Unsuccessful - what me? A summary of feedback on - UCAS

10
UCAS CARD IS BACK FOR 2009
From October 2009, UCAS Card will be back for Year 12,
S5 and equivalent students
The UCAS Card sche<strong>me</strong> is more than just a card; it’s the start <strong>of</strong> the
UCAS journey. When students register they gain secure access to a
whole host <strong>of</strong> information about courses, life in higher education, the
application process and, <strong>of</strong> course, the free discount card that can be
used in the high street.
What are the benefits?
As well as the discount card students receive advice to help with the
application process, guiding them from start to finish. Students are sent
tailored information on courses and institutions depending on the
preferences they make in the UCAS Card registration. They aren’t bound by
their details given at registration either; they can change their criteria at any
point <strong>me</strong>aning the tailored information sent to them also adapts.
UCAS card <strong>me</strong>mbers will also receive monthly email bulletins, copies <strong>of</strong> You
Can magazine and access to youg<strong>of</strong>urther, the UCAS student network. The
email bulletins are full <strong>of</strong> advice, including reminders on key UCAS
deadlines. You Can is a magazine about life in higher education, written in
conjunction with The Independent.
On youg<strong>of</strong>urther students can get more in-depth knowledge about
universities through their pr<strong>of</strong>ile pages; they can talk to UCAS advisers online
as well as to their peers.
UCAS Card operates securely in the main UCAS site. This <strong>me</strong>ans that there
are no security or access issues for schools and colleges. It’s a secure,
<strong>of</strong>ficial route to useful, relevant information.
UCAS news
How do students register?
To register students simply need to go to
www.ucas.com/ucascard.
How do advisers know who has
registered?
All schools and colleges in the UK will
receive information and posters from UCAS Card
shortly. When students register they simply tell us <strong>what</strong>
school they are at using a drop down
<strong>me</strong>nu. Develop<strong>me</strong>nts are being
worked on to allow you as school
advisers to use the adviser
section <strong>of</strong> Apply to find out who
at your school has registered
for a UCAS Card. This will allow
you to speak to students who
haven’t yet signed up and
encourage them to do so, so
that they can make the most <strong>of</strong>
the benefits. It also acts as a
security <strong>me</strong>asure to make sure
we don’t have people
registering who are not
students. We will keep you
posted on develop<strong>me</strong>nts.
News in brief
What happened on A level results day at UCAS?
■ We answered 14,098 calls
■ They were answered, on average, within 64 seconds
■ Over 1 million searches were made for Clearing vacancies on the UCAS website
■ Track - the service that applicants use to check their status - had received 970,578
logins by 4pm, peaking at 118 logins per second
But in the midst <strong>of</strong> all this activity we were still able to recall so<strong>me</strong> <strong>me</strong>morable
mo<strong>me</strong>nts ...
■ An applicant called in to find out how to correct the spelling <strong>of</strong> her na<strong>me</strong> in her
application. We told her <strong>what</strong> she needed to do. Before finishing the call she said,
“I’ve been spelling it this way since primary school, and only just recently looked at
my passport and realised it was wrong.”
■ An 80 year old applicant will be starting a course in A<strong>me</strong>rican Studies – so it’s
never too late.