Applying for Biomedical Study On-Line

Applicants to Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) no longer have to search for a typewriter or fill in their applications by hand; they can now apply over the Internet. The PennExpressApp is going "live" this month. PennExpressApp is a pilot project that is designed to provide the testing and experience necessary to allow all Penn applicants the opportunity to apply electronically in the not-too-distant future.

PennExpressApp was developed for the Vice Provost for Graduate Education by a team from Information Systems and Computing that included Robin Beck, James Choate, Carolyn Luskin, and Edwin Read. Judy Jackson, Associate Director of BGS, Edward Stemmler, Financial and Information Systems Administrator of the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Karen Lawrence, Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Education, consulted extensively with the technical team.

 PennExpressApp allows the applicant to provide information in stages the application does not have to be completed at one sitting. Once submitted, the applicant can check on-line whether supporting documentation has been received. PennExpressApp uses client-server technology (running both on the applicant's desk-top and the University's server), is data encrypted for confidentiality, and uses an Oracle data base. The data entered by the applicant is accessible as a data base to faculty admissions committees and administrative staff and can be transmitted into the Student Record System (SRS) if the applicant eventually matriculates.

Take a look at the future! The PennExpressApp can be accessed through the "Prospective Students" view on the Penn home page.

--Janice Madden, Vice Provost for Graduate Education


Almanac

Volume 43 Number 4
September 17, 1996


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