OA Conference Barcelona

Introducing OpenApply as THE solution for online application - from full drawers of paper files to one laptop on the admissions manager's desk. 

At the American International School of Bucharest the implementation of OpenApply meant reducing costs, shortening admissions time and conducting admissions file review from anywhere on the planet. Tips and tricks for a successful implementation and use.

 Like other products we buy, OpenApply is a product we purchase to improve our lives - in this case to automate our Admissions.  It also however, has the power to improve the product of our endeavours.  Let’s first have a go at defining what exactly is our ‘product’ and who are our ‘customers’ and then take a look at how we can use information gathered through OpenApply for “product/learning” development and “customer/student/parent” service. 

 

Learn some of the best tips and tricks for using OpenApply presented by OpenApply staff.

You will learn how to link parents, merge duplicate applicants, create custom filters, build status levels, set automatic exports, and much more!

Bring your own tips and tricks to share during the session as well. 

The Admissions Department at any school has the task of creating the first impression for new families.  Although families want to know statistics, college acceptances, academic programs, and curriculum, more than that, they want to know what a school values and if their children will be cared for.  What a school values exists in the mission statement.  How familiar are you with the mission statement of your school and how do you articulate it to others?  This keynote will focus how to make the mission statement come alive in your school.  

Relocating internationally can be a highly stressful time for even the most experienced globally-mobile families.   As the face of the school and the first port of call, the admissions department has a key role to play in facilitating the family’s move and easing the transition into the life of the school and the community both for the children and the parents.  This session will address the nature of culture shock, what research tells us about internationally-mobile children.  We will share thoughts, strategies and discussions about how international schools welcome new families, beginning with the Admissions Team.   

Start-up schools have a significant advantage. When led with purpose and clarity, start-up schools can successfully engage stakeholders to collaboratively develop the organisational DNA.

This session explores the importance of all schools in developing a start-up mentality, especially if they aspire to truly deliver wonderful service to their families. The session will explore the importance of purpose, vision and mission in delivering sincere education. We will review the fundamentals of a school, delving into to role of people and product development. A variety of reallife examples will be used to highlight the difference these start-up tools can make.

A key argument to be presented is that in a start-up school, the Admissions team naturally become the glue across all departments and stakeholders. By reflecting on the moments-that-matter to families and staff, Admissions staff play a significant role in ensuring the organisational success of a school.

The presentation will conclude with a summary of key takeaways and encourage participants to take immediate action through three simple steps.

Session Overview:
1. Start with the why?
-Personal
-Organisational
-Professional

2. The fundamentals of a startup school
-Purpose
-People
-Product

3. Admissions as the glue, not the add-on

4. Reviewing the moments-that-matter to build an outstanding school
- For families
- For staff
- For your own team

5. Takeaways
- Your personal ‘why’? needs to be clear
- Organisational why, how and what needs to be clear
- Have a start-up mentality
- Everyone needs big picture commitment, coupled with specific functional skills
- Use short-term action plans to be responsive
- Startups stay agile, response and constantly under review; the 30 day action plan
- We are in the business of education; they are not separate; startups have the advantage of building a unified organisational culture and structure

6. Call to action
- A. Develop a personal ‘why’ statement
- B. First meeting back with your team after this weekend: what are your next steps?
- C. Develop an awesome action plan with your team: start with moments-that-matter, then develop the action plan elements.

The role of admissions goes beyond enrolling students and ensuring correct data on student files. From the time a family contacts the school through to the students beginning classes, the successful admissions officer needs to work effectively with everyone involved in the process:  parents, students, relocation and education professionals, and school personnel including school secretary, Head of School and divisional heads, classroom teachers, special needs and language teachers, school secretary, and the school’s transition team, PTA and classroom parents. Only in ensuring a wraparound approach to admissions, can new students and their families be effectively transitioned to their new school and country. 

Some of the discussion points will include:

• Why is admissions such an emotionally demanding position?
• What services should an admissions office provide?
• What is the role of admissions in managing families in transition?
• What is best practice in managing internal and external relationships? 

Join us for a session which combines information about emotional intelligence with practical suggestions for ensuring an efficient, but also warm and welcoming introduction and induction into your school for your new students and their families.

We can recite our school’s mission any time of the day or night. We post it on the walls of our school, we display it prominently on our websites, we print it on our spirit wear and school supplies. But do we really keep it in mind when recruiting new students? Do we really start from the school’s mission when we put together our admission policies, our admissions procedures and processes?

This session will be a hands-on workshop pushing you to reflect over the relation between the students you enroll and your school’s mission.  We will look at school missions and admissions processes, consider how that our schools manage to successfully marry the many changes within the constantly fluid world of student needs and their mission statements which should not change every year. Plan on leaving this sessions with some new ideas. “ (Requirement: all participants must have a copy of their mission statement, their admissions policy and a list of the admissions process steps)

One day we woke up and (collectively) realised that we might have been doing admissions all wrong. Or at least part of it. So we began to re-imagine a very different kind of learning experience for families visiting the school.  This interactive workshop will tell the story  of what happened next, actively engage participants in some of the key issues, and challenge you to re-imagine the future of school admissions.  

 

Because the field of admissions is vast, it is easy to get lost in the weeds. Stuck in individual files and cases, decisions and communications, processes and data management. We can even get lost when it comes to defining what our general approach to admissions really means: selective, open, inclusive, (desperate!). This session considers some essential aspirations for admissions leaders, how we can use the law of attraction to benefit our work and what Optimal Admissions looks like at Singapore American School. The model is transferable. The questions are generative.