The University successfully completed the first of two days of UCAS clearing on Tuesday 8th when Scottish exam results were released. The new Clearing 2017 project (USG006) was developed to support Student Recruitment and Admissions and the College UG Admissions Offices entering UCAS clearing again this year. Places are available to prospective students from Scotland, the rest of the UK, and overseas who have not yet secured a place at university, or who have a place at another university but wish to apply with Edinburgh University. The clearing process on Tuesday was open to applicants from the least affluent 20 per cent of postcodes in Scotland – defined using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD20). Image Figure 1: The call centre team getting ready The places are also open to those who do not live within SIMD20 areas, but have spent time in local authority care. There was a real team spirit and focussed atmosphere on Tuesday in the call centre with the feeling that the whole team was working together for a common positive purpose. There was constructive input from everyone involved with the project from the leadership of Ian Sutherland and his team to the services provided by IS which lead to a cohesive and well executed day of Clearing. The day was felt to be a success by all with 485 calls received and 95% of those being answered within an average time of 6 seconds, 79 of whom were passed through to Colleges. Callers appeared to be calling with the correct information to hand and a good understanding of the process due to the wealth of information available on the web pages. This success is a positive indicator that the team is well prepared for the next round of Clearing on the 17th for the rest of the UK and Overseas. Figure 2: Ian Sutherland leading the team Image Publication date 17 Aug, 2017
