Illinois Institute of Technology
Modernizing Transcript Processing With QDox For Higher Education
Public SectorBusiness Impacts
Automated processing of 60,000+ pages of academic transcripts from international students
Upskilled the tech team with extensive training programs
Multilingual translation to support international students
Customer Key Facts
- Country : United States of America
- Industry : Higher Education
Problem Context
The Illinois Institute of Technology is a private research university in the US, renowned for its rigorous programs in engineering, science, architecture, law, design, and business. However, the university faced challenges in expediting credential evaluations to speed up student admission notifications. Each year, 60,000 pages of international academic transcripts required review with prospective students who incurred high costs through third-party evaluations to have their academic records prepared. This evaluation and notification process, often takes weeks, much to the dissatisfaction of both students and administrators. Additionally, outdated data systems slowed down the analysis of enrollment trends or updating student records.
In response to these challenges, the university sought to redefine how it operates and improve efficiency. By partnering with Quantiphi and AWS, the Illinois Institute of Technology aimed to set a new standard for technological integration in higher education, improving service quality for the institution and its students.
Challenges
- High Operational Costs: Course-by-course evaluation, and transfer credit articulation are often costly, labor-intensive, and time-consuming
- Inefficient Data Handling: A cumbersome and fragmented process led to unacceptable delays in determining student acceptance
- Improve Student Experience: Need to accelerate the application process for international and US-based students for transcript evaluation
- Need for Transformative Approach: Leadership recognized the need for both innovation and organizational change to improve processes meaningfully
Technologies Used
Amazon Textract
Amazon Sagemaker
Amazon Translate
AWS Lambda
Amazon Bedrock
Amazon S3
Amazon Aurora
Amazon DynamoDB
Amazon CloudWatch
AWS CodeBuild
AWS Security Hub
Amazon EC2
Solution
At Illinois Tech, identifying the necessity to modernize their data systems was as crucial as choosing the right partner. By leveraging AWS’s cloud infrastructure, Gen AI capabilities, and Quantiphi’s digital engineering expertise, Illinois Tech advanced its data systems for future readiness. Quantiphi deployed an AWS Landing Zone to
- Establish foundational governance for Illinois Tech, ensuring secure and compliant access to systems and data
- Unify disparate data streams, facilitating seamless access and efficient data utilization across the university
These foundational improvements were key in strengthening the university's infrastructure. The subsequent focus on boosting operational efficiency led to the successful implementation of QDox, our AI-driven document processing solution, built on AWS. Benefits included:
- Automating transcript processing for faster student record updates
- Converting international grades to US equivalents
- Enhancing the user interface to visualize extracted information
- Integrating insights with the university’s CRM system for quicker academic data handling and reduced manual labor
- Providing multilingual support for international students
Results
- Streamlined evaluation process for faster enrollment decision-making
- Enabled new approaches for predictive analytics to support enrollment and fiscal management
- Reduced manual efforts and time spent on reviewing international transcripts and course articulation
- Enhanced, and secured data access for key departments such as admissions and financial aid
Illinois Tech redefined operations and raised the bar for technological integration in higher education, enhancing service quality for both students and the institution.
This success story is also published in THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION!
Testimonials by Illinois Tech
"One of the ways we know we can increase enrollment is speed to decision. We have the data that shows any time a student waits more than 30 days for a decision, the percentage in which they will matriculate to campus drops off significantly. For international students there are lots of 3rd party vendors who provide credential evaluations to these students. There is a 4 to 6 week turnaround, and of course, a fee. We built an internal credential evaluation department. As our resources are limited,we built it so we could scale during enrollment cycles. We talked to Quantiphi and selected QDox for our new system. We ultimately went from weeks evaluating credentials to less than one day. The data points are now there for the faculty and decision readers, so students are getting decisions faster."
Marla Kay Workman, Director of International Enrollment Management, Illinois Tech
"This system enabled us to streamline operations and better utilize our resources towards enhancing student support and academic excellence."
Sejal Vaishnav, Chief Information Officer, Illinois Tech
