any location and see live changes to their student record. It brings the University of Nottingham one step closer to an integrated system across China, Malaysia and the UK.

I’d like to thank the teams in China, Malaysia and the UK for their hard work and dedication to bringing this module of Campus Solutions live in China.”

The go-live of MyNottingham for students is the latest stage in a summer of implementations for China. It follows on from the go-live of Campus Solutions for staff in April and MyNottingham for applicants in July. In the next month we are planning to launch further functionality including the Academic Work Centre and Online Module Enrolment.

MyNottingham in Malaysia and the UK

The MyNottingham administration portal has been live in Malaysia since February 2017. The experience of students at UNMC has informed improvements to MyNottingham. Many of these will be in place in time for students in China. Further developments are also planned to be delivered in time for the UK go-live.

In Malaysia, additional functionality will be used from September, including academic advisor notes and a planned pilot of online module enrolment.

After the start of session in China and Malaysia, the focus of Transform’s activity shifts on to the upcoming UK Admissions go-lives for UCAS Teacher Training and Direct Admissions. For more information about these go-lives, visit our Workspace (University log-on needed).

MyNottingham will go-live for UK students early in 2018, shortly after the go-live of Campus Solutions for UK student records.

The post Students register on MyNottingham in UNNC appeared first on Project Transform.

I received a basic introduction to MyNottingham (the name of the Campus Solutions portal) in my previous role, over a year ago, in the School of Pharmacy.

We had been asked at the time to take some Moodle-based training relating to logging and answering enquiries. I was then left to deal with enquiries using the new system in my School-based role.

I received only an impersonal, automated introduction to the system. This disclosed very little about how the system would work when it rolled out beyond being used just for enquiries.

The training now

Training in a post-restructure, admissions-related setting has been so far considerably different. We have had a chance to create our own sample applications. We will be able to follow these through the full application and decision making process during our training. Alongside this, we have recently received a detailed session covering the main tools used in the new system.

What we’ll be able to do on the system

In this training session, we were given a clear overview of what to expect of the new system. This included what we will have available and how we will be able to take advantage of the new resources.

• We will be able to record all communications sent. This means that emails will be visible to all users and not just the select people dealing with certain issues.
• We will be able to create and manage step-by-step “to-do” lists which can be seen by both staff and students. Therefore clear, live updates on progressing issues are always available to the people involved.
• We will be able to place markers to alert people to important information at key times.
• Application documents will automatically be stored and made accessible in the right place upon upload. This will save on full days of filing and important documents potentially going astray.

Overall, the new system looks like it is going to save a lot of time for both staff and students. I am looking forward to seeing in further detail how MyNottingham will work, specifically for me in my role.

The post The Fundamentals training course – Louisa Buonocore appeared first on Project Transform.

When people pay me a compliment I’m always a little suspicious, so when my manager referred to my experience and strong relationships within the team I had an inkling that what came next would be less pleasant….

Some months on, I am officially running the new system training for Admissions staff alongside my lovely colleague David.

Me, an Expert User!

I will have worked in Admissions for nine years this August. During that time I’ve covered most of the different roles up to the point of Postgraduate Admissions Manager for the Science Faculty. I am now with a small, but perfectly formed group, Team Science. I find this highly amusing as I know next to nothing about Science and Technology, yet they picked me to train other people on a new computer system.

“Madness,” I hear you cry, but there may just have been method in their madness. I’m not a computer whizz and my experience in teaching relates to the accounts module of the licensed conveyancing course which is equally baffling but not at all relevant. I am however (I’m going to big myself up now but if it makes you feel better I’m cringing about it) pretty good with people. I’m happy to take time to show someone how to do something, to go back over it as many times as necessary and to find different ways to explain something until it does make sense. For this reason, and because I get on pretty well with most of the team (or they hide their disdain for me well), I was asked to be a trainer.

Team Training

This was sold to me as “train the trainer”, meaning Project Transform would train me and I would then train the team. In reality I’m learning alongside the trainer and we are developing the various training courses together. That’s, Ali, David and I (Team Training).

I won’t lie, it’s not always easy and things don’t always work as they should. However, between us and with a great deal of technical support, we are making progress and will shortly be running our next session on Fundamentals. These are the key functions within the new system our team will need to master.

Looking forward

So I’m not Wonder Woman but I’m here and I care and I’m a little bit excited by the prospect of a new and better system. It may not be totally new – the undergrads got there first and it may not seem better to start with, whilst we work things out but I’m optimistic that we will end up with a stronger system given a little time and patience.

The post Building the training – Christina Harrison appeared first on Project Transform.

Reporting in after my second training session on Campus Solutions…

How it felt…

At the beginning, I felt there was a little more trepidation in the room than the last session. Alistair, our trainer, expected us to have remembered what he taught us last time and he has a habit of re-phrasing your questions and firing them back at you encouraging you to find the answer (with a little guidance!)

While this can, for a terrifying moment, make you feel a bit like a rabbit in the headlights, it’s also very effective at making everyone in the room engage and stay focused. I think it does also make the way you got your answer more memorable. It’s probably all part of some grand, overarching training psychology?

Fundamentals

This session was on Admissions Fundamentals. We focused more specifically on how to perform certain functions relating to our roles within the system. Alistair took us through a short overview and then got us to consolidate the information via a series of practical exercises using dummy applications.

A chance of clouds

I found the training environment, once again, really positive. There were plenty of opportunities to ask questions and get help. He also acknowledged the difficulties faced in the changeover. I think that is refreshing. It is more realistic than being lambasted with unrealistic ‘blue-skies’ type terminology – as is often the case in training sessions – which can make people feel disconnected from the subject matter.

First impressions

The main point that he wanted to get across in the training session was that all the search functions are pre-built and, in fact, the system is very repetitive. It seems a bit frightening and unfamiliar now but, after we had done the six exercises, it became apparent that the pages all look very similar. Once we get practiced and used to using them it will become more intuitive. There’s still plenty of practice that we need to do but that was a reassuring fact to learn.

I think one of the challenges will be getting used to the changes in terminology, and also the fact that we will be using both legacy systems and the new system simultaneously for a while. That might be taxing too but I have faith it will get easier.

Possible benefits

My impressions of the system itself were that it felt easy enough to use. I think that it will feel more natural over time. We also discovered that the system contains some useful built-in checks that we don’t currently have the benefit of. For example, it wouldn’t be possible to mistakenly send a conditional offer to an applicant who has withdrawn their offer. The system brings up an error message prompting you to check the data.

We also learnt how we might correct mistakes we do make. I think this can be one of the biggest worries about using a new system in a public facing role like ours. How can we fix errors when they inevitably occur? We had a discussion about this in our group and agreed that actually, because there is one single record that both staff in admissions and applicants have access to in real time, this could actually make it quicker to notice and correct any discrepancies.

Another benefit, in comparison to our current working practice, is that, within Campus Solutions it’s possible to perform several different actions within the applicant’s record without having to come in and out of various applications and pages and having to search for them again each time or have a dozen tabs open. Once you have selected the applicant record you can navigate around within it for as long as you wish and the system will remember the details for you. I can absolutely see that this will cut out a lot of processing time and will be more user friendly than what we have in the Applicant Support Team now.

So, in summary…

After a little falter in confidence at the beginning of the session, I once again left feeling like I’d accomplished something and look forward to the next instalment.

The post Reflecting on the Fundamentals training – Sarah Matthews appeared first on Project Transform.

I joined Admissions at the University of Nottingham as an Admissions Officer in September 2016, having previously worked in Admissions in a much smaller university.

Here at UoN I am based within the Postgraduate team in the Faculty of Science as Decision Maker for UK Direct Science. My previous experience in Admissions was mainly working within undergraduate applications and the UCAS system. Therefore, learning direct admissions and the processes surrounding this in general, as well as specifically at the University of Nottingham, was a new world for me.

Additionally, as I joined the University, Project Transform was in full swing. I had very little awareness of the changes that had taken place in the University so far and no preconceptions of what the upcoming changes meant for Admissions, and the University as a whole.

How I work now…

Whilst the Undergraduate Admissions team are already using the new Project Transform applications system, Campus Solutions, the Postgraduate team are currently using a variety of existing paperless systems in order to process applications.

We use Saturn PG Export Wizard to download reports of the applications that have been received via the online Applicant Portal. A PDF application can then be downloaded from the Applicant Portal, along with any supporting documents that were attached to the application at the time of submitting. After that, we process the application, recording the relevant details on an Excel ‘decision sheet’ template to assess the application.

Decisions are processed using the PG Admissions desktop client, which feeds back into Saturn and the Applicant Portal.  Whilst we do use a variety of systems, and the process may seem quite convoluted (it certainly isn’t easy to explain in a few words), the admissions processes that are in place and the dedication of the teams ensure that all applications are turned around quickly and efficiently.

Looking forward to the introduction of Campus Solutions for direct admissions…

Whilst I am aware that changing our entire working process will not necessarily be easy and without hiccups, I am hoping that the system will let us streamline the admissions processes. Eventually, we’ll have one central system for all stages of the application and student process. I’m particularly hoping for a more accurate way of tracking application histories and documents, to ensure we are delivering the best service to our applicants.

Training and preparations

Unfortunately I missed the introductory session for Campus Solutions, however I have had the chance to attend the initial training. In this training, we were given an overview of how the system works, and the different functionalities. We were then given the opportunity to get hands on and test some of the functions, as well as creating our own applications.

I believe a great positive of the introduction of Campus Solutions is the scope for the input of the day to day users in the development. Whilst we are currently undergoing training, we are being given the opportunity to provide feedback. We are helping to develop the system as much as possible to ensure it is fit for purpose, rather than simply rolling out a ready-made system.

The post How Campus Solutions will change my role – Laura Dovey appeared first on Project Transform.

In the next in our series of blogs from Admissions colleagues, Louisa Buonocore writes about her role and her hopes for the new system. Louisa is a Decision Maker for UK Direct Admissions to Science.

About me

First, a note about my picture – I took this shot of the Gatehouse just before I started working here in August 2016. I always keep it to hand so I can show off to people that I work in a castle. It is an aptly chosen building for the University’s Admissions department.

I joined the Admissions team on 1 August 2016, having come from the School of Pharmacy where I had been the PGR Administrator.

My role in Pharmacy was considerably different to my role here in Admissions. It gave me a really good insight into School-based processes. My previous role also gave me the opportunity to work with some great people who I’m still in touch with today.

Following the administrative staff restructure which took place in August 2016, I am really glad to know that people I worked with in my previous role are now dotted around in various roles and departments. They are using and sharing their knowledge to try to keep things running as smoothly and easily for students as possible, in what is actually a time of major administrative change behind the scenes.

My role

Currently I receive and assess applications for Postgraduate Science courses, mainly those in Pharmacy and Biosciences. Within our teams, we work to make sure that each application is assessed fairly and that the reasoning behind the decisions we make are clear and well evidenced.

I have the chance to communicate regularly with members of staff in Schools who deal with these courses and with applicants regarding their progressing applications. I’m learning all the time about the courses we offer and the massively diverse backgrounds and experience students bring to this University.

Our processes

The teams who focus on Undergraduate applications are using Campus Solutions now to carry out their jobs. However, the Postgraduate departments currently work using systems the University has had in place for a number of years.

Our processes involve logging into a variety of systems every day in order to get hold of newly received applications. We manually create online files for each application (luckily we are paper free), then we log into a further system to record our progress or process offers. There is then another system we log into to update information once student records have been created from offers we have made.

We have a set of procedures which are being streamlined and reviewed regularly. We work hard to try, where possible, to assess the majority of applications within a day of them being submitted. Recent figures suggest we have been doing a great job of this. However, I think our success is built on us working around and between the systems we have in place. Things could work in a way which would be even faster and more efficient for both staff and applicants.

The new system

We are aware that the new system will be implemented for Postgraduate Admissions teams toward the end of this academic year.

So far we have had a chance to see the new system and to voice our opinions and concerns regarding how it is going to be working. We have also begun creating our own test applications. We will use these in upcoming training sessions to see how the new process will work from beginning to end.

I have high hopes for the new system. It is to be a one-stop location for all information on applicants, current students and alumni. It is the only place we will need to go to see, and update, what is happening on student records. This will mean that relevant information is immediately and easily accessible, both for staff on our side, and for students on the other, since it’s a live system.

From what I have seen so far, I am genuinely excited. I believe that this system will replace many, and that our many processes will be greatly reduced.

What gives me most reassurance during all of these procedural changes is the people. There is a wealth of knowledge amongst the administrative staff at our University. I believe that, amongst our teams, we have the skills and abilities to make the new structure and systems work as a positive change for both staff and students.

I am looking forward to our upcoming training and to seeing the next “go-live” event be a success.

The post Say hello to Louisa – Direct Admissions Decision Maker appeared first on Project Transform.

In this blog, Leanne Williamson, Decision Maker for UK Direct Science Admissions, writes about her experience with Admissions systems and the preparation for the go-live in October.

Hello Leanne…

Ohhhhhh Shiny…

How wonderful an all new and shiny system to assist us with our work.

I have been working for the University of Nottingham since January 2016, working for six years in Further Education (FE) before this. Funding was constantly cut in FE (I had to take my own pen to work). Their online records system was fairly old however it served its purpose.

Working in the student services department of the college, I could work in admissions, fee and charges, student finance and enrolment using the same system. All the students’ records would come under their student ID number and they would have this number for life (no matter how many times they studied at the college). Enquires and timetabling were also done in the same software.

It was a huge shock when I came to work in Admissions, in what was then the processing team. I was surprised that a prestigious university would be using such an obsolete system. We need to use four different systems to be able to assess and process an application.

We’re getting MyNottingham

Systems not talking to each other, applicants not being able to use the same Saturn ID number and a not-so-user-friendly application system creates a lot of email traffic and additional work. When we were told we would be having a new online system, I, personally, thought this would be fantastic.

The initial information we received on what the new system could do was brief. However, it already sounded like it would streamline the application process, benefiting admissions but, most importantly, the applicant.

The general feeling around the office was that we would be able to work more efficiently. There were some concerns as some of the team had been using PGA (and other systems) for many years. We were also worried about having to learn how to use a new system and whether it would work or not.

At the go-live briefing

The new system was planned to go live in April 2017, however launches in Malaysia and China have delayed this until October 2017.

I attended the go-live briefing on 1 March 2017. It included a whistle-stop tour of MyNottingham and an opportunity to share our thoughts about it. I thought this was a great idea. It gave the correct forum for people to put forward their concerns to colleagues who were able to give them answers whilst allowing us to celebrate the positives.

Training

I then attended the MyNottingham training on 22 May 2017.

This training session enabled us to see the new system from an applicant’s perspective, looking at the applicant’s dashboard and submitting an application. This was extremely beneficial as we are often contacted by applicants with queries regarding their application. It is always useful to know what they are looking at.

We also had the opportunity to search for applicants using various criteria. The session was very small as it was a mop-up session (there were only three of us). I felt this was better though, as we could ask questions as and when we felt necessary throughout the training, without feeling like we were holding up the others in the group.

So far MyNottingham looks like a step in the right direction.

The post Meet Leanne – Direct Admissions Decision Maker appeared first on Project Transform.