We’re improving the student experience of admissions

UCL has been attracting more applicants year on year, with a 25% increase over the last two years. 

By reviewing, simplifying and in some cases automating processes, colleagues have more time to concentrate on more complex qualifications, references and personal statements. It’s also important for the team to have the time to ensure the process is fair and consistent and can withstand external scrutiny.

How we’ve already improved the process

Over the last two years Student and Registry Services have:

• Streamlined the admissions processes – reducing undergraduate steps from 87 to 48 and post-graduate steps from 87 to 33.
• Been working on a series of system and policy improvements

These improvements have led to a yearly increase in the number of applications given a final decision by the annual 31 March UCAS deadline with a 32% increase from 2017–2019.

How we’re improving undergraduate admissions

Over the last few months the team have introduced an auto-assessment process which manages fact-based information including checking GCSE and A level results and comparing them to the entry requirements for the relevant programme, as well as automatically assessing fee status. This has been particularly helpful for the assessment of UK applicants, and has freed up more time for the assessment of more complex international applications. 

How we’re improving postgraduate admissions

The Admissions Project is now working on a number of improvements to the postgraduate admissions process, including:

• Improving the data collection in the online application
• Streamlining the assessment process in UCLSelect
• Introducing improvements both to UCLSelect and the Applicant Portal to enhance the checking of degree results over the summer period. 

Most of these enhancements will be released over the next month. This stage of the project is funded by Student and Registry Services, TOPS and the GDPR project.