schools

							                                       September Mailing 2010
Dear Colleague

I have pleasure in enclosing the September mailing for 2010 from UCAS and UCAS Media.
Remember the schools mailing is also published online on the UCAS website for your colleagues to
view: www.ucas.com/about_us/publicationservices/monthlymailings

Welcome to 2011

As we begin the new 2011 application cycle I would like to offer a few timely reminders to guide you
through the early stages of the application cycle.

Changes to the 2011 application
Details of all the changes to the UCAS scheme for 2011 entry can be found on our website as PDF
www.ucas.com/documents/ucasguides/changes2011.pdf

Staff changes
To ensure that you continue to receive regular communications, please keep your contact details
updated and review them regularly. All letters are sent to the named contact at your centre and can
become out-of-date quickly. Please email any changes in contact details to
customerdatabase@ucas.ac.uk.

Adviser’s section of Apply 2011
You should by now, if you are an Apply centre, have received a letter from UCAS with your new login
details for registering your establishment to use the adviser’s section of Apply 2011. If you have not,
please email customerdatabase@ucas.ac.uk stating your establishment name and establishment
number (for example S12345) to request your login details.

Important technical reminder
To ensure that we are able to support all users of our Apply products, we would like to remind you to
log out of the adviser’s section of Apply when not in use, rather than allowing the system to time out.
This is essential for the security of data being provided by applicants and yourselves, and helps us to
provide a continual service, especially at key times in the application cycle, such as the approaching
deadline 15 October 2010.

Important qualification reminders

Qualification entry in Apply
It is important that applicants complete their UCAS application correctly, including the entry of their
qualifications. Institutions will assess an application based on the details supplied by an applicant. By
not completing the relevant details accurately it may impact on the institution’s assessment of the
application. UCAS does not add on missing results to applications once completed and sent to UCAS,
applicants will be advised to contact the institutions direct.

Examination results entries
Each year UCAS matches approximately 400,000 applicants applying through UCAS to the
examinations they have recorded on their application. Essentially this matching process is electronic
but an increasingly large element of manual matching is required.

It is vital that applicants supply their full name, not only on their UCAS application, but also when they
register for their examinations. We often see, ‘known as’ names, for example: Jacob White might be
known as ‘Jake’ informally and apply through UCAS as Jacob but sit his exams as Jake; Phillipa
might be known as Pippa; Joanne by the name Jo. Similarly applicants that take on step parents’
family names can be ‘known as’ but legally their birth certificate gives their official name.

Whilst UCAS takes every step to ensure the matching process is complete we cannot guarantee to
match students when we need to manually intervene. This can hinder an institution’s ability to confirm
by results day, whatever the exam, and use vital time in getting their place confirmed.
It is important to note that applicants should be advised to enter their ‘First name’ as the name that
appears on legal documents. If they have a name by which they prefer to be known this should be
entered in the ‘Preferred first name’ field.

As part of our examination results provision to institutions it is important that centres ensure that
entries for applicants are completed according to the individual awarding bodies’ schedules. Where
applicants are not entered there may be a delay in the results being provided through UCAS to
institutions, which will in turn prevent Confirmation decisions being actioned.

International Baccalaureate applicants
For those students who will be making an application through UCAS and are taking International
Baccalaureate qualifications it is important that these applicants indicate to IBO that they are happy to
pass on their results to UCAS and include their UCAS Personal Identification. If the agreement to
pass on results to UCAS is not given then we do not receive these applicants’ results, which may
cause a delay in having their place confirmed.

Adviser’s section of Apply 2010
We will be closing access to the adviser’s section of Apply 2010 on 22 September 2010. Any last
minute applications for Clearing must be submitted by 20 September 2010.

For those Apply centres that have subscribed to Adviser Track, we will add the Final Destination
Reports for 2010 to your 2011 Apply service to allow you continued access to these reports.

UCAS will provide two final reports for those that have subscribed:

1. Adviser’s section of Apply 2010 – the Final Destination Report 2010 was made available on 1
   September 2010
2. Adviser’s section of Apply 2011 – the Final Destination Report 2010 will be available to view from
   1 October 2010

Adviser Track 2011 - Subscribing to Adviser Track and Applicant Status Reports
Adviser Track allows you to follow your students’ applications through to completion of the application
process. You can view your applicants in the different stages of the application from decisions and
replies to where they are accepted at the end of the year. Here is a list of some of the things you will
see once subscribed:

   Decisions - a full description of your students’ offers so that you can help them understand their
    offers.
   Replies - view where your students have chosen to study.
   Email your students - individually or as a group.
   Applicants in Clearing - helps you identify and help students in Clearing.
   Deadlines - lists your students that need to reply to their offers.

This service will help you guide your students on what to expect next and also what they should be
concentrating on, for instance, arranging finances or accommodation. The service will also help you to
guide students through the whole of the application process. The monthly status reports will continue
to be produced monthly from 1 November 2010. You will be able to access them using your Apply
login once you have subscribed.

The cost of providing this service is £50.00 a year, including VAT. UCAS is beginning to collect orders
for Adviser Track now. Order forms are available online through the UCAS website
www.ucas.com/advisers/online/advisertrack.Please email the order form to:
customerdatabase@ucas.ac.uk. All orders received must include your unique establishment
number (eg S12345).
The closing date for orders to ensure you receive all 12 monthly reports is 31 October 2010. If you
order Adviser Track after this date, you will only be able to access reports from the month following
receipt of the order.

For any queries relating to Adviser Track or the Applicant Status Reports, please email
customerdatabase@ucas.ac.uk. For any other query, please contact our dedicated Schools Team
on 0845 123 8001. This number is a priority dedicated line and must not be passed on to your
students or their parents.

Feedback

We welcome feedback on our systems and want to hear your views. Adviser Track is a key part of the
Apply application used by you to be able to monitor applications made by your students. Please take
the time to use the staff forum to provide feedback on this service, including any additional
functionality that you would like to see and how it could benefit users of the system. To access the
forum log into the adviser’s section of Apply and go to the staff forum pages.

Deadline dates and closed courses

There are three application deadlines for courses through UCAS - 15 October, 15 January and 24
March - it is important your students check the deadline for their chosen courses. Applications can
include courses for a mixture of closing dates but the correct deadline must be adhered to for equal
consideration to be guaranteed.

The deadlines mean that universities and colleges guarantee to equally consider applications
received by these dates:

15 October - application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for all medicine, dentistry,
veterinary medicine and veterinary science courses and for all courses at the universities of Oxford
and Cambridge.

15 January - application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for all courses except those
listed above with a 15 October deadline, and art and design courses with a 24 March deadline. Check
the ‘Course information’ screens on Course Search to find out if art and design courses have a
15 January or 24 March deadline.

24 March - application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for art and design courses
except those listed with a 15 January deadline. Check the ‘Course information’ screens on Course
Search to find out if art and design courses have a 15 January or 24 March deadline.

International applicants - students applying from outside the UK or EU, whatever their nationality,
need to be aware of the three application deadlines but many universities and colleges will consider
their application until 30 June. This does not apply to applications for the universities of Oxford and
Cambridge, courses in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science. For all of these,
you must apply by 15 October.

Universities and colleges do not guarantee to consider applications they receive after 15 January (or
24 March for some art and design courses), and some popular courses may not have vacancies after
those dates. Students should check with individual universities and colleges if they are not sure.
Students are advised to apply as early as possible.

Closed courses – if, after the application deadline (15 October, 15 January or 24 March) has passed,
universities and colleges have received enough applications for any of their courses, they will be able
to close them. This will prevent applicants, who are making applications after the deadline has
passed, from wasting one of their choices.
A word or two from the training team

Professional Development is one of the UCAS teams who are visiting schools and colleges around
the UK throughout the cycle. Our purpose is to support staff in schools by offering training and
consultancy about the HE application process and consequently we are often requested to speak to
staff, students and/or parents.

There are a number of possible training services or support we could provide including:

      Apply training – training for staff on the Apply software. The Apply training could either be an
        interactive session or demonstration. The objective is to ensure staff are familiar with the
        online application and have the confidence to manage the adviser’s section of Apply system.
      Wider Picture – training for staff, students and parents on any aspect of the application
        process. For students, we always try to emphasise ways they can make their application
        journey a more successful one, for example, advice on personal statements, researching
        their options and managing their application. In terms of staff, we are often asked to discuss
        advice on referencing, changes in the application process and the UCAS Tariff. Essentially,
        we can tailor each delivery towards the needs of each audience.
      The Knowledge – training days held at UCAS HQ in Cheltenham. Essentially, this is
        designed for new advisers and teachers and, therefore, is pitched as an induction session.
        Attendance will enhance the ability, whatever the circumstances of your school or college, of
        advisers to successfully counsel students on all aspects of applying to HE.

Further details on all of these sessions can be found on our website:
www.ucas.com/advisers/training/

UCAS News

Please find enclosed the autumn 2010 edition of UCAS News. This edition contains articles about
summer schools, guidelines for writing references, researching options, the Scottish Baccalaureate,
safeguarding the quality and standards of UK higher education and more.

If you have any comments or queries regarding UCAS News, please email Caroline Russell on
ucas.editors@ucas.ac.uk.

GTTR map and guide – UK Schools

Four copies of the 2011 GTTR map and guide have been enclosed. This publication shows the
location of all training providers that recruit for teacher training programmes through the GTTR and
provides an overview of the application process. We plan to distribute the 2011 GTTR map and guide
at the ‘Train to Teach’ events run by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA).

You can download copies of this publication at www.gttr.ac.uk/students/beforeyouapply.

UCAS Events – UK schools

The enclosed UCAS Events Calendar provides contact details and dates of their 2010/11 programme
of conferences, subject specific events and conventions. For links to the individual event websites
please visit www.ucas.com/events. We have also enclosed details of forthcoming conferences and
exhibitions.

To find out more about the network of UCAS Conventions, including online booking, please visit
www.ucasevents.com/conventions. There are several new venues and organisers for the
conventions, so look out for these changes.
If you would like to be kept up to date about forthcoming events, please join our mailing list
www.ucasevents.com/eventsmailinglist.
Products and services for schools and colleges

To help you get the most out of UCAS, please find enclosed a leaflet detailing our services for schools
and colleges. We offer much more than the application and admission system - our training services,
applicant tracking products, events, student offers and research tools are designed to make the
process as easy as possible for you and your students. See inside for further information and contact
details for our range of products and services.

Publications Catalogue – Overseas schools & Eire

Please find enclosed our Publications Catalogue 2010-2011. It contains all of the latest and most
popular guides for students and advisers. You can use this catalogue to ensure you and those you
advise are equipped with the most up-to-date information and guidance, helping them make the right
choices and complete the application process. Also included is an addendum sheet of new titles.

UCAS Progression Reports – excl Rep of Ireland

The UCAS Progression Reports give you all the data you need to analyse where your students apply,
where they go, and how this compares to previous cycles. This data, plus the demographic
breakdowns and other data contained in the report can give you valuable insight into your institution,
your students and how you compare to the national average. The current report includes summarised
data for 2008 and detailed data for 2009 and it is presented in easy to view graphs and charts.
We can also offer two add-on reports:

        The Offers Report contains applications, decisions, replies and acceptance data for your
         students and allows you to see how many offers were made, the student’s replies to those
         offers and their final accepted choices.
        The Competitors Report provides data on a group of your competitors’ applications and
         acceptances and contains summarised data for your competitor group, as well as more
         detailed demographic and subject data, enabling you to make comparisons. Information on
         Mission groups for your centre, your competitors and nationally is also included.
Costs:

   UCAS Progression Report 2009/10 data: £125
   Offers Report: £30 for Progression Report subscribers, £50 for non-Progression Report
    subscribers
   Competitors Report: £50 for Progression Report subscribers, £80 for non-Progression Report
    subscribers
   £200 for all three reports

To access the sample reports please go to
www.ucasmedia.co.uk/whatweoffer/datainsight/ucasprogressionreport. For further information,
please email us at progressionreports@ucas.ac.uk or call 0870 160 2008.

International Agents’ Knowledge Workshops

Further to the success of previous workshops, UCAS has scheduled two International Agents'
Knowledge workshops on 15 October 2010 and 10 February 2011. The workshops will be held at
UCAS’ headquarters in Cheltenham and are aimed at international agents and advisers who work
with international applicants applying to study in the UK. The workshops will provide an overview of
the UCAS process and Apply system, and cover resources every international agent should know
about when advising applicants wishing to study an undergraduate course in the UK.

This one-day workshop costs £99, which includes VAT and lunch. Participants will receive a
certificate upon successful completion of the workshop. More information is available at:
www.ucas.com/advisers/nonukadvisers and www.ucas.com/advisers/training/newadvisers.
New Knowledge Session for 2010/2011 - International Perspectives: Supporting the UK School
and College Adviser


   Are you a UK-based school or college adviser working with applicants from a European or international
    background?
   Do you want to find out the differences between advising a UK and EU/International applicant through
    UCAS?
   Do you want to know more about how to work with these applicants and find out about available
    resources?

If so, you may be interested in a brand new session being offered at UCAS’ headquarters in
Cheltenham on 29 November 2010. This day-long workshop will give UK school and college advisers
the opportunity to find out more about how to successfully advise applicants from an international
background and where to find up-to-date resources that can help answer the many questions they
may have. The workshop will provide an overview of the UCAS process and Apply system from an
international perspective, and cover resources every adviser should know about when advising
applicants from an international background.

This one-day workshop costs £99 +VAT and includes all materials and lunch. Participants will receive
a certificate upon successful completion of the workshop. More information will shortly be available at:
www.ucas.com/advisers/nonukadvisers and www.ucas.com/advisers/training/newadvisers. If
you would like to register your interest or if you have any questions about this workshop, please email
internationalenquiries@ucas.ac.uk

If you have any feedback relating to this mailing, please email me at monthly.mail@ucas.ac.uk.

Yours sincerely




Andrea Robertson
Director of Customer & Application Services

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