This fall, the University of New Haven became the first college in the nation to easily use an iPad app to evaluate applications for undergraduate admissions.
This lightens the load for UNH admissions counselors who can do everything on iPads, instead of carrying around numerous boxes of folders, filing or sorting through stacks of application papers. Now they are able to carry hundred of applications around with them, all in one place, weighing less than two pounds in comparison to those heavy boxes.
The app is called Matchbox, and during this year’s recruiting season, this paperless process is more efficient, allows admissions staff to review applications even when they are on the road and presents the materials in a uniform way. Matchbox converts all admissions materials, including either direct UNH applications or the Common Application, into a format useful for the iPad. Transcripts, recommendation letters, and additional necessary paperwork can all be uploaded directly to the iPad.
Due to the ease of the touch screen, the great quality of the screen display, and wireless connection, the admissions counselors can see when an application is completed, review everything faster and more efficiently since everything is in one place, and can immediately notify the prospective students if something is missing.
“The information for each prospective student is presented in a comprehensive, highly intuitive fashion,” said Kevin Phillips, associate vice president for enrollment management at UNH. “Efficiency is paramount to us, especially since our admissions officers are working while traveling for weeks at a time attending college fairs and visiting high schools during the recruitment season.”
Since UNH has received a drastic increase in applications in the past five years, Matchbox aids in making the process timelier, and now the admissions counselors are able to focus recruitment on the best qualified students.
Another positive to add to the pro/con list is that this app saves tons of paper! There have been numerous recent attempts to “go green,” and going paperless is one of the easiest ways to save the environment. Phillips also said, “Going paperless has helped us to further our dedication to sustainability.”
Other colleges such as such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Dayton have used certain apps to screen graduate applications, but UNH is the first to use the app on undergraduate applications.
There are apps available for any purpose, and they are all easily accessible on multiple Apple products such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. For such a lengthy process, the Matchbox app is perfect to ease the pain of the admissions counselor’s fingers and eyes. This app is only one of the countless advancement to come with the always-changing technology.
