Improving International Enrolment & Building SIS Capacity

University of Suffolk

The University of Suffolk is a modern institution that continues to climb the league tables year after year. With a diverse campus hosting students from over 90 countries, Suffolk has earned recognition for its lecturers, teaching quality, and facilities.
In the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2022, Suffolk students ranked the university in the Top 10 for these aspects. Additionally, the university made significant strides, rising 30 places overall in The Guardian University Guide 2022 and 17 places in The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022. These achievements underscore the university’s commitment to excellence in education and facilities.

Challenges of UK Visa and Immigration Regulations

Attendance monitoring plays a crucial role in ensuring UK universities’ compliance with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regulations. To maintain this compliance, universities must maintain accurate attendance records for sponsored students and promptly report any changes through the UKVI Student Management System. This process involves tracking student attendance and engagement.
The University of Suffolk aimed to meet UKVI requirements and effectively support international students during enrolment. Additionally, they sought to make information easily accessible in an appropriate format for various purposes, including external audits.

Their goals included:

SITS as the Single Source of Truth: The university wanted to effectively support international students during enrolment. Additionally, they sought to make information easily accessible in an appropriate format for various purposes, including external audits.
Staff Engagement and Automation: They aimed to ensure staff engagement with systems and processes, leveraging the capabilities of the SITS eVision system through inbuilt productivity tools and appropriate integrations.
Future-Proof Enhancements: The university sought system enhancements that were future-proof and scalable, capable of accommodating increases in student numbers and international program development by partners.

The Solution - Streamlining International Student Enrolment

The university engaged PS EdTech to review the onboarding process for international students. This comprehensive assessment covered all stages from initial inquiry to enrolment, with a focus on student experience and compliance.
Through co-creation workshops involving staff and students applying service design methodology, PS EdTech analysed the existing state of SITS and eVision and staff engagement with attendance monitoring systems and processes. The findings informed a strategy to enhance SITS capability, address functional gaps, implement integrations and facilitate knowledge transfer and skills development within the university.

Results & Impact of PS EdTech Review

The results of PS EdTech’s discovery work were as follows:

Improved International Student Onboarding: The university now has a clear roadmap for improving international student enrolment and onboarding. Staff, students and partners are better equipped to navigate the system and processes. Compliance actions are streamlined, ensuring a smoother experience for incoming international students.
Attendance Monitoring: PS EdTech outlined options and specific recommendations to enhance attendance monitoring using the existing systems.
Knowledge Transfer Strategy: They developed a strategy for knowledge transfer and internal capacity building to improve internal management of the SITS system within the Student Records team.
Reducing Customisations: PS EdTech assisted the university in moving away from local customisations, making the SITS system more readily supportable by leveraging core system tools and features.

Additionally, based on the discovery findings, the university engaged PS EdTech for consultancy services. The PS EdTech team:

Urgent Enhancements: Delivered urgent system enhancements that empowered international partners to efficiently process international student applications.
Automation Features: Implemented further enhancements to the SITS system using built-in automation features.
Skills Development: Developed SITS skills and knowledge within the university’s Student Records team through tailored training and mentored software development support under a flexible technical support and development service agreement.

University of Suffolk Comments on PS EdTech Support

“Collaborating with PS EdTech has revolutionised our approach to delivering enhancements to the University of Suffolk student experience. Their strategic insights have provided us with frameworks within which to rethink and rebuild our processes, enhance efficiency, dismantle siloed working, and improve the student experience. The support provided at every step of the way has been invaluable. Colleagues now have a better understanding of the needs of our international students and as a result we are seeing significant changes in student satisfaction."
Laura Pennie: Deputy Academic Registrar, University of Suffolk