Strategic Management Quarterly

The Development and Use of an Information System to Manage the Graduate Student Admissions Review and Advising Processes
Sam Khoury, PhD

Abstract
Graduate degree programs regularly review admission application portfolios that can include an application for admission, a resume, recommendation letters, and unofficial transcripts. Review of application portfolios is time consuming and labor intensive. To ensure the review process is consistent and fair to all applicants, it should follow a set review process that is well documented. Also, the admission review process should use an information system to reduce evaluation errors and to accumulate useful demographic data that can aid in the assessment of target marketing and program accreditation efforts. Furthermore, the system should allow programs to accumulate advising and degree program planning data that helps ensure students remain on track and successfully complete their programs of study. A small private college in Alabama developed a system in the fall of 2017 to address this need. Since then, the system has been used to manage an MBA program with various concentrations and four graduate certificates within the college’s Business Division. This paper will describe the design and features of the system that can be replicated and used by other graduate programs. The paper will also provide suggestions for improvement through future revision to the current system.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/smq.v11n1a2