Quality Assurance and Enhancement

Admissions Policy and Principles
Policy on Admissions Feedback, Complaints and Review

Introduction

This guidance highlights best practice in admissions to ensure that application and decision-making processes are transparent, fair and consistent across UEL.

The adherence to this guidance, and evidence thereof, will be key to the effective administration of any admissions policies.

Further information on UEL admissions policies and processes can be found at www.uel.ac.uk/marketing/admissions/index.htm

PLEASE NOTE: We cannot currently provide individual feedback to applicants. Applicants may find it useful to consider the admissions criteria in the relevant programme specification which can be found at www.uel.ac.uk/programmes. We are seeking ways to re-introduce individual feedback in the future so that we can provide a better and more timely response to applicants than has been possible to date. We will update these pages when the service is resumed and in the interim apologise for the disappointment that this may cause to applicants.

The role of the Admissions Office

The Admissions Office plays a key role in supporting staff to manage the many applications to study that we receive each year. This includes:

• Making delegated decisions where the authority to do so has been agreed at CMT
• Advising staff on UK qualifications and subsequent suitability of an applicant to study at UEL from Level 0 to Level M
• Providing training to staff on qualifications and processes in order to empower effective decision-making in Schools
• Managing our clearing and late summer recruitment activities
• Tracking, monitoring and reporting on the volume of applications received and decisions made
• Communicating decisions to applicants
• Providing feedback to unsuccessful applicants
• Maintain accurate data on entry requirements in relevant systems, including UCAS publications
  

The role of the International Office

The International Office also plays a key role in supporting admissions through:

• Support and advice to international applicants
• Delegated decision making where agreed by CMT
• Liaison with approved UEL agents overseas
• Providing information and support to UEL staff assessing international applications
• Maintaining a database of English language and international academic equivalencies, mapped against UEL standard entry criteria

In all of these activities, the International Team are bound not only by UEL policies and procedures but also by current immigration regulations.

If you require any assistance with international applications, please contact the International Team on 0208 223 2805 or international@uel.ac.uk

Guiding principles

1. We aim to respond to applicants with a decision on entry within four weeks of receiving their application.
2. Entry criteria must be readily accessible, up-to-date and easy to understand. Entry criteria are defined in our programme specifications. Programme leaders must ensure, through liaison with the UEL Web Team and School Quality Standing Committee where appropriate, that their published and programme specifications are correct and the latest version as approved by VRSC.
3. When making admissions decisions, we must ensure that these published entry criteria are consistently applied to each application received.
4. We make admissions based on an assessment of entry criteria and applicant achievement or possible achievement. When offering an applicant a place on a programme, we are confirming that we reasonably expect that the applicant is capable of completing that programme. Other considerations (such on age on entry, disability, CRB requirements or declared criminal convictions) are separate matters covered by policy and are ultimately the responsibility of the Secretary and Registrar.
5. The Dean of School, or nominee, must provide the Head of Student Admissions with a list of admissions staff within their School by 30 September each year. This will include areas of authority for admissions decisions, full contact details and a sample signature for each decision maker.
6. The decision to suspend recruitment to a programme for a particular semester is a strategic one that must be confirmed in writing to the Head of Student Admissions by the Dean of School.
7. Where an entry decision requires an interview or portfolio/written/other submission, assessment criteria for the process should be provided to the applicant at the time of submission request or interview invitation.
8. It is advisable that interviews are conducted by at least 2 members of staff to ensure fairness and consistency of approach.
9. The interviewer(s) are responsible for checking that the identity of the candidate before them matches the identity of the applicant through the verification of a photographic identity document (e.g.: passport). We must advise the applicant of this requirement at the time of invitation to interview.
10. In cases of telephone interview, every reasonable step must be taken to ensure the same confidence in identity, for example by close questioning of applicant information as provided on the application form.
11. The School is responsible for maintaining a record of interview that makes explicit reference to the assessment criteria already communicated to the applicant prior to interview. This must form the basis of the decision to admit the applicant or not.
12. Where an admissions decision has been reached after consideration of a portfolio/written/other submission, the School must assess the submission against the communicated assessment criteria. A record of this assessment and the final decision must be kept by the School.
13. Where an admissions decision requires an applicant to undertake an entrance exam or test, these should be conducted under formal examination conditions (i.e. appropriate room, layout and number of invigilators) and in general comply with existing guidance for examinations.
14. If an applicant has declared a disability at the point of application or requests adjustments to the entrance test or examination to accommodate a disability, these adjustments must be discussed and agreed with your Disability Advisor (please see www.uel.ac.uk/disability/index.htm for contact details).
15. The Admissions Team should be informed of an admissions decision once an entrance exam/interview/submission assessment has been made it is not possible to make offers subject to entrance exam, interview or submission assessment.
16. It is essential we record the basis of any decision (rejection, conditional offer, unconditional offer) clearly on the application form/decision communication.
17. The name of the decision-maker and date of decision must also be clearly noted at the point of communication to the admissions office. For those decisions received via hard copy, a signature is also required.
18. Where a rejection decision has been reached following interview or consideration of a portfolio/written/other submission, the interview or assessment record may be requested by the Admissions Office in order to respond to applicant feedback requests. This must be supplied within 5 working days of the request so that we can ensure that we are responding to our applicants in a timely manner.
19. The Admissions Team is responsible for assessing tuition fee status (typically home, EU, overseas) and the level of fee to be charged. If other staff members receive a query about fee assessment, please contact the Admissions Office who will be happy to assist or refer the applicant to www.ukcisa.org.uk for further information.

Admissions Feedback

Feedback is the communication from UEL to an applicant who has been unsuccessful in gaining an offer of a place on the course/ programme to which they have applied and will cover the reasons for this rejection.

Entry requirements are available for all approved programmes, via programme specifications held on our web pages at www.uel.ac.uk/courses/index.htm and give information on entry requirements. This information may be helpful in explaining why your application has not been successful.

UEL is committed to providing feedback, when requested, to any candidate whose application to study has been unsuccessful. You can request feedback at any time after a decision has been made within the application cycle in which you have applied. The admissions cycle runs from 1 September to 30 September in the following year.

If you applied to UEL…

If you applied directly to UEL (including applications made via UCAS on institution code E28), the Admissions Office is responsible for providing feedback once we have received a written request. We may refer to academic Schools, or other decision making groups, for further information regarding your application and its assessment.

If you applied directly to one of our partner institutions…

If your application was submitted to one of our partner institutions, you will need to apply in writing to them to receive feedback on your application and its assessment.

Review of an Admissions Decision

We expect that each applicant will submit a complete and comprehensive application at the point of first submission. The application decision will only be reviewed if you are able to provide further relevant information that was not available at the time of application. In this instance, you must submit a written request for review to the Head of Student Admissions within 20 days of the date of the feedback response. This request must include:

• The new information, with supporting evidence
• Evidence of why this information was unavailable to you at the point of application
  

For non-standard admissions decisions involving academic judgement, your application will be reviewed in the light of this additional information by two members of academic staff appropriate to the programme of study, at least one of whom was not involved in the original rejection decision.

For standard admissions decisions which do not involve academic judgement (i.e.: where admission is determined by qualifications alone) the decision will be reviewed by the Head of Admissions.

Complaints

A complaint is normally a specific concern related to a procedural error, irregularity or maladministration in admissions procedures or policies. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the administration of your application to UEL, please contact the Head of Student Admissions in the first instance so that an informal resolution can be sought. This may be done by telephone on +44(0)208 223 2049 or in writing to the address given above.

If no reasonable resolution can be reached, you should follow the guidance and procedures as outlined in UEL’s Complaints Procedure – this can be accessed at www.uel.ac.uk/qa/qualityass_complain.htm

© 2010