Dr. Judith Walker de Felix, Dean Dr. Wesley R. Harris, Associate Dean Graduate School Staff Dr. Judith Walker de Felix, Dean Dr. Wesley R. Harris, Associate Dean Mary Ellen Heckel, Office Manager Jamie Zurleine, Academic Coordinator Clara Jackson, Admissions Advisor Nykea Watts, Admissions Advisor Connie Leung, Grad. Res. Assist. ~ 30 Graduate Program Directors 11/30/2018

~3,500 applications per year (15-20/day) Vital Statistics 9 Ph.D. Programs 35 Master’s Programs ~3,500 applications per year (15-20/day) 50% admitted (~55% of admitted students enroll) 30% denied 5% canceled/withdrawn by applicant 15% incomplete applications 11/30/2018

Too many incomplete applications transcript reminders Issues response Too many incomplete applications transcript reminders Not responsive to special cases quick admit process Errors (e.g. lost applications, documents) Admission process too slow Prioritization of applications 11/30/2018

Graduate Admissions Process Step 1. Student Applies Online Generates application “project” Step 2. Grad Admissions Assembles Package within Webnow Generates a Graduate Summary Form Step 3. Program Approves/Denies Application (Graduate Program Director and Graduate Dean) Step 4. Decision Implemented (Grad Admissions and Registrar) 11/30/2018

Step 1. Student Application Online applications only. Information loaded into MyView overnight. Data services creates application summary. Application summary is loaded/scanned into Webnow Grad Admissions not aware of application until it appears in Webnow. 11/30/2018

Relatively primitive software. Webnow Relatively primitive software. Managed for the UM system from Columbia. We can request some minor modifications. Largely outside our control. Creates a “project” for each application. Essentially an electronic version of a manila folder. Stores individual documents. Can search for applications by student #, name, degree program. The contents of the folders are not searchable. Can also use COGNOS searches for data in MyView. 11/30/2018

Test scores (GRE, GMAT, TOEFL) Assembling a Project Applications are not submitted as a unified package. The material arrives in pieces. Online application Transcripts Test scores (GRE, GMAT, TOEFL) Letters (some electronic, some pdf, some hardcopy) Writing samples/statement of purpose The application stays in Grad Admissions until it is “ready” for Graduate Program Director 11/30/2018

Definition of “ready” varies among the grad programs Ph.D. programs usually require more data. The Grad School minimum is a transcript showing the awarding of an undergraduate degree. Monitoring applications as new information comes in is a major challenge for Grad Adm staff. Grad Adm staff prepares Graduate Summary Form, and manually moves application project out to Grad Program Director queue. 11/30/2018

Graduate Program Director Usually a faculty member from the department that offers the degree. A paid staff position in a few very large programs. Must monitor the program queue to know when a new application arrives. Responsible for collecting any added data and conducting review of applications. -Cohort reviews -Rolling reviews 11/30/2018

Key electronic document for implementing decisions. Graduate Summary Form Key electronic document for implementing decisions. Program director adds decision information (admit/deny/why/restrictions) “Stamps” the document with an electronic signature. Overnight, the stamped form moves to the Graduate Dean queue. Dean “stamps” form to approve GPD recommendation. Overnight, the stamped form moves back to Grad Admissions. 11/30/2018

Grad Admissions enters admission into MyView. Final Admission Approved grad summary form returns to Grad Admissions decision letter queue. Grad Admissions enters admission into MyView. Registrar term activates student for class registration. Grad Admissions sends admission letter to student. Content of admission letter varies among programs (~120 templates). 11/30/2018

Better procedure to link incoming docs to pending applications. Objectives Better procedure to link incoming docs to pending applications. Better prioritization for incoming applications. Better follow-up for incomplete applications and students “admitted/not enrolled”. More efficient process for sending out admission letters. Process for tracking/monitoring restricted admits. 11/30/2018

Student records protected by FERPA. Primary Contact Dr. Wesley Harris wharris@umsl.edu 314-516-5331 Student records protected by FERPA. Grad School can provide redacted sample docs. 11/30/2018