Student Life’s International Center supports U-M international students, faculty, and staff, as well as campus community members going abroad for study, work, and travel. Before 2021, the center relied on various Microsoft Access databases and software tools to engage with and track its constituents, lacking a unified system to streamline operations.
The move to MPassport significantly reduced the amount of data entry required. Our previous request system used web forms that, in turn, had to be manually entered into another form before sending to SEVIS.
Tyler Morkin, SEVIS Coordinator at the International Center
In the summer of 2021, the International Center and Student Life Technology Solutions (SLTS) initiated a project to implement a paperless system that would automate processes, maintain compliance, and improve client experience.
Following an analysis of existing tools and requirements, the International Center selected Terra Dotta’s International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) product, branding it as “MPassport” for campus use.
MPassport enables the International Center to track international students’ immigration and visa statuses while ensuring compliance with U.S. government reporting requirements. Through a student portal, international students submit necessary documents and information, streamlining the intake process. Staff can access current and historical student data and generate reports efficiently.
“These changes have resulted in a significant improvement to the student experience, reducing request processing time to one to three days from four to five or longer during peak periods,” said Judith Pennywell, Director of the International Center. “An additional benefit for students is the ability to use their MPassport portal to track the completion of their requests and to download completed forms from any location, at any time,” she added.
The MPassport platform enhances communication between staff and students. Staff can group students based on visa type, country of origin, or other criteria to deliver targeted updates, policy changes, and form reminders.
MPassport requires baseline data about international students, so SLTS collaborated with Information Technology Services to integrate data from the enterprise data warehouse, the campus’s central “source of truth.”
“The move to MPassport significantly reduced the amount of data entry required. Our previous request system used web forms that, in turn, had to be manually entered into another form before sending to the Student and Exchange Visitors Information System (SEVIS),” Tyler Morkin, SEVIS Coordinator at the International Center, said. “With MPassport, 90% of the data entry happens by the student as the values they enter into MPassport questionnaires map to the corresponding fields in SEVIS. This data entry previously took many hours each week to complete. The staff who managed the data entry have transitioned to increase student advising capacity within our office.”
Through implementing core business systems like MPassport, Student Life Technology Solutions works with Student Life partners like the International Center to save time and improve the student experience.
