Why UMass Amherst Pursued Data Automation

Learn how UMass Amherst is cutting transcript processing time by more than 90% to eliminate delays in transfer credit evaluations and admissions decisions.

Why did you seek out a solution?

We share responsibility for transfer credit with Admissions. They get people in the door and we do the evaluation. We were having challenges getting the transfer credit evaluation done in a timely manner. Our goal all along has been to get them that information as soon as possible so that prospective students can make an informed decision on whether they want to pursue their education at UMass Amherst.

We would tend to get flooded at certain time periods. From the time we received the transcript to a final credit evaluation, we were anywhere from a week to 3 weeks.

Why did you select Parchment?

We understood that we had this problem of getting data into our system in a reasonable time period. I didn’t want to rely on the Admissions Office to get us the transcripts because they were also being flooded, so we started to look at an automated process to assist us.

Several years ago, we looked at a few solutions, but they were really expensive and didn’t have all the functionality that we found with Parchment/SmartPanda. I could see the value creation in terms of time savings so this felt like the right solution at the right time.

What have been the results of implementing Data Automation?

We are still relatively early in implementation, but in our early testing we are pleased with the accuracy of the data being read. It’s better than anything else I’ve seen on the market.

It takes maybe an hour to enter all the data from a transcript and now it takes us about 5 minutes. This will be a game changer for us. The beauty of the tool is that we don’t have to rely on getting a data file. As long as we get a PDF, we can turn it into data.

How has the implementation process gone?

I don’t want to say it’s plug and play…but it’s pretty close. It hasn’t been a burden at all. I think we spent a month or two, but we took our time with it quite honestly. From a vendor perspective, my interactions with everyone have been fantastic. They’ve been very supportive throughout the entire process.

There’s always more to learn.