SIEC help Indian students to achieve global success, through education and
career counselling at their 22 offices in India, as well as offices in
Australia and Singapore.
Every year, they lodge over 2,000 student applications for around 100 universities and colleges in Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, Singapore and Ireland.
“We immediately saw that we could save time in getting a letter of offer with StudyLink’s online application system,” says Kanika Bhugra, Relationship Manager for SIEC. “Being able to log onto Connect was an attractive feature – it would save time in processing and save confusion.”
And it has definitely worked for them. SIEC now use Connect for many of their Australian providers, including ACU, Ballarat, Navitas Group and Griffith University.
A professional approach
“It is easy now,” says Kanika. “We have a single log in for all universities, then we can access specific applications for each one.”
“What I really like is that we get the acknowledgement. It used to take weeks just to find out that the university did receive the paperwork, and then we’d have to resend it.”
SIEC counsellors complete the application online in front of the prospective student. They asses the supporting documents, scan them and attach them as a PDF. “It looks professional, and they get an immediate response with the acknowledgement.”
“In the past, emailing the applications often didn’t work because the attachments would be blocked. Now we know it’s all been uploaded, we get a receipt, and we don’t have to chase the university to check if everything was received,” says Kanika.
A smooth transition
StudyLink co-ordinated the training of SIEC staff in Melbourne and India. A member of the StudyLink Delhi office visited the local SIEC office and provided training on the application and log in system.
SIEC initially established a central application team, who handle all applications from branch offices. But they are now shifting the process back to branches so the student can see the application as it is being completed.
“Entering the data has not really added to our workload,” says Kanika. “We were already helping them with their applications anyway. It only takes around seven to ten minutes to complete, and it is saving further delays.”
Results
For Kanika, the main benefit has been for their students. The decision to apply for overseas study is not taken lightly, and the process sometimes seems daunting.
“They are relaxed and happy when they see the application is in process, they love the instant receipt,” she says. “I’d definitely recommend this system to other agents. For sure!”
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