Well done to everyone who supported Clearing last week.  Zoe, Mark, Kathryn, Emma, Simon, Marie and Lorna tell us all about how it went.

Zoe Sibeko – SP&BC

I have always remained immune to stories of how great taking part in Clearing is mainly because I’ve been nervous about getting it wrong. Anyway, I had a ‘big birthday’ last year and decided it was time to do the things that make me nervous… so I volunteered for Clearing. Or as my husband kept saying, ‘The Clearing.’ ‘I’m sure he thought I as a Yorkshire lass was just dropping ‘the’ from sentences. When I mentioned this to Jo Solecki she said “The Clearing, sounds like a horror movie” which didn’t help.  When I told my 11 year old daughter what I was doing she responded (read in an American College Frat Boy accent) “Dude, that’s like um totally changing people’s lives” so by 6.30am on the day my nerves were well and truly jangling… and it was soon clear that the worry was unnecessary.

Clearing is a day where the whole University comes together, the camaraderie is great and it is satisfying to take part in something so important to the University and individuals. The organisation that goes into it is fabulous; it really is a well-oiled machine. But now to the most important part, the people at the end of the phone lines; what a mix they are, some have done better than expected, and unfortunately, some worse. One person hadn’t decided they wanted to go to University until that morning. The point is, you can play a part in helping every single one of them.

Now to the end of the day; Clearing is exhausting. I fell asleep on the sofa at 6.30pm, woke up and then decided to go to bed. The kids and hubby popped out and bought some flowers which they brought to my bedside ‘as I had worked so hard.’ It was lovely but reminded me of a death scene in ‘The Godfather’ or some other Mafioso film in which well-wishers bring flowers to someone dying in bed but at least it wasn’t a horse’s head. If that happens it’s time for me to start worrying again.

Mark Holmes – D&S Management Accounts

Let me set the scene…..the 5am alarm rings…..you struggle out of bed, get yourself ready and arrive at work around 6am, not quite able to recall how you got there!

However, on entering the Owen building you suddenly realise it’s a hive of activity (and has been since who knows what time!) Now I’m awake!

Arriving in my allocated room, sitting at my allocated desk, the nerves start to kick in. It’s my first time working Clearing – will the previous week’s training session have prepared me enough for what’s about to happen??

Then your first call comes through – it’s an Irish lady with a really strong accent trying to give you her current address in Belgium (ok, that’s the phonetic alphabet deeply embedded!) Then it’s onto her qualifications – she has three Irish Leaving Certificates (three what??) Oh yeah, they don’t have GCSE’s!

Ok, so now you know your way around the systems and the rest of the day has got to be easy compared to that…..surely!!

Well, yes and no.

The nerves are gone and you’re off – offering places, rejecting places, tears of joy, tears of desperation, happy people, sad people, confused people and an angry vice-principal…..it’s all part of Clearing.

As much as it made the day drag slightly in places, I’m quite glad my first year was a relatively quiet one (I was told around 9,000 calls were taken in 2016, this year it was around the 3,200 mark when were told to go home at 4.30pm)

If I’m still here next year I’ll definitely be putting my name forward again – it was such an invigorating experience and a real insight into what we’re actually here to do.

Kathryn Roughton – SP&BC

It was a really interesting experience, and lovely to be on the front lines when my normal job is quite removed from students. I would highly recommend volunteering to anyone who is tempted. The hours are long and it is hard work, but you are really well supported by the team and it is amazing to be a part of a life-changing day for many of the prospective students.

Emma Scoffield – FPLT

This was my second year involved in Clearing and Confirmation. It was quite a bit different to last year as the ‘front room’ was taking on some of the process previously done by academics so were making offers.   I was honoured ( if a little daunted!) to be undertaking a supervisors role this year.  I got to be Simon’s supervisor for the day which was a bit weird and we also had to wear ‘Wednesday blue’ T shirts which for myself and Lorna as Blades fans wasn’t great!  Although it was quite different to answering calls I did enjoy the role and I certainly  know a lot more about our admissions process.

What struck me again this year was the real sense of the whole University coming together for a common cause. Colleagues from all over the university were involved and it was great meeting so many different people.

Simon Taylor – FPLT

So for anyone like me (this time last year), wondering if they have what it takes to assist University applicants through the clearing process and play a part in what could be one of the most important decisions in their lives, I would say – just do it!  I took the tour last year and was mightily impressed by the scale of the operation, the diversity of the people involved and the buzz of excitement and activity that filtered throughout levels 2 and 3 of the Owen building and I thought – “I want to be part of that!”

When the email came out requesting for volunteers I didn’t hesitate to put my name forward and eagerly anticipated the training session planned the week before results day!  As we have a directorate full of seasoned professionals when it comes to Clearing there was no lack of anecdotes and “you can do it” type support from all.  Training came and went in a flash and I felt prepared but nervous that I might forget everything within the space of a week!  Before I knew it, it was 4.45am on Clearing day and my alarm was buzzing manically.  Traffic was light (as you can imagine at that time!) and I was down in Owen by 6am where there was already a hive of activity.

At 6.30am the lines opened and it was uncomfortably quiet.  A few minutes passed and the first call came in swiftly followed by another, and as the morning progressed the volumes increased.  My first couple of calls were not the most straight forward but I got through them –supported by the supervising team, then it was time for bacon butties at 7.30! I really got into the swing of things after breakfast and the offers were going out , call backs being logged and unfortunately I also had to deliver the news to a couple of applicants that they had failed to meet minimum entry requirements.  There was great camaraderie amongst the team, everyone was helpful and friendly and I met some people that I probably would never have met otherwise within the University.

The level of collaborative working was immense with a group of people who had one thing in common – wanting to deliver a high quality service to our prospective students.   It was really quite moving to be able to give an applicant the news that we would like to offer them a place at our University – talk about transforming lives, you don’t get much closer than that!

Marie Williams – Directorates Management Accounts

This year was the third time I have volunteered to work Clearing, it’s an opportunity to feel connected to the students and the University, working in Oneleven you can sometimes feel a bit disconnected to what is happening elsewhere in the University. On the day it’s an early start and any early nerves soon go away once you have taken the first call.  The experience is very rewarding and you feel like you are making a real contribution towards the University and making a difference to the students life, it’s also a chance to meet staff from other parts of the University who you would probably have never met otherwise. If you have ever thought about volunteering for Clearing I would say just do it, see you there next year!

Lorna Pettifer – Service Improvement

So this year I got to experience a different side of Clearing, unlike last year when I manned the phones I was supervising a room. Now I know what you all thinking; were Admissions hard up for staff, had they lost their minds? But no, Finance was so supportive and successful last year that they ASKED us to be supervisors and Emma Scoffield and I decided to give it a go.

So what are the perks of a Supervisor? None, I tell thee! Firstly, they made me wear a BLUE shirt, secondly the breaks were shorter and not as often, and thirdly I stood up all day and ended up walking home looking like Mrs Overall from Acorn Antiques. But would I do it all again – hell yes!

In my room 323 we had the media guys making offers on that there facetube and twitter, we received calls from students in the morning and in the afternoon we did the outgoing calls which is something that launched last year and proved very successful. The other difference this year was as a supervisor I was responsible for making the decision to offer students a place here at SHU.

Clearing is a hive of activity, humour, heat, high fives, and bacon sarnies; and towards the end of the day delirium! It’s a great way of getting to know your colleagues, banding together for a joint purpose and the reason we all have jobs – the Students! In Finance and Planning not many of us get to see the direct impact we make towards the student experience in our job roles, so I say to you – volunteer for Clearing and you’ll see just exactly what kind of difference you make.

Brilliant day, brilliant people, brilliant experience!