University of Wales Institute Cardiff looks to grow and diversify with Agresso Higher Education software
* Personalised, intuitive system for staff and students * Centralised system will reduce costs, improve visibility and help attract and retain students
Bristol, UK (May 19, 2010) –
UNIT4 Business Software, UK division of global business software company UNIT4, today announced that the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) has selected Agresso’s higher education solutions to help manage and streamline the student experience, in a contract worth more than £1 million in software and services.
UWIC has selected Agresso’s Student Management, Curriculum Management and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to improve the way it manages student contact and relationships, from initial contact with UWIC, through their studies to graduation and beyond. Once the project is complete, UWIC expects to reduce costs, improve visibility of academic activities and help attract and retain greater numbers of students.
“We needed a centralised system for recording and managing all student records and course data,” said Jacqui Hare, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Learning & Teaching at UWIC. “We were impressed by the software and feel it will give UWIC the flexibility to expand and diversify in the coming years. It will give UWIC students and staff access to a single, centralised source of relevant information relating to individuals as they journey through the student lifecycle. From the first point of contact the CRM system will help students feel they are part of the Institute and help UWIC efficiently and quickly field questions during the exceptionally busy course applications and clearing period. This will be done through a personalised online experience, providing the familiarity and convenience of browser based services including enrolment, details of events and a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ knowledge base.”
The self-service and portal capability delivered by Agresso’s Student Management software will provide both students and staff with access to a diverse range of important information, at a time that is convenient to them. Students will be able to log-in to the Student Management system to view timetables, access course material, change personal details or even check their financial account with UWIC. From their initial contact, the system will build a history of each student, thus providing any member of UWIC’s staff with the information they need to manage student enquiries rapidly, accurately and with continuity of service.
“Having a single view of the data will reduce administration and improve productivity internally,” continued Jacqui Hare. Course literature can be changed in a single location and those changes automatically reflected across multiple media, including the prospectus and website brochures. Users or departments can also configure the look and feel of the system without the need for expensive customisation or input from IT. The ability for staff and students to access data online will be a huge benefit and this functionality can be seamlessly integrated into our existing portals, providing an intuitive and personalised system for all. The introduction of electronic workflow will drastically reduce the number of paper-based processes, improve staff efficiency and raise the quality of student experience.”
UNIT4 has a proven track record in Higher Education with an expanding customer base of more than 100 Education establishments across the UK.
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Notes to editors:
About University of Wales Institute Cardiff
UWIC provides education and training opportunities that are accessible, flexible and of the highest quality, and has been independently acclaimed for its high academic standards and for its high level of student satisfaction.
UWIC is made up of five Academic Schools:
o The renowned Cardiff School of Art & Design;
o The Cardiff School of Education – one of the leading providers of teacher training in the UK;
o The Cardiff School of Health Sciences – with the recently opened £4.9million research centre;
o The Cardiff School of Management – which offers the largest on campus MBA in the UK;
o and its famous Cardiff School of Sport.
UWIC specialises in courses that are career orientated and which have been designed in conjunction with business and industry.
About UNIT4
UNIT4 is a global business software and services company aimed at helping dynamic organizations to embrace change simply, quickly and cost effectively in a market sector it calls ‘Businesses Living IN Change’ (BLINC)(TM). The Group incorporates a number of the world’s leading change embracing software brands including Agresso Business World and CODA financial management software.
For mid-sized services intensive organizations, UNIT4 markets the Agresso Business World ERP suite that is widely acknowledged as the business software solution that delivers the lowest Total Cost of Change. This is achieved thanks to its VITA(TM) architecture which allows for ongoing, post-implementation changes without the typical external IT costs and services that cost firms huge sums of money each year.
CODA Financials is our award-winning suite of best-of-class financial management software designed to integrate with your industry- and company-specific applications. CODA’s LINK(TM) architecture sets it apart from ordinary accounting systems by providing a financial information backbone for companies with fast-changing and mixed application environments. It is a global accounting solution for mid-to large sized organizations, offering a “no compromise” approach to financial modeling, process control and application choice.
In the UK we focus strongly on the public sector where we are a leading provider to Local Government, Further and Higher Education and Health organisations. In the commercial sectors Financial Services, Retail and Media and Publishing are key markets. Overall we aim to be the UK’s foremost business software company, providing solutions that transform the delivery of public services and comprehensively support commercial organisation in their ability to adapt and prosper in rapidly changing environments.
UNIT4 is a top six mid-market ERP software player globally and the 2nd largest European ERP supplier. With offices in 13 European countries, as well 6 countries across North America, Asia Pacific and Africa and sales activities in several other countries, a revenue of EUR379.4 million was realized in 2009. UNIT4 is headquartered in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands. The company has 3,456 employees (31 December 2009).
For more information, please visit: www.unit4software.co.uk
Chris Quinn
Interim UK PR Manager
UNIT4
+44 (0)7961 017 007
chris.quinn@unit4.com
Source: UNIT4