Workflow design and management - Case Study Example

The credit transfer system is a procedure available to all in the academic programmes who consider that they have previously studied a subject either in the University itself or at another institution. The Add/Drop period of the semester consists of one week prior to the semester commencing, and Week 1 of the concerned semester. A student desiring to be considered for credit transfer should submit their application before or during the end of the Add/Drop period of the semester for which the subject is scheduled to be undertaken.

A reply to all applications is guaranteed within 14 days from the date of the completed application form.Critical Analysis The fourteen day period that is taken up during the assessing of whether a student is qualified or not for credit transfers is impressive but can still be considerably improved. Downloading the application form and attaching supporting information before submission is vital for the commencement of the process. It is also very important that the Clerical Officer counter-checks the applications to ensure that all the forms are appropriately filled, and all supporting information attached.

This considerable cuts out the time that would have been wasted on application forms not properly completed. There is, however, an overloading of the same Clerical Officer on aspects of the entire process that would have otherwise been done away with. Instead of having the clerical officer making photocopies of the application form AS 41c and supporting documents according to the number of subjects the student is claiming credit transfer, it would be more efficient if the students were to be involved.

The students should be required to make applications depending on the number of subjects they are claiming credit transfers. This would reduce the work-load of the Clerical Officer. The time spent in sending the forms back and forth could also be reduced by making use of an integrated system of analysis. A system that connects the Clerical Officer to the teachers directly would be effective. When the Clerical Officer inputs data of students who have applied for credit transfers to the system, the teachers could have access to the same system, but in terms of the department.

The teachers would then indicate into the same system whether a certain application has been accepted or denied. The clerical Officer would then generate the appropriate letters. As the letters are being signed by the Programme Leader, the applications would then be returned back to the Clerical Officer by the Department Messenger for more details to be input into the Excel spreadsheet. This would make the process move faster and reduce the turnaround fourteen days.