Welcome to the 5th University of Bath Agent newsletter. We are getting ready for the new recruitment year 2009/10 and have a number of exciting initiatives to share with you, including an invitation to our very first agent conference in November, new marketing materials and also developments in the way we are able to track applicants.
1st Bath Agent Conference November 2009
Dear Partners,
University of Bath Agents’ Conference Wednesday 25 November-Friday 27 November 2009
We are delighted that the University of Bath will be holding its very first Agents’ Conference in November 2009 and look forward to welcoming you to the University.
We have 20 funded places available for our international partners and we would like to invite applications from our partners on the attached agents-conference-application-form. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 2 September 2009.
What are the aims of the conference?
One aim of our conference is to give our partners an opportunity to learn more about the University of Bath: our international strategy, programmes, entry requirements, facilities, and the city of Bath itself.
Another key aim is to inform and incentivise our academic and support staff here at the University. There is a wide range of knowledge and understanding across our staff about international recruitment, the role of educational agents and the characteristics of different overseas markets. Meeting with you and being able to ask questions is an important first step for many of them in developing their international agendas.
Finally, we value your input: not just on operational areas such as the points based system or admissions procedures but also on the future recruitment strategy of the University across our markets. �
Who are the participants?
The Conference involves a high level of interaction and participation (e.g. agent-led presentations; group feedback sessions) by the representatives as well as an ability to deal confidently with all staff at Bath including senior staff such as Deans and Heads of Departments.
It is not really suitable for new or junior counsellors as participants will be expected to be already familiar with promoting Bath and its programmes and to be able to provide detailed and specific market intelligence for all programmes and advise on the strategic direction of their organisation. They also need to be able to feedback to their team on returning.
The conference is really aimed at experienced senior counsellors and/or office managers from across our network of agents who still have everyday experience of counselling but who are also able to lead training to their team on their return. Your University of Bath country manager will be happy to discuss suitable participants if you wish.
What is the programme?
We are still finalising the programme but a draft programme is below;
Wednesday 25 November 2009
• Welcome and Introduction: Presentations and Q&A (Pro-VC; Head of International Office and International Student Support Manager)
• Agent Fair: Chance for each agent to talk to key staff (Deans, Heads of Dept, admissions tutors, central administrative staff) on their market, agency and the opportunities for enhancing recruitment to our programmes
• Campus Tour
• Focus on Engineering: Interactive session with the Faculty of Engineering staff including presentations on the international agenda in the faculty and feedback from our partners
• Dinner with the International Office team in the city centre
Thursday 26 November 2009
• Focus on Management: a chance for an up to date briefing from the School of Management and Q&A session
• Agent Led Panel Discussion: a chance to put questions and feedback to a panel of key UoB staff on areas such as the points based system, admissions procedures, careers and employability and student support
• Focus on Science: Working lunch with key staff from the Faculty of Science
• Afternoon for guided walking tour of Bath, sightseeing, afternoon tea and the chance to sample the Christmas Market: http://www.bathchristmasmarket.co.uk/
• Party at the home of Ms Lee Hennessy (Deputy Head of Recruitment and Admissions)
Friday 27 November 2009
• Focus on Social Sciences: Briefing on new developments from the Faculty team
• Agent-Led Feedback Session: including discussion of common areas of interest; examples of good practice
• Lunch and Close
What is included?
Each fully-funded place includes:
• Transfer of 500GBP (Europe and Middle East) or 750GBP (Rest of World) to cover the cost of a return economy class flight to London. (UK based agents will receive UK travel expenses for standard class return train travel.)
• Accommodation in a University of Bath residence for three nights: Tuesday 24 November, Wednesday 25 November and Thursday 26 November
• All meals and social activities and transport within Bath.
The agent will need to cover visas, insurance and return transfer from the airport to the University.
Questions
If you have any queries or questions, please contact Graham Waton our administrator on gw253@bath.ac.uk
We look forward to receiving your application forms and to welcoming you to the University of Bath in November.
With Best Wishes, Andy, Virginia, Zoe, Jo and Graham
New application tracking facility is on the way!
The next phase of enhancing our postgraduate application procedures will see the unveiling of an applicant tracker facility in October 2009. Through a web portal you and your applicants to the University will be able to track the progress of their applications in real time. As well as being able to monitor admissions decisions there will be the capacity to upload documents, submit or edit personal information, view detailed offer information, and accept or decline an offer of admission (for postgraduate applications). In order to have access to this facility applicants will have had to have applied on-line for their programme of study. It is therefore ever-more important that the electronic application route is the one your students follow, as paper-based postgraduate applications become obsolete in the way that they are with the UCAS system. More detailed information about the applicant tracking facility will follow in the weeks ahead and, as always, we will welcome feedback from you as the system goes live.
New Postgraduate Study brochure to replace printed prospectus
This year we have decided not to go ahead with printing a full prospectus for prospective postgraduate students. We have found in recent years that students are increasingly making use of our website to find detailed information on the course they want to apply for, and the printed prospectus is a heavy document which only contains a few pages of relevant information for each student that receives a copy.
Currently, you can find our postgraduate prospectus online at http://www.bath.ac.uk/prospectus/postgrad/ . The 2010 version is being developed at the moment, and should be ready by the end of August.
We are aware that not having a printed prospectus will be challenging in some situations, particularly at exhibitions and when counselling students, so we have produced a new 24 page brochure titled ‘Postgraduate Study at the University of Bath’, which focuses on what students should expect from their experience at Bath. The purpose of the brochure is to help students make an informed choice about their study destination, and the information is organised according to the following themes; Research; Learning; Employability; Resources; Programmes on offer (a list); Support; Community; Living; Money; and the application process. We envisage that students will find this useful as an introduction to Bath, as well as helping them to choose the right university for them. Throughout the brochure, we are encouraging students to visit our website for more information.
The brochure is about to go to print now, so will be ready by the end of August. Graham Waton will be in touch soon to organise mailings for you. Our Undergraduate prospectus for 2010 is till available in printed format.
Respond
