Team of the Month 02/2020: Admissions Team
Starting work at 6:00am, walking 20 km in one day, and working for 10 hours straight: this isn’t a hospital shift we’re talking about, but WU’s entrance exam days for the bachelor’s programs, which were held on July 9 and 10, 2019, at the Messe Wien expo hall. For the first time, entrance examinations for all 3 programs (WISO, BBE, and WIRE) were held, which was a major challenge for the admissions team. Working together, they mastered this challenge successfully, and in recognition of this achievement, they’ve been named our newest Team of the Month.
Unlike at other Austrian universities, the number of applicants for all 3 WU bachelor’s programs exceeded the number of available places. As a result, the multi-phase selection and admission procedure was initiated in May 2019. By that time, however, preparations for the admission procedure had of course been in full swing for several months. For the admissions team, the end of the registration period was nothing more than a symbolic starting shot. Before the participants were finally ready to take the entrance exams for WISO (2,992 applicants), WIRE (882), and BBE (766) at the Messe Wien expo hall on July 9 and 10, 2019, exams had to be compiled, registrations administered, emails texted and sent, exam questions transferred to the exam server, and on-site logistics organized. Countless additional steps, both big and small, were part of the whole process before the entrance examinations could actually take place.
“It’s quite impressive to see the expo hall fill up with thousands of potential students, and it’s a great feeling when the exams are over and everything went smoothly.”
A number of different people and organizational units were involved in the various tasks required – the Study Information office, the BACH team, and academic departments all contributed actively to the comprehensive preparations and the implementation of this major event. The core team consisted of the Examinations Office (Simone Eder, Christof Damböck, Markurs Raferzeder, and Sabine Lachner), the BBE program coordinator Julia Zeilinger, and the coordinator for bachelor’s-level selection procedures, Barbara Klusacek.
“Everyone in the team is very solution-oriented. Nothing can stop us: Not even thunderstorms and high winds can keep us from bringing the exam sheets back safely for scanning and grading so the applicants can get their results as soon as possible.”
After the exams were over, the exam papers and answer sheets were brought back to WU, where they were promptly scanned and graded, so applicants could be informed of their results quickly. Then the admissions team was finally able to take a deep breath and enjoy a well-deserved vacation.
With the start of the 2019/20 winter semester, the whole process starts all over again, and preparations for the next entrance examinations are already in full swing.