Pre-Application & Offer Management (PAOM)
The Pre-application and Application and Offer Management (PAOM) workstream covers pre-application (recruitment, widening participation, widening access) and admissions activities and processes for matriculated undergraduate and graduate, non-matriculated, Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), Visiting, Recognised, Continuing Education, and Church ministerial applicants.
The workstream will determine and specify the use of common student systems to support activities and processes in these areas, which may result in a different landscape of student systems support from that currently in place. The primary focus of the workstream in the first two years of the Programme will be on those aspects of the admissions activities which are currently supported by the Oracle Student System (OSS).
A substream of PAOM is considering the strategic approach to replacing the Admissions Decisions Support System (ADSS) and the Admissions IT system (ADMIT) which underpin the undergraduate admissions process in most subjects, Colleges, and Permanent Private Halls.
The PAOM workstream will run from August 2011 to July 2015. The project charter describes the work of this workstream in Years 1 and 2 (August 2011 to July 2013). Read more about this Workstream: Pre-application and Application and Offer Management (PAOM) Charter 
(339kb) (oxonly)
Progress update
For a progress update on this workstream, please see the Student Systems Programme news on Sharepoint.
At St Edmund Hall, Dr Wilkins holds the American Fellowship in Physiology and holds the post of Tutor for Admissions. Dr Wilkins was Coordinator for Admissions in Medicine from 2007 until 2011 and is currently the Course Director for Biomedical Sciences. He is co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Medical Sciences.
Objectives
This workstream is focussed in Years 1 and 2 on:
- Ensuring that, for the 2013-14 admissions cycle, systems support is in place to enable all admissions processes currently supported by OSS to be carried out within the required timeframes, to the required standards, and with a degree of effort which is not excessive.
- Ensuring that, for the 2013-14 admissions cycle, a contingency plan is in place in case systems support for those admissions processes currently supported by OSS is delayed or inadequate.
- Defining an admissions data structure which is fit for purpose, for example:
- Presenting data to academics, applicants, potential applicants, enquirers, and administrators in a way that reflects and facilitates their work.
- Making optimum use of SITS:Vision and eVision functionality to support current admissions processes.
- Ensuring opportunities persist for future configuration of SITS and eVision functionality to support features including online decision-making, fee administration within admissions, an online portal for applicants, and pre-application processes and activities.
- Ensuring that data coding and data management strategies are appropriate for the variety of processes to be supported across Oxford.
- Setting data quality standards for the admissions data stored in SITS:Vision.
- Defining and configuring admissions data and processes in SITS:Vision to replace OSS functionality, and configuring any other functionality agreed (where this definition and configuration is not covered by the DACM workstream) and, where appropriate, defining the interactions between SITS and other admissions systems.
- Testing of the configured admissions functionality in SITS:Vision and eVision, and of any interfaces between SITS and other admissions system.
Membership
Full membership of the Pre-application and Application and Offer Management (PAOM), Years 1-2 workstream is as follows (Jan 2012):
Dr Robert Wilkins (Chair), Tutor for Admissions, St Edmund Hall
Deb Sanders (Implementation Lead)
- Alison Attwell, Admissions and Access Officer, Worcester College
- Dr Santha Bhattacharji, Senior Tutor, St Benet's Hall and Blackfriars Hall
- Carol Brady, Programme Manager, Continuing Professional Development, Continuing Education
- Paul Burns, Law Faculty Academic Administrator, Law
- Steven Chapman, Data Co-ordinator, Executive Education, Saïd Business School
- Jospeh Cole, Admissions Officer, Oriel College
- Dr Richard Earl, Director of Undergraduate Studies/Admissions Co-ordinator, Maths
- Jon Edwards, IT Manager, Modern Languages
- Anna Farrus, Head of Admissions, Saïd Business School
- Dr Mark Fricker, Dean of Graduates, Pembroke College
- Peter Franklin, Head of Admissions Operations, Undergraduate Admissions Office
- Dr Andy Garlick, Graduate Studies and Policy Officer, Social Sciences divisional office
- Dr Catherine Hawkins, Administrative Officer (Admissions and FHS), Faculty of Physiological Sciences Undergraduate Studies Office
- Bob Mahoney, Graduate Studies Officer (Maternity Cover), Medical Sciences divisional office
- Liz Howdill, Admissions Secretary, Magdalen College
- Claire Kelly, Manager of Weekly and Online Courses, Continuing Education
- Professor Anton Van der Merwe, Divisional Director of Graduate Studies, Medical Sciences division
- Jane McCaffrey, Programme Manager, Evidence-Based Health Care and Health Research, Continuing Education
- Sam Miles, Centre Administrator, Life Sciences Interface Doctoral Training Centre
- Pádraig O'Connor, Graduate Studies Officer, Humanities Division
- Dr Nadia Pollini, Head of Graduate Admissions, Graduate Admissions and Funding
- Matthew Reading, Deputy Head of Admissions Operations, Undergraduate Admissions
- Mike Robins, PC Applications Support Team (ADMIT), Business Services and Projects
- Deb Sanders, Implementation Lead, SSP Core Team
- Mike Thorn, Development Team Lead, Business Services and Projects
- Dr Dave Waters, Director of Graduate Studies; University Lecturer in Metamorphic Petrology, Earth Sciences
- Karen Wesson, Business Analyst, SSP Core Team
- By invitation:
- Nancy Cooper/Rob Thompson/Jon Press, Tribal Project Manager/Lead Consultant/ Consultant, Tribal Group
Milestones
The initial high level plan is as follows:
| Activity | Output/Milestone | Delivery date |
|---|---|---|
| Training | Tribal delivers initial SITS:Vision training course to SSP Core Team and other colleagues as appropriate | October 2011 |
| Kick-off consultancy sessions with Tribal | Consultancy session meeting notes | October 2011 |
| Check scope, budget, approach, and Workstream Implementation Group membership | Project Charter | November 2011 |
| Review Point 1 | Project Charter reviewed and approved by all levels of Programme governance, beginning with Workstream Implementation Group | November-December 2011 |
| Activity overview | Map of admissions activities across Oxford | January 2012 |
| Review Point 2 | Map of admissions activities reviewed and approved by all levels of Programme governance, beginning with Workstream Implementation Group | January- March 2012 |
| Requirements documentation | Requirements document | March 2012 |
| Review Point 3 | Requirements document reviewed and approved by all levels of Programme governance, beginning with Workstream Implementation Group | March-May 2012 |
| Definition of data and process representation in SITS:Vision and other systems |
Data definition and process representation document Data migration document Interfaces document |
Mid-2012 |
| Review Point 4 | Data definition, migration, and interfaces documents reviewed and approved by all levels of Programme governance, beginning with Workstream Implementation Group | May-July 2012 |
| Systems configuration | Iterative production of prototypes and mock-ups of processes and system screens | May 2012- early 2013 |
| Review Point 5 | Prototypes and mock-ups reviewed and approved by Workstream Implementation Group | May 2012- early 2013 |
| Process documentation | Documentation of agreed processes | Mid-2012 |
| Review Point 6 | Process documentation reviewed and approved by all levels of Programme governance (beginning with Workstream Implementation Group), and by relevant academic committees (for example, Education Committee, Senior Tutors Committee, and Admissions Committee of the Conference of College, Admissions Executive, Graduate Admissions Committee, Graduate Committee of the Conference of Colleges) | Mid 2012 |
| Testing | System Testing scripts and User Acceptance Testing scripts | Late 2012- early 2013 |
| Review Point 7 | Review of test scripts by Workstream Implementation Group | Early 2013 |
| Release Management | Release notes | Early 2013 |
| Release | Installation test scripts | Early 2013 |
| Support and training | Support and training documentation | Early 2013 |
| Review Point 8 | Release notes, installation tests scripts, and support documentation reviewed and approved by all levels of Programme governance, beginning with Workstream Implementation Group | Early-mid 2013 |
Timings
Timings for workstream activity between November 2011 and July 2013 are as follows:
| Workstream Phase | Description | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Activity overview | Creation, review and explanation of a map of the key admissions activities which happen for the main applicant types across Oxford. This map will provide a high-level view of all the activities (whether IT-related or not) in this area, and will help to identify similarities and differences between processes. The map will provide a broad understanding of admissions activities, including for those with expertise in a sub-set of activities, or with limited familiarity with the area (such as Tribal consultants). | November 2011 - January 2012 |
| Process review and requirements documentation |
Gathering and specification of requirements against admissions activities (i.e. what needs to happen for a given activity to be executed and completed), determining whether and how processes might be modified to take advantage of SITS' capabilities, and identification and specification of any interfaces required with other systems. WIG members will co-ordinate the gathering of high-level requirements from the constituencies which they represent. More detailed requirements will be identified by the Student Systems Programme (SSP) Core Team in collaboration with specialist colleagues, and through later activities. Committee approval will be required for policy changes and certain process changes. |
November 2011- mid-2012 |
| Data definition | Definition of key admissions data items needed in the new admissions data structure, including identifying the current location of required data items (either in OSS or other admissions and student systems across Oxford). This definition will inform data migration and systems interface work undertaken in the System Tools (TOOL) workstream. | November 2011- early 2012 |
| Definition of data and process representation in SITS:Vision | Identification and definition of best use of SITS:Vision – and in particular of the eVision Web interface – to represent the admissions data structure and support admissions processes. Definition of a coding strategy for admissions data elements in SITS:Vision (for example, offer and rejection statuses), where these are not included in the overarching data coding strategy developed by the DACM workstream. | November 2011- mid 2012 |
| Specification of system replacement and interfaces | Specification of which existing admissions systems be replaced, and which retained, for the 2013-14 admissions cycle. Specification of required interfaces with those systems being retained. | November 2011- mid 2012 |
| Systems configuration | Configuration of SITS:Vision and eVision – and of any other relevant systems – to accommodate admissions data and support admissions processes. (The System Tools (TOOL) workstream will be responsible for building interfaces with other systems.) | Early 2012 – early 2013 |
| Testing | Testing of admissions data, processes, and functionality in SITS:Vision and in eVision, and of interfaces with other admissions systems. End-user representatives will be involved in this testing of functionality and interfaces. | Mid 2012- July 2013 |