SER Wave 2 – Changes of Circumstance – Brew/Ritchie – 31/8/2015
Development
What the development is
What the benefits are
Leave of absence
An e-Vision task that receives
parameters input by the staff user,
amends the student’s record to
reflect the status of the student,
creates a record of the absence, and
notifies University staff and the
student that the absence has been
granted. A minority of instances of
Leave of Absence cannot be
processed in this way.
Re-engagement
The automation of re-engagement
notifications to students on a leave of
absence, and the creation of a task
that allows the student user to
respond to the notification. Response
is communicated to relevant staff (eg
Registry (Student Support), Student
Services) by automated notifications.
•Simplified method of processing
records changes after decision on
Leave of Absence requests,
•reduction in time spent
processing leave of absence
requests by Registry student
records teams,
•reduction in risk of data
inaccuracy, greater consistency in
reporting of granted leave to
departments within
•the University (eg
Accommodation, Finance, UKVI
team),
•Greater consistency in the
experience of students granted a
leave of absence
•Ensures notifications (including
reminders) are sent to students
at appropriate times
•Ensures students on leave for
health reasons are aware of the
necessity to provide
documentation to support their
intention to re-engage
•Allows flexibility in the way
communication with the student
is managed after initial
notification
Change of location of
studies
An e-Vision task that students use to
request a change of location of
studies for 28 days or longer, and
provide information on location(s)
during the change. The task provides
an approval workflow (school,
Registry), and automates updates to
•Simplified method of update of
student record
•Increased accuracy in student
contact address details stored
•Better student experience in
simplifying the reporting address
changes to the University
What the effort
estimate is
5.5 days of developer
effort, plus effort
required to integrate
with ESD for greater
usability, as well as
work by St Andrews to
create data referenced
by the automations,
and the format /
content of
communications and
user interfaces, as well
as user training for
Registry staff.
Contingent upon
Prioritisation
There is no development
prerequisite for the
creation of this
development
Must
2.5 days of developer
effort, plus work by St
Andrews on the format
/ content of
communications and
user interfaces, and
user training for a
limited number of
Registry staff.
The existence of absence
records with the requisite
properties to action
Should
5.5 developer days, plus
training for schools and
PGR Registry staff.
There is no development
prerequisite for the
creation of this
development
Must
Recommendation for
inclusion
Creation of a consistent
process with automation
to manage the student
record after decision on
leave of absence requests
is an integral part of the
project and the reengagement task would
benefit, so this would be
committed to.
Although the proposed
development is limited in
functionality, the
implementation of
automation of the reengagement notifications,
and the introduction of a
task for students to
interact with as part of the
re-engagement process is
an important step in
creating a consistent
process, and experience
for both the staff managing
re-engagement, and the
students receiving
communications about reengagement.
This development provides
a meaningful difference to
students in the ease of
ensuring their contact
information is correct on
their student record. It
provides greater accuracy
location details on the student
record. Notifications are sent to
relevant teams (eg. UKVI team, PGR
records team) when location
changes.
Fieldwork (PGR students
only)
An e-Vision task that provides a basic
workflow / approval process for
fieldwork fee reduction applications
by PGR students, and the automation
of related notifications. Approved
applications provide student with the
functionality to register their change
of location during the fieldwork via
the Change of location of studies
task.
Withdrawals /
Termination of Studies /
Failure to Register
An e-Vision task to automate changes
to student records, and provision of
notifications after the decision has
been reached to withdraw from the
University, terminate a student’s
studies, or as a result of
implementing the failure to register
policy.
•Enhanced quality of statutory
requirement data, including
mobility reporting
•Timely reporting to relevant
teams (eg UKVI, PGR records)
when location change
necessitates reporting / updates
•Greater capacity for compliance
with UKVI requirements
•Greater consistency in approval
process from student application
to records change
•a consistent process and record
of approval for fieldwork / fee
reduction applications
•consistent storage of risk
assessment documentation
associated with fieldwork (in
instances where fieldwork
application involves a fee
reduction application), and
associated benefit of control of
visibility for school / unit staff
provided by SITS/e-Vision
document manager
•associated benefits provided to
students and the University staff
teams by change of location of
studies task
•scope to check if change of
location details have been
provided subsequent to fee
reduction decision
•Simplified method of processing
withdrawal / ToS / FtR
•Reduction in time spent
processing
•Greater accuracy in student
record data
•Consistent student experience
in receipt of information
regarding the change of
circumstance
•Consistency in the issue of
of student records, and
enhances UKVI compliance
through simplified,
consistent reporting. The
functionality of fieldwork
development is contingent
on the creation of this
development. This
development should be a
higher priority.
5 developer days, plus
training for schools
staff, PG Pro Dean, and
Registry staff
SITS document manager,
and the change of location
of studies task
Could
7.5 days development
time, plus work by St
Andrews in preparing
format / content of
notifications and user
interfaces, plus training
of Registry staff
Not strictly contingent on
any other development,
may share some features
with the leave of absence
development
Could
This process is considered
as the minimal subset of
functionality required for
this area. There are
benefits to quality of
student data and approval
records by the introduction
of this development, which
could form the basis of
further enhancements to
the management of
fieldwork applications. In
comparison to other
proposed developments,
this is considered to
provide less value to the
enhancement of change of
circumstances. However,
we would consider it as
being worth inclusion.
Work on this component
could be allocated
exclusively to St Andrews’
developers
This is a sizeable
development to deal with a
relatively low number of
students within an
academic year, however its
capacity to deal with
various ways of students
leaving their studies
provides on-going benefit.
This development should
be considered for
Change of mode of
attendance
An e-Vision task to provide workflow
/ approval for applications to change
mode of attendance from full-time to
part-time, and vice versa, and the
automation of changes to the
student record upon approval.
Notifications are issued to relevant
staff as a result of the change.
Thesis / Dissertation
extension
An e-Vision task that automates
updates to the student record with
details provided by staff user, after
the approval of request for extension
of thesis or dissertation. Provides
notification of the change to relevant
staff and the student.
Re-registration (research
programmes only)
An e-Vision task that automates the
processing of a change of the
programme details of a student from
M.Phil to PhD, and vice versa by a
member of the Registry team, after
the approval by academic staff.
Notifications are issued to the
student and relevant departments.
notifications in relation to the
change of circumstance
•Enhancement to UKVI
compliance
•Time reduction in Registry
administrative staff processing
changes of mode of attendance
•Greater consistency in student
records
•Enhanced student experience
for a limited number of students
•Simplified method of processing
approved extensions
•Reduction in time spent
processing
•Greater accuracy in student
record data
•Consistent student experience
in receipt of information
regarding their extension request
•Consistency in the issue of
notifications
•Simplified method of processing
approved changes (reregistrations)
•Reduction in time spent
processing
•Greater accuracy in student
record data
•Consistent student experience
in receipt of information
regarding their re-registration
•Consistency in the issue of
notifications across University
departments
inclusion.
The original estimate of
developer effort for
change of mode of
attendance is 7.5 days,
plus work by St
Andrews in format /
content of notifications,
and training of Registry
staff.
Not contingent on any
other development
Won’t
5.5 developer days, plus
work by St Andrews on
format / content of
notifications and user
interfaces, and training
of PG Registry staff
Not contingent upon any
other development
Should
3.5 developer days, plus
work by St Andrews on
format / content of
notifications / user
interfaces, plus training
of PGR Registry staff
Not contingent on any
other development
Could
Evaluation with support
staff in Registry and a
review of student data
revealed this process is
related to a very small
number of students per
academic year
(approximately less than
10). In light of the need to
meet the other
requirements within the
constraints of the project,
this should instead be
considered for inclusion in
a future project.
Provides on-going benefit
for staff and students in
managing a significant
number of requests each
academic year, so should
be considered for
inclusion.
Provides on-going benefit
for staff and students in
managing a number of
requests each academic
year, so should be
considered for inclusion.