A new card saves prospective university students time and effort in
choosing which courses to study.
Prospective university students will have more time to
concentrate on making the right choices when the Universities and
Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) implements the smart Convention
Card at 50 higher education institutions, writes Daniel
Thomas.
The smartcards should help students by eliminating repetitive
form-filling and reducing queues at university conventions.
First piloted last year, the scheme is now being rolled out to
150,000 students and most UK universities are participating. The
smartcards are expected to improve efficiency by streamlining data
collection. Smartcard specialist ORGA is supplying cards, readers
and software integration for the project.
The smartcard assigns each student a unique number which they
can type in to the Ucas Web site for a personalised service.
The Convention Card is issued to each person before attending
any higher education exhibitions. When they visit a university
stand, a student inserts the card into a reader, which accesses and
stores their number and date of birth. The reader can store up to
1,000 records and additional information. The data is then
transferred automatically to the university's central database,
where it can be used for future personalised mailings. Previously,
students had to write their names and addresses on sticky labels
which were then used to send standard packs from the universities.
There was no record of which stalls students visited, or their
requirements.
The information stored in the reader is downloaded onto another
smartcard. The download card is sent back to the university, where
it is put into a reader linked to a PC.
Ucas Card Convention software retrieves it into a database file,
which is uploaded to the Ucas Web site. Participating universities
can then access data submitted by the student on required grades
and preferred subject areas.
This new system enables universities to monitor effectiveness of
conventions, to personalise information packs sent out and to track
pupils' progress.
Tony Higgins, chief executive of Ucas, says, "The Convention
Cards designed are a breakthrough. They will make education
conventions more effective. The cards could revolutionise the way
universities and colleges keep track of applicants."
Benefits
- Improves efficiency of conventions by streamlining data
collection
- Saves students time by cutting out repetitive form-filling and
queuing
- A unique number means students can get a personalised service
via the Ucas Web site
- Universities have records of students who visit their stands,
which can be used for targeted mailings
- Universities know which subject areas each student is
interested in
- Universities can track the academic progress of the students as
they plan their applications.