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

FAREWELL TO UCAS
Anthony McClaran looks back
This will be my last contribution as Chief Executive
<strong>of</strong> UCAS to UCAS News. As many <strong>of</strong> you will know,
I move on at the beginning <strong>of</strong> October to take up
the post <strong>of</strong> Chief Executive <strong>of</strong> the Quality Assurance
Agency for Higher Education (QAA) but, before I
make that move, there is (as I write) one more
Confirmation and Clearing period to navigate
through.
I have been Chief Executive for five years and enjoyed
(almost!) every mo<strong>me</strong>nt. Collectively, and in partnership
with our colleagues in <strong>me</strong>mber institutions, we’ve
achieved a great deal during that ti<strong>me</strong>. So<strong>me</strong> <strong>of</strong> those
achieve<strong>me</strong>nts have been internal to the organisation:
making sure that we are run in a financially responsible
and sustainable way, for example. The most important
achieve<strong>me</strong>nts, however, are those which have had a
direct impact on the quality <strong>of</strong> service to applicants and
<strong>me</strong>mbers and, if I had to pick just one example <strong>of</strong> these,
it would be the decision that we took in 2004 to move
to 100% online application. It’s hard to believe now that
we debated long and hard about whether the move was
premature, uncertain about the reaction from schools
and applicants. Of course, the applicants were way
ahead <strong>of</strong> us and, given that they were increasingly
managing so much <strong>of</strong> the rest <strong>of</strong> their lives online, found
no difficulty <strong>what</strong>soever in applying to university
electronically. In fact, increasingly we had protests
about the few remaining areas where paper was still
used.
In 2005 we completely replaced our existing
admissions infrastructure with a new system designed
to support the fully online world into which we had
moved. Also technical change is never easy and this
one was no exception but within a couple <strong>of</strong> years we
were seeing dramatic improve<strong>me</strong>nts in processing
ti<strong>me</strong>s and the quality <strong>of</strong> service. In fact, custo<strong>me</strong>r
service has been a key the<strong>me</strong> in recent years and we
have sought to listen very hard to <strong>what</strong> applicants,
schools, colleges and universities want from the UCAS
service, and then to respond in the most effective way
to those needs.
Nothing quite matches the intensity <strong>of</strong> the results
period, particularly on the day when the A level results
are published and UCAS beco<strong>me</strong>s the temporary centre
<strong>of</strong> the nation’s <strong>me</strong>dia. It is a really demanding period for
all <strong>of</strong> our staff, many <strong>of</strong> whom will have worked through
preceding weekends, evenings and even nights, but we
all feel it’s when the service really co<strong>me</strong>s into its own:
dealing as effectively, efficiently and, when required,
sympathetically, with the needs <strong>of</strong> well over half a
million applicants and institutions who are anxious to fill
their places with the best students.
It has been a huge part <strong>of</strong> my life since 1995, when I
first moved to UCAS, and I shall miss it! I have had
terrific support from my Board and its Chair<strong>me</strong>n (Bill
Stevely <strong>of</strong> Robert Gordon University and Bob Burgess <strong>of</strong>
the University <strong>of</strong> Leicester), a huge range <strong>of</strong> colleagues
in universities, colleges and schools, and, most <strong>of</strong> all,
from the terrific staff here at UCAS, whom I have been
proud to lead for the last five years. I now wish my
successor, Mary Curnock Cook, every success as she
takes up the role <strong>of</strong> Chief Executive.
I have been
Chief Executive
for five years and
enjoyed (almost!)
every mo<strong>me</strong>nt.
Pictures (from left to right):
Christmas carol singing in 2007,
signing the Student Loans
Company agree<strong>me</strong>nt in 2008,
on the ro<strong>of</strong> at UCAS in 2008