Current Business Processes

Pre-applications enquiries

Around 1000 LEAPS-eligible students  express an interest in Edinburgh courses via the LEAPS pre-application process each year.

Currently SRA staff perform a triaging role in between the student and admissions officers by pulling data out of the LEAPS database, modifying it and loading it into a filemaker database stored on the SRA shared drive in a Pre-Application Enquirers (PAE) database.  Admissions officers select enquiries relating to their own college and update with a pre-application offer. SRA staff then  upload the updates into the LEAPS database after reviewing with the admissions officers if required.

Post-UCAS Application checks

Admissions officers may adjust an offer for a LEAPS eligible student.

LEAPS eligibility during the application process may be  noted on the applicant's UCAS application if the school providing references for LEAPS-eligible students notes this eligibility in the applicant's UCAS form. LEAPS also update their own database after the UCAS deadline has passed with details of all LEAPS-eligible students known to them. SRA staff will update the filemaker database from the LEAPS database after the UCAS deadline has passed.  Admissions officers may check  the filemaker database for eligibility if none is noted on the application form.

Access to the PAE database

Currently there are two users ( an SRA admin user) and an Applications Officer (AO) user with restricted access. The AO username and password is shared by all AO users. Access can only be withdrawn by changing the password and redistributing to the group of users authorized to use the PAE database. The PAW database contains sensitive personal data. The PAE database can only be accessed from within the university network.

The PAE database ( and archived PAE databases) are stored on a shared SRA drive.

Archived data

Currently an SRA admin will copy the database for the most recent academic year onto the shared drive and create a new database for the new academic year.

Process Maps

The process map describing the current processes is below: