700 colleges using online admission system

LAHORE:More than 700 public colleges across Punjab are using Online College Admissions System (OCAS) for processing intermediate admissions applications for their FA, FSC, ICS programmes developed by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) for Higher Education Department (HED) of Punjab. OCAS has processed almost one million applications during the past few years.

According to a press release issued here on Wednesday, for the next academic year, OCAS is scheduled to be made available for intermediate admissions cycle 2017 at public colleges, once BISEs declare matriculation results. The initiative is aimed at enhancing efficiency and ensuring transparency. Online College Applications System (OCAS) provides a web-based facility for applicants to submit admission application(s) online. Online College Admissions System (OCAS) is built to provide easy, convenient, efficient and reliable access to students for admissions in the government colleges for higher education. The solution is based on a collaborative relationship between Higher Education Department, nine boards of intermediate and secondary education (BISE) of Punjab, Bank of Punjab and Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). BISE matriculation data of students is uploaded into the system which enables candidates to access the system by entering only minimum set of information (Matric Roll Number, BISE, Year and Session). Candidates can apply to a particular college/ programme through a simple online form. In addition to this, they can download and print their application fee slip through the system.

Key objectives of the system include reducing the number of physical visits of students and their parents to colleges as the admissions process gets under way, keep the admissions process transparent, considerably reduce the application compilation and merit list preparation time by pushing the labour-intensive and error-prone, back-office data entry activities to the end-users themselves.

The salient features of the system include 24/7 access, apply from any place with internet access - no more queues, track admissions application status via college website, integration with BISE results, minimising data entry and reducing errors.