QUB logo grey

    Delivering an efficient digital experience for students and staff at Queen’s University Belfast

    Delivering an efficient digital experience for students and staff at Queen’s University Belfast

    Customer Experience  |

    Dynamics 365,

    Project at a glance

    Challenge

    Queen’s University Belfast’s administrative staff face the annual challenge of efficiently managing a high volume of applications and queries from students. The University wanted to implement an end-to-end digital solution for its Applicant Management System (AMS) for undergraduate and postgraduate admissions, and clearing; and for Student Admin Processes (SAP) to create a single point of enquiry that would streamline requests and responses for service requests for staff and students alike. 

    Solution we designed

    We were engaged as a delivery partner by Queen’s University to provide a custom student admin portal offering self-service access to important student resources, as well as a portal solution for applicants to apply for admission. We built a self-service interface for students and applicants connected to a dataverse for application and service-request data, all while prioritising accessibility and ease of use. The SAP workstream enables service and exceptional-circumstance requests via Power Pages and a model-driven app, and the AMS digitised international undergraduate applications, using the same interface for postgraduate admissions.

    Impact we delivered

    The new online portal has improved the digital experience for students and staff, streamlining processes across all projects. The undergraduate portal was cloned to create the postgraduate version, using advanced technical methods that accelerated delivery and saved 2–3 months of development time. With multiple award nominations, Queen’s University Belfast has reinforced its position as a leader in digital transformation in higher education.

    Problem

    Overcoming inefficiencies in the university’s student admin and communication tasks

    Student admin services play a critical role in supporting university students and setting them up for academic success. However, offering this wide range of services can place a significant administrative burden on university staff tasked to deliver a supportive student experience.

    At Queen’s University Belfast, the volume of these services had become a challenge due to growing student numbers. Administrative staff had to handle admin tasks related to admissions and clearing enquiries using inefficient tools at speed, as well as request services from students in a decentralised system that caused delays. These labour-intensive processes limited how quickly admissions staff could move, creating friction for them and students.

    The University wanted to solve all these challenges by implementing a digital solution that would facilitate faster task processing across departments without compromising the quality of their engagement. 

    "Our student admin support staff field all kinds of important queries from students, ranging from general questions about campus life to requesting deadline extensions for final exams.   As our student population grew, the inefficiencies in handling these queries became a more glaring pain point for students and staff.”

    Helen Dixon
    Programme Manager, Queens University
    Solution

    Improving the digital student experience at scale 

    Working collaboratively with the University’s  teams, Codec delivered a custom single-portal  system for staff, current and prospective students, partners and alumni. The portal’s front-end system offers self-service access to important student resources, and a backend CRM system for staff use for tasks such as responding to clearing enquiries. These two workstreams were developed and delivered using the same technology and solution design, enabling a fast, efficient deployment of the new portal thanks to its shared components, including the database.   

    • Microsoft Power Platform provided the central architecture for these solutions.
    • Each solution was connected to a dataverse-housing information specific to the use case of the portal.
    • The dataverse and other architecture were shared to accelerate solution development and realise cost efficiencies.

    We used Microsoft Power Pages to quickly and efficiently build a high-quality portal   with a user-friendly interface where students could enter queries and fill out service-enquiry forms. Through it, staff could process these requests in a timely and efficient manner at any time of day, even automating simple tasks where possible.

    Landing qub 2
    Results

    Enhanced student support and admin processes at a faster speed

    The impact of the new digital portal was evident as soon as it went live  . Students, staff and other users quickly embraced the University’s new digital services, helping Queen’s University achieve the following outcomes:

    • The online portal and its slick user interface have significantly improved the digital experience for students and staff, providing visibility and updates on the progress of service requests and applications, obtaining end-user feedback of 4.5/5.
    • Thanks to the new portal, agents and partner institutions can now submit applications on behalf of students, streamlining the process for international admissions.
    • Staff have replaced their reliance on email with centralised student communications through the portal, reducing administrative overhead, response times and data inaccuracies.

     

    “It can be challenging for organisations to easily clone custom-built solutions across an organisation’s digital infrastructure. Fortunately, our experts have the technical mastery required to replicate the time-saving success of one self-service portal across several other administrative processes. Our efficiency in deploying these solutions saved the university months of development while increasing the ROI of its digital transformation.”  Stephanie Conville, Higher Education Lead, Codec

     

     

     

    ''The new portal has completely changed the way we work, making things faster and easier for both staff and students. Instead of spending time on repetitive tasks, we can now focus on creating a better experience for our current and future students. It’s a great reminder of how digital transformation can make a real difference – I don’t know how we ever managed without it.”

    Helen Dixon

    Programme Manager, Queens University

    next case study

    Building and implementing an online portal to propel the digitisation of Ireland’s Mental Health Commission’s new Decision Support Service

    Read case study

    Let us deliver impact for
    your organisation

    info@codec.uk

    +44 (0)28 9694 8529 (Belfast)

    +44 (0) 20 3922 1421 (London)
    Privacy & Cookies Policy | Data & Information Policy | © Codec All Rights Reserved
    Designed by Squaredot B2B Marketing