1. From cloning of student data in
2005 to 95% online registration in
2011: a merger success story
Marie Muller, Tinus van Zyl
and Gert van Wyk
April 2012

2. Historical Background
• The University of Johannesburg (UJ) was established in 2005
→ SA Merger legislation
• UJ is the result of the incorporation of two former Vista
University campuses, the Rand Afrikaans University
(established in 1967) and the Technikon Witwatersrand
(established in 1925)
• SA Merger Guidelines → Academic Administration
• Five pre-merger campuses
 Bunting Campus (TWR)
 Kingsway Campus (RAU)
 Doornfontein Campus (TWR)
 Soweto Campus (Vista)
 East Rand Campus (Vista) → UNISA

3. Bunting Road Campus (former TWR)

4. Kingsway Campus (former RAU)

5. Doornfontein Campus (former TWR)

6. Soweto Campus (former Vista)

7. Merger challenges: Academic Administration
• Legacy practices → transform to unity and campus
equivalence
• Student Data System → unify by “cloning” of data
• Alignment of student/academic administration policies,
procedures, regulations, etc.
• Ensure smooth transition from pre-merger to UJ
• Management of pipeline students and legacy student cultures,
practices, values, etc.
• Developing a model of student academic administration
governance → to achieve excellence as reflected in the
external audit results

10. Departmental facts
1. Why was Student Enrolment Centre (SEC) established
• To improve governance
• To speed up administrative processes by
centralisation
• To give the student a “one stop” experience
2. Staff
A total of 39 permanent staff mostly based on
Kingsway Campus with offices on each of the other
three campuses.

11. Departmental facts (cont.)
3. Services
Acceptance of application forms, capturing of this information
on ITS, issuing of student and staff access cards, scanning
of documents (now outsourced), selection of students
according to faculty criteria, supply of information to
prospective students and answering of queries both in
person and telephonically, assistance to International
students(compliance)
4. Special Projects
• Online applications
• Shortened biographical detail with reasons for non
admittance
• Late applications in January each year will be
assisted via a Mobi Site.

12. Departments within Student Enrolment Centre
Contact Centre:
Comprises of Information desk for walk in
students
Call centre for telephonic queries
Biographics Department:
Comprises of Data Capturing of application forms
Scanning of all documents
Issuing of student and staff access
cards
Selections Department:
Comprises of Selectors handling selections
for 6 of our 9 faculties
International Compliance Office:
Comprises of Staff on each campus to deal
with compliance issues.

13. Statistics
Contact Centre: (2011)
Visitors through the gates (including more than 94 000
walk-ins in January alone) - 311 904
MyFuture queries - 9 466
Posted Items - 11 398
Calls handled by Call Centre - 216 426
Biographics Department:
Year Applications Applicants
2009 66 117 50 444
2010 83 101 61 915
2011 99 294 67 156
2012 105 000 85 000

14. Statistics (cont.)
Selections Office:
Established in the middle of 2010 when staff placement
was finalised.
Handled 70 000 selections(declined, accepted, conditionally
accepted) between 6 staff members.
International Compliance Office:
Students receive personal attention regarding their special
needs for applying to UJ.

15. STUDENT ENROLMENT CENTRE 2012 PROCESS FLOW
METROFILE/
ONLINE FACULTY/ INTERNATIONAL EXTRA CURRICULAR
SELECTIONS OFFICE BIOGRAPHICS CORPORATE
APPLICATION DEPARTMENT OFFICE DEPARTMENT
GOVERNANCE
UNDERGRADUATES
Applications
screened and sorted Applications that Metrofile collects
by SEC passed pre- Applications that application forms –
screening are sent passed pre- scan and upload to Application routed Selection done on
Applications that Letter sent to client
for pre-selection selection are ImageNow to correct faculty ITS and ImageNow
failed pre-
screening/selection captured and put on
Online Application
are captured on electronic control
made by applicant
SHORT BIO list
Applications Project routed to relevant
POSTGRADUATES
monitored and Faculty/Department via
controlled by Applications put on Applications with qualification code Metrofile collects ImageNow
Applications sorted Application routed to
Postgraduate SEC Postgraduate control captured with qualification code. application forms –
per faculty Postgraduate queue -
staff member. list Applications without qualification scan and upload to
ImageNow department
code captured under generic code. ImageNow
does selection
and sends out
Online Application
correspondence
made by applicant
Applications sorted Applications with qualification code Metrofile collects
Applications put on
CURRICULAR
captured with qualification code. application forms – Project routed to relevant
per faculty electronic control list
Applications without qualification scan and upload to Faculty/Department via department does selection and
EXTRA
code captured under generic code. ImageNow ImageNow sends out correspondence
Online Application
made by applicant
INTERNATIONAL
Application handed in at Application screened by Applications Metrofile collects
SEC offices – Walk in Applications put on
International Office captured on ITS. NB application forms – International
electronic control list
– Must be captured scan and upload to Projects routed Office does
Application received from department/ ImageNow selection and
under Generic Code to relevant
faculty/post sends out
Project automatically routed International
to International queue – by queue correspondance
Online Application identifying the passport
made by applicant number
March 2012 2012/13 Application Procedure

16. Achievements
• Documents are not as easily lost – successful
incorporation of ImageNow (document management
system).
• Easier to track where the application is in the process.
• The process is much faster (20 day turn around time).
• All relevant staff have access to the documents.
• Consistency achieved in the centralising of selections
for six faculties.
• Standardisation of communication to applicants.
• Status check on the UJ website.
• The empowerment of call centre staff to access and
issue relevant information.

19. Online Registration System
• Developed in 2008 and piloted in 2009
• Focus was on the development of a system which:
• was user friendly, reduced the registration time spent
per student and alleviated resource requirements
• incorporated all the standard registration checks and
validations (e.g. pre & co-requisites, grade 12
endorsement, timetable clashes)
• enhanced Academic Administration Governance
• In 2010, 86% online registration achieved
• In 2011 we registered 95% of our close to 50 000 students
online and in 2012, 96% using the system

20. Online Registration System

21. Online Registration Process
• Registration planning process:
• Registration Committee and Task Team driven by sound
project management principles
• Z-card information
• Registration schedule
• At orientation all students were trained how to use the
online registration system
• Enrolment management could be enforced on a real-time
level and quotas set per qualification and subject
• Computer laboratories used for assistance and
consultations

22. Online Registration Process (cont.)
• Centralised dedicated critical services e.g. international
office, finance, applications, call Centre, student cards and
the capturing of finger prints
• Opened online registrations (off-site) one week before the
start of formal registration, which resulted in approximately
5 500 registering online before the start of formal
registrations
• The system allows for a secure online payment processes

23. Lessons learnt and improvement strategies
• Pressure shifted to the production of student cards and the
capturing of finger prints in 2011
• Assisted students anywhere on campus with Wi-Fi connected
tablets
• This year we also Initiated a dedicated “information hub”: to
answer all e-mail enquiries and telephone enquiries
• Cameras installed in all the registration venues – allowed staff
to remotely monitor activities across campuses
• YouTube video and information on UJ website

24. Value added to Academic Administration
• The online registration system has significantly enhanced
academic administration governance and service delivery
• Drastically reduced the students visiting campuses to register
(approximately 30% to 40%)
• Annual cost saving of 40%
• Supported our commitment to a more user friendly and
environmentally friendly environment (e.g. no more printing of
any registration documents)
• Approximately 85% of the students prefer online registrations
– surveyed 2011 / 2012

25. CONCLUSION
• Technology-based systems: 95% online registration
• Reduced turnaround time and improved governance with the
management of electronic applications
• Student satisfaction: 75% (on the total registration process,
including finances)
• External audit results: improved governance form 5533 errors
in 2006 to 68 errors in 2011 (based on the 2010 student data)
• Collective planning and ownership