Because of variations in processing students deferring to a different semester than the semester for which they originally applied, reporting was tricky and inconsistent across campuses. For example, some campuses reported deferred applicants in both terms, while others report them in only one.
Our recommendation was to align with USM’s post-matriculation deferral process for all campuses. Because this would affect key functional groups (e.g., Admissions, Student Records, and Financial Aid) across campuses, it was important to give it proper due diligence to instill lasting change over multiple functional groups and campuses.
The outcome for addressing this data issue is consistent data processing and reporting across all campuses. This change also improves our ability to assign students to the correct cohorts for tracking retention and graduation rates.