“We now process over 75% of all ANU international applications through StudyLink Connect. Without it we would be unable to manage growing demand for our programs and deliver the service that ANU agents expect.”
So says Tim Beckett, Registrar at The Australian National University (ANU). In this detailed case study, the ANU team share their experience at Australia’s leading research university, in managing application volumes at peak times and why they see the future in managing all applications online.
Tim Beckett’s role as Registrar at ANU includes ensuring the university adopts best practices in everything it does. It had become critical to manage the growing demand for ANU programs following another strong international rankings result. So he decided to introduce StudyLink Connect to manage all prospective student applications online – including direct, agent, international and domestic applications.
Immediate time savings
“Since implementing StudyLink Connect our team hasn’t had to work weekends to keep up with demand at peak enrolment periods in February and July. That alone was worth the investment!” says Tania Willis, Deputy Manager Admissions. “Now both the domestic and research admissions teams in all seven of our colleges can see the benefits of coming online.”
The admissions team now saves over 20 minutes per application [repeated in bold following, better to just have it once but highlighted]. They spend less time on data entry, creating student records and chasing missing information, and no longer need to sort emails or faxes. It’s all handled by StudyLink Connect, leaving admissions staff free to prioritise applications with faculties for assessment.
As well as application assessment, the admissions enquiry team is still busy with agent enquiries, indicating further opportunities to streamline the process. Tania and her team are now working with StudyLink to use their ‘smart question’ model for online application form design, providing auto replies to clarify the process, collecting only required information and speeding up the receipt of complete applications.
Benefits to students and agents
By reducing application turnaround times and the volume of agent enquiries regarding application status and receipt, the team has been able to spend more time providing better service to prospective students and agents.
Over 300 education agency branches now use StudyLink Connect to submit applications to ANU. Two factors ensured Connect’s successful uptake with agencies:
Free online application submission – for all ANU agents, the application fee is waived for online but charged for all paper applications without exception.
Instant student receipts – as soon as the agent lodges a student application, a student number is issued. A PDF receipt makes it easy to follow up the status of the application.
“Now that we have almost 80% of all applications from international students arriving through Connect, it is rare to see a paper application from an agent or directly from students anymore,” claims Rohan McCarthy, Deputy Manager, International Student Recruitment. “StudyLink Connect is an absolutely core element of our recruitment trips. We make sure ‘Apply Online’ is front of mind; we offer training for new staff and gather feedback on the how the system is working,” explains Rohan.
Continuing to set the benchmark
Over 6,000 applications have been received online since ANU first started using StudyLink Connect, and those numbers are continuing to grow. Not only has the StudyLink Connect system saved over 20 minutes processing time per application, it has already saved over 16 tonnes of CO2 through reduced paper usage and management.
All this adds to the bottom line at ANU, and ensures a better financial, service and environmental result for one of the world’s leading universities.
Download the full ANU case study
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