Application System (Canvas Power App)
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During the university’s Clearing period, admissions teams must handle an extremely high volume of student enquiries and applications within a very short timeframe. Existing processes often rely on manual data entry, disconnected systems, and rapid decision-making under pressure, increasing the risk of delays, errors, and inconsistent outcomes.
Contact centre staff need to collect accurate applicant information, validate contact details, and assess qualifications quickly in order to determine eligibility for instant offers. Without a streamlined, end-to-end approach, these steps can slow down call handling, limit throughput, and negatively impact the applicant experience at a critical point in the admissions cycle.
The challenge was to support Clearing activity with a fast, reliable process that could scale to peak demand, reduce manual effort, and enable staff to make accurate, timely decisions while maintaining consistency and data quality across admissions systems.
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A dedicated Clearing Contact application was designed and delivered to provide a fast, reliable, end-to-end workflow for handling high volumes of student enquiries and applications during the Clearing period. The solution brings data capture, validation, eligibility checks, and offer processing into a single, streamlined interface used by contact centre staff.
The app standardises how applicant information is collected and validates contact details in real time, reducing errors at the point of entry. Automated qualification checks support instant offer decisions where criteria are met, enabling staff to process applicants quickly and consistently, even under peak demand.
By consolidating critical Clearing activities into one intuitive system, the solution increases throughput, improves decision accuracy, and reduces reliance on manual checks and disconnected tools. This allows admissions teams to operate efficiently during one of the most time-critical phases of the admissions cycle, while delivering a smoother and more responsive experience for applicants.
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SharePoint – data storage, applicant records, configuration lists
Power Automate – offer logic, notifications, data processing
Exchange Shared Mailboxes – applicant-facing email communications
Power BI – real-time reporting and Clearing insights
Microsoft Teams – new-application notifications for staff
Azure AD Security Groups/Roles – controlled access for contact-centre users
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Reduced processing times from hours to minutes by automating validation, offer logic, and data handling at the point of enquiry.
Enabled instant offers to be issued during live calls, allowing most applicants to receive a decision before the contact centre conversation ended.
Replaced a fragmented Clearing workflow that relied on MS Forms, manual SharePoint updates, and mail-merged offer letters with a single, streamlined end-to-end system.
Improved accuracy and consistency by removing manual intervention and enforcing standardised business rules across all Clearing decisions.
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A fast, end-to-end Clearing application system that automates validation and offer decisions, allowing most applicants to receive an outcome during their call.
The home screen
This is the app’s starting point, where staff collect the essential applicant details needed to begin a Clearing decision. The home screen is intentionally minimal and uncluttered, guiding users through each field in a clear left-to-right flow. Every input is validated in real time, from date formats and eligibility flags to UCAS IDs, postcode patterns, and qualification selections, ensuring clean, consistent data before the user can progress. The “View entry requirements” and “Lookup Contact” actions provide instant access to accurate course information and existing records, reducing duplication and mistakes. By enforcing complete and validated data at the very first step, the app prevents downstream errors and sets the foundation for fast, reliable automated decisioning later in the process.
Contact lookup
This screen lets staff quickly search for an existing contact or application using flexible search criteria. The user selects a course, then types any part of the applicant’s UCAS ID, name, email address or date of birth. Matching records appear instantly in a clean, scrollable gallery so staff can immediately identify the correct applicant. Each record shows key details such as contact information, course choice and current decision status, with a clear option to re-issue a decision if required. The layout is designed to be simple, fast and reliable during high volume Clearing activity, keeping staff focused on applicant verification rather than navigating menus.
Instant offer making
This part of the system shows how quickly an applicant’s qualifications can be checked and confirmed. The user enters the A level grades, submits the form, and the app validates the results straight away. All of the course requirements are compared in real time using the built-in eligibility logic, and the outcome appears instantly. The video finishes on the validation screen, where you can see exactly which entry criteria the applicant meets. This makes the decision process fast, reliable and fully transparent for staff.
Requirements Not Met
This clip shows how the system handles applicants who do not meet the published entry requirements. After the qualifications are entered and submitted, the validation engine checks each requirement and returns an outcome immediately. The screen highlights the specific criteria that were not met, giving staff a clear explanation of the decision without any manual checking. This makes the process fair, consistent and transparent for both staff and applicants.
Edge case handling
Not every scenario can be fully automated, so it is essential to design clear, reliable pathways for edge cases. This video demonstrates how the app identifies and manages situations that fall outside standard decision rules.
In the example shown, the applicant does not meet the overall grade entry requirements but has completed an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification). The app’s grade-comparison logic recognises this exception and automatically prompts the user to flag the application for manual review. It also guides the user by displaying the correct queue to transfer the call to, ensuring the case reaches an experienced Admissions specialist.
At every stage, users retain the ability to send an application for manual review, ensuring no applicant is disadvantaged and all complex cases receive appropriate scrutiny.
APPLICATION PROCESSED IN APP
Data patched to SharePoint
Offer / reject decision fully automated
Once the application is submitted through the Power Apps interface, a Power Automate flow takes over, validating data, generating offer documents, sending branded communications, and recording each outcome, with built-in routes for manual review where needed.
- Admissions staff process the application in the Power Apps interface.
- Key data (course, decision, applicant details, offer notes) is written to a central SharePoint list.
- A Power Automate flow is triggered when decision fields change.
- Checks core values (applicant ID, email, course, decision, template mapping).
- If something is missing or inconsistent, the record is flagged for manual review instead of sending an email.
- Once staff correct the data in SharePoint (Data corrected), the same flow can safely re-run and continue the process.
- Reads the final decision from SharePoint (offer or reject).
- Routes into the appropriate branch:
- Offer branch – generate and send formal offer documentation.
- Reject branch – send a clear, respectful rejection email.
- Populates a Microsoft Word offer letter template with dynamic data (course, conditions, fees etc.).
- Converts the Word document to PDF for a locked, applicant-facing version.
- Prepares metadata so the offer can be stored and audited against the application record.
- Sends a fully branded HTML offer email.
- Attaches or links to the generated PDF offer letter.
- Updates SharePoint to mark the offer as sent, capturing timestamps and any error codes if sending fails.
- Selects the appropriate rejection template and merges in applicant/course details.
- Sends a clearly worded, branded rejection email from the admissions mailbox.
- Writes “Rejection sent” and timestamp back to SharePoint for reporting.
- If an email send fails or the letter cannot be generated, the record is flagged for manual review instead of silently failing.
- Staff can correct data and mark the item as “ready to re-run”; the flow then continues from the correct branch.
(email sent & status recorded)
Automated offer and decision workflow
This workflow shows how application decisions made in the Clearing application system are taken from staff action through to applicant communication in a fully automated and auditable way.
Once a decision is recorded in the app, data is patched to SharePoint and a Power Automate flow takes ownership of the process. The flow performs validation checks to ensure all required data is present and consistent before proceeding, with built-in routes for manual correction where needed. This prevents incomplete or incorrect records from triggering applicant communications.
Based on the recorded outcome, the workflow branches cleanly into offer or rejection paths. Offer decisions trigger the generation of a formal letter using a standardised template, conversion to PDF, and delivery via a fully branded email. Rejection decisions follow a parallel, controlled path to ensure applicants receive a clear and timely response.
Throughout the process, each action is logged back to SharePoint with timestamps and status flags, providing a complete audit trail for reporting and operational oversight. Error handling is treated as a first-class concern, with failed steps surfaced for manual review rather than allowing silent failures.
This approach removes manual document handling, reduces operational risk, and ensures every applicant decision is processed consistently, at speed, and at scale.
Design decisions and safeguards
Designed for Results Day pressure, where volumes exceeded 1,000 applications on day one before tapering to a few hundred per day. The system prioritises speed, consistency, and controlled exceptions while remaining usable for non-admissions staff.
Built for contact centre speed
A guided, one-screen workflow designed for fast processing by non-admissions staff under peak demand.
Validated data at entry
Captures and validates key details during the call to reduce rework and prevent downstream errors.
Standardised eligibility checks
Applies consistent checks including qualifications, grades, subject requirements, English language, and residency.
Controlled handling for edge cases
Most outcomes are rules-driven, with a safe route for experienced admissions staff to apply judgement where needed.
Safe re-issue of decisions
If a decision exists but the applicant did not receive it, staff can verify contact details and re-issue without duplicating the case.
Licensing-aware architecture
Qualification rules and offer criteria are stored in SharePoint to work within licensing constraints and avoid premium dependencies.
Consistent offer documentation
Offer letters are generated from a Word template and issued via email, removing manual mail merges.
Duplicate protection
Duplicate checks on applicant ID and course flag repeat contacts, enabling quick lookup rather than re-processing.
Manual review and transfer route
Where no decision can be made, cases move into a review queue or can be transferred to faculty teams for resolution.
KPI visibility by design
Supports reporting on call handling time, instant offer rates, conversion, and error rates to optimise operations.
Delivered on a fixed timeline
Built and implemented within an eight-month delivery window, balancing speed of delivery with operational readiness.
Operational Reporting and Insights
Reporting is where automation becomes measurable. I build Power BI models and operational dashboards that turn process data into insight, tracking volume, throughput, SLA performance, outcomes, and conversion over time. Because I cannot share live institutional reporting, this interactive demo illustrates the types of metrics, filters, and governance patterns I implement.
Total applications / contacts
Trendable
By day, hour, route and channel
Time to outcome
Measured
Start to decision, plus stage durations
Outcome mix
Explainable
Offers, rejects, pending review, errors
Offer to acceptance time
Trackable
Issued date to acceptance date (days)
Reporting architecture (from raw events to dashboards)
Dashboards are only as reliable as the data behind them. I design reporting around consistent event timestamps, clear stage definitions, and repeatable measures. This supports operational views (today, this week, peak periods) as well as post-cycle analysis and continuous improvement.
Capture consistent events
Every key action writes a timestamped event (created, outcome issued, email sent, acceptance recorded), enabling stage-based measures.
Model the data for analysis
Clean dimensions for course, route, team, adviser, and time. Measures are defined once and reused across views.
Build dashboards for different audiences
Operational dashboards for supervisors and live performance, plus analytics views for stakeholders and planning.
Monitor quality and exceptions
Data quality flags, missing fields, and failure codes are visible and reportable, not hidden in logs.
What these dashboards unlock
Reporting supports decision-making, not just charts. Leaders can spot bottlenecks, understand conversion behaviour, and identify where interventions improve outcomes. Teams can also evidence compliance by demonstrating when communications were issued and when actions were taken.
Filter simulator (illustrative)
Move the slider to simulate how KPIs respond when a report is filtered by time window or peak period (for example: quiet days vs peak results-week volume). Values are illustrative and demonstrate the behaviour of measures under different contexts.
1 is a quiet day, 3 is a steady week, 5 represents peak volume.
Throughput
48
Items completed per hour/day
Median time to outcome
6h
Typical completion time (not averages)
Exception rate
Low
Records needing manual review
Conversion indicator
Stable
Offer to acceptance trend
Common reporting slices
I design reports so users can explore performance from multiple angles without breaking the numbers. Filtering is consistent across pages, and drill-through is supported where appropriate (for example, course → adviser → individual record for audit).
Governance built into the dataset
Reporting has to be trusted. I implement clear definitions, controlled values, and consistent timestamps so measures remain stable over time. Where needed, reports can be supported by row-level security, restricted datasets, and audit-friendly drill-through.
Data quality and exception visibility
Instead of hiding problems, I surface them. This enables teams to fix root causes quickly and protects leadership reporting from being distorted by missing fields, invalid states, or failed communications.