WO2000048087A2 - A method for paperless attachment of supplementary forms to a world wide web application - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic copy of a paper document, such as high school transcript, can be attached to an electronic document, such as an application for admission to an institution. The high school providing the paper document is required to have only a simple fax machine. When a student requests that a transcript accompany an electronic application, a request for the transcript is automatically generated by the applicaiton servicer and transmitted to the hight school. The request includes a return facsimile cover sheet that includes an identifier that can be automatically machine-interpreted when the cover sheet is transmitted back to the servicer with the transcipt. The identifier marking is sufficiently robust that it will be machine interpretable, even after rough treatment or serial copying and transmission by the high school. Upon receipt of the transcript facsimile, the servicer automatically interprets the identifying information on the return facsimile cover sheet to identify the student and the particular admissions application for which the transcript was requested. The transcript is forwarded preferably along with application to the appropriate institution after being converted, if necessary, to a data format specified by the institution. The servicer may also store the transcript in electronic form in a secure database for subsequent transmission for a different term or to different institution. Each facsimile cover sheet is preferably 'branded' with the logo of the institution to which the student is applying, although the return facsimile number is preferably a toll free number to a computer facsimile server of the servicer. Thus, the servicer can be invisible to the high school.

Description

A METHOD FOR PAPERLESS ATTACHMENT OF SUPPLEMENTARY FORMS TO A WORLD WIDE WEB APPLICATION.

Related Applications

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional patent application 60/119,496, filed

February 10, 1999.

Technical Field

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for electronic processing of forms over a

global computer network, and in particular, to attaching documents from a variety of sources to

electronic forms.

Background of the Invention

There are many advantages to the electronic filing of applications for admission to

institutions of higher learning, such as colleges and universities. Electronic applications provide the

institution with application data almost immediately after the application is completed, and data is

in a form that is immediately accessible for processing by admissions personnel to assist in recruiting

efforts. Although some schools allow direct electronic application, many chose to take advantage

of the special expertise available at service providers, such as CollegeNET, Inc., the creator of the

ApplyWeb™ system that services institutions and students by, among other things, processing

admission applications. The ApplyWeb™ system is powered by the Universal Forms Engine, which is owned by Universal Algorithms and is described in co-pending U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 09/325,533,

which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The ApplyWeb™ system handles the applications and fee processing for many institutions

and provides the institutions with the data they want in the form they require. ApplyWeb™ services

can be transparent to the student, allowing applications to be "branded" with an institution's own

logo and making applications accessible to potential students through the university's web site, or

through the CollegeNet site of CollegeNET, Inc.

When applicants using the ApplyWeb™ system enter information into an application, the

information is stored and automatically populates corresponding fields in subsequent applications.

Unfortunately, certain attachments to applications, such as high school transcripts, must still be

separately mailed to the institution and processed manually. Thus, until the high school mails a

transcript to the college or university, the application package is not complete.

Although some high schools have the equipment to convert a transcript to digital form by

scanning and e-mailing the transcript to the institution, many high schools do not yet have such

technology. Moreover, upon receiving a scanned transcript, the institution would still have the

problem of matching the transcript with the application. Lastly, the large number of high schools

and institutions, combined with the many different data formats available, makes electronic data

transfer directly between high schools and institutions a difficult problem.

Summary of the Invention

An object of the invention is paperless processing of admission applications. Another object of the invention is to present a complete electronic applications package to

an institution

Another object of the invention is to allow high schools with technology limited to a simple

fax machine to provide electronic transcπpts in a form useful to an institution

Still another object of the invention is to allow electronic admissions applications to be

sufficiently complete for processing without reqmπng mailing of attachments.

Yet another object of the invention is to facilitate the attachment of documents from any of

multiple sources to an electronic form to be transmitted to any of multiple destinations

Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from

the detailed descπption and drawings of the invention

In accordance with the invention, an electronic copy of a high school transcπpt can be

attached to an electronic application for admission to an institution The high school providing the

transcπpt is required to have only a simple fax machine When a student requests that a transcπpt

accompany an electronic application, a request for the transcπpt is automatically generated by the

application servicer and transmitted to the high school The request includes a return facsimile cover

sheet that includes an identifier that can be automatically machine-interpreted when the cover sheet

is transmitted back to the servicer with the transcπpt The identifier marking is sufficiently robust

that it will be machine mterpretable, even after rough treatment or serial copying and transmission

by the high school Upon receipt of the transcπpt facsimile, the servicer automatically interprets the

identifying information on the return facsimile cover sheet to identify the student and the particular

admissions application for which the transcπpt was request The transcπpt is forwarded preferably along with application to the appropriate institution after being converted, if necessary, to a data format specified by the institution.

The servicer may also store the transcript in electronic form in a secure database. When the

student completes another application for admission to a different institution or a different term, the

electronic copy of the transcript can be attached to the new application without requiring another

transmission from the high school. Each facsimile cover sheet is preferably "branded" with the logo

of the institution to which the student is applying, although the return facsimile number is preferably

a toll free number to a computer facsimile server of the servicer. Thus, the servicer can be invisible to the high school.

The system of the present invention eliminates the requirement for the institution to match

up a later-received paper transcript with an earlier received electronic application. It also simplifies

the high school's job of sending transcripts because the high school does not need to read and

understand the student's request, verify the student's signature, identify the institution to which the

transcript is to be mailed, generate a transmittal letter, and address and put postage on an envelope.

A facsimile request in accordance with the invention is in a standard, easy to read format and the

high school merely reads the clearly identified student name and transmits the transcript to the toll

free number using the cover sheet provided.

The invention is not limited to use with high school transcripts and admissions applications,

but is useful in any situation in which documents from multiple providers need to be associated

together and forwarded to a document recipient. In particular, the invention can be used when one

or more documents from one or more document providers from a first group of document providers needs to be associated with an electronic form for transmission to one or more members of a group

of recipients. The invention solves the problem of collating multiple documents from multiple

sources of varying technological capacities for forwarding to multiple recipients.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present

invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better

understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which

form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art

that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for

modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention.

It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart

from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof,

reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying

drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is ablock diagram showing multiple applicants, high schools, and institutions sharing

transcript information through a servicer.

FIG. 2 is flow chart showing steps of a method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is flow chart showing additional steps of a method of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware and software used in carrying the method

of FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 5 shows a simplified drawing of a package including a return facsimile transmitted by

the high school to the servicer.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing institutions contacting high schools to enlist them in the

system.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the flow of information in a preferred embodiment of the

present invention, in which students lOa-lOi (referred to generally as student 10) can submit

electronic admission applications including electronic copies of transcripts from high schools 12a-

12d (refeπed to generally as high school 12) over a computer network 14, such as the Internet, to

institutions 16a, 16b, 16c, or 16d (referred to generally as institution 16).

The admissions applications are preferably administered by a servicer 18 that can present

an application that is customized and branded for any institution. Servicer 18 can also verify

application filing time windows, maintain student information to populate fields of subsequent

application, customize the format of the application data for each institution, provide standardized

test scores from the tester's database, and handle the electronic payment of the application fee.

Servicer 18 may also provided other services to the students and institutions, such as recruiting

and school-student matching assistance. FIGS.2 and 3 show the steps involved in a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

and FIG. 4 shows some of the hardware and software used in those steps. A student 10 uses a

student computer 26, such as an IBM compatible or a Macintosh personal computer, to request

over computer network 14, preferably the Internet, an electronic application form from

servicer 18. Servicer 18 operates one or more server computers 28, such as Sun Solaris

UltraSparc Servers, for carrying out the invention. Server computer 28 executes Internet

communications software 32 software, such as Apache HTTPD Server from The Apache Group,

www.apache.org, to communicate over the Internet. Server computers 28 also executes,

preferably behind a firewall, forms software 34, such as the Universal Forms Engine described

in U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 09/325,533, for generating and processing application forms. Server

computer 28 also executes facsimile transmission and receiving software 38, such as HylaFAX™

available from hylafax.org, and image recognition software 40, such as OCR Shop software

available from Vividata, Inc. for sending and receiving facsimiles and for converting facsimile

images into text. Server 28 includes data storage 42 for storing information used in carrying out

the invention. Skilled persons will understand that, although server 28 is depicted as a single

computer, separate computers are preferably used for Internet communications, facsimile

communications, and for application execution. The software operating on the various computers

communicate with each other using standard protocols such as CGI or Apache API.

As student 10 completes each page of an application, the data typically undergoes some

preliminary data verification. After student 10 has completed all the pages of the application, as shown in step 46, the servicer is ready to attach addition forms, process the application fee, and

transmit the application to the institution.

At this time, step 48 shows that forms engine 34, checks information in data storage 42

to see whether the student's high school 12 participates in the transcript program. Each high

school has a unique identifier. The identifier could be, for example, the ACT/CEEB standard

high school code, another code, or some combination of the high school name and address. The

names and/or codes of the high schools participating in the program are maintained in a database.

The name or code of the student's high school is available to the CGI program because it had

processed previous pages of the application, one of which included the name of the high school.

Step 48 also shows that the CGI program checks to determine whether the institution to

which the student is applying accepts electronic transcripts with its electronic applications. If

either condition is not met, the forms engine processes the application fee and transmits the

application to an institution computer 54 at institution 16 in step 56. If both conditions are met,

the forms engine presents information to student 10 describing the electronic transcript system,

including the fee, if any, and presents student 10 with an option in step 58 to transmit a

transcript with the application.

If the student indicates that no electronic transcript is to be sent, the regular application

fee is processed and the application is forwarded to the institution in step 56. If the student

indicates that he desires a transcript to be sent with his application, the forms engine checks in

step 68 to see whether there is a transcript fee waiver agreement between the institution and the

high school. In a transcript fee waiver agreement, the institution may agree to pay the cost of the transcript for the student. Institutions may use such agreements with high schools in low

income areas. Moreover, such agreements encourage the students to use the electronic transcript

service, thereby simplifying application processing for the institution, which does not then need

to process the paper transcript. If there is a transcript fee waiver agreement in place, step 70

shows that the application fee alone is processed. If there is no transcript fee waiver agreement,

step 72 shows that the application fee and the transcript fee are processed. Processing a fee

entails initiating the electronic funds transfer process to pay for the transaction.

The forms engine then checks in step 78 to see whether a cuπent transcript is available

in a secure transcript database 82 in data storage 42. If a current transcript is available, the

transcript in electronic form is attached to the electronic application and both are sent in step 84

in electronic form to institution computer 54 at the institution 16. An indication in the transmittal

data for the application informs the institution that a transcript is attached.

If secure transcript database 82 does not include a current transcript, step 86 shows that

the forms engine checks to see whether the institution is willing to accept the application with the

transcript to follow. If so, step 90 shows that the application is transmitted to an institution

computer 54 with a flag indicating that a transcript has been ordered but is not attached. In most _

cases, institution 16 will prefer that servicer 18 retain the application until a transcript is available

and can be attached to the application. In step 92, a request for the transcript is automatically

generated and transmitted to the high school, typically via facsimile. A fax machine 96 at the

high school receives the request. The request identifies the student that is requesting the

transcript, preferably by name and student identification number. The request also includes a facsimile cover sheet 98 (FIG. 5) for high school 12 to use when transmitting the transcript back

to servicer 18. FIG. 5 shows the transcript package returned via facsimile from the high school

high school 12 to servicer 18. The return facsimile cover sheet 98 includes machine-interpretable

identifying information 100 so that the transcript following the cover sheet can be readily

associated with the proper student and application at servicer 18 without human intervention.

For example, the identifying information can be in the form of alphanumeric characters

in a font that is readable by commercial optical character recognition software or in the form of

bar code. Such fonts and bar codes and their interpreters are well known in the art. Identifying

information 100 on facsimile cover sheet 98 must be robust so that it will be machine

recognizable, even after rough treatment and serial photocopying and facsimile transmission by

the high school. Identifying information 100 is therefore preferably in a very large optical

character recognition (OCR) font or bar code. Although FIG. 5 shows identifying information

in both bar code and character format, either format alone is sufficient. The identifying

information could include, for example, an order identifier including a code for the institution to

which the application is addressed, the student's user identifier and a date-time code indicating

when the application was submitted.

Upon receiving the transcript request on its facsimile machine 96, high school 12 obtains

a copy of the student's transcript from its files or database in step 108 (FIG. 3) and in step 110

transmits the copy via facsimile to a toll free number 112 specified on the return facsimile cover

sheet 98. In some embodiments, a facsimile trailing sheet 114 is also included in the request transmitted to high school 12. The trailing sheet 114 is used by the automated software at

servicer 18 to signal the end of a multi-page transcript 116.

The facsimile of the high school transcript 116 and cover sheet 98 from the high school

is received by a computer 28 at servicer 18 in step 120. A program in a facsimile server portion

of computer 28 converts the data from facsimile format to a data format that can be processed by

the appropriate interpretation software 40 to interpret in step 126 the identifying information 100

on the cover sheet 98. For example, the facsimile data may be converted to a standard graphics

file that can be used with optical character or bar code recognition software. Such software is

well known in the art. The identifying information is then interpreted and the transcript is

matched with a specific student and application. Thus, facsimile information from the high

school is preferably processed automatically, entirely in electronic form, and it need not be

printed.

Step 128 shows that if the transmission was unsuccessful, either because the cover page

could not be matched with an application or because the complete facsimile was not received, a

request for retransmission is sent to the high school in step 130, preferably as part of a periodic

status report describing the status of all pending transcript requests. When the transcript is

successfully received and the cover sheet is interpreted and matched with an application,

servicer 18 transmits an acknowledgment in step 132 to the sending high school either

individually for each transcript or as part of a status report.

In step 134, the electronic version of the transcript is stored in secure, encrypted storage 82

at servicer 18. In step 136, the forms engine determines whether the application was previously transmitted to the institution without a transcript. If so, step 142 shows that the transcript is

forwarded to the institution, where it is matched to the application in step 144, and receipt of the

transcript is acknowledged in step 148. In the more common case in which the application was

held by servicer 18 pending receipt of transcript 32, servicer 18 now automatically attaches

transcript 116 to the application in step 150 and forwards the package to the institution in

step 152. Institution 16 can store the received transcript as part of the admissions application for

viewing when they review the transcript, or it can print the transcript and maintain it in a physical

file. In step 148, the institution acknowledges receipt of the electronic transcript, preferably as

part of a periodic status update. Servicer 18 can provide the transcript in any electronic format

specified by the institution

An expiration date can be assigned to stored transcript 116, after which time it will not be

used. High schools can be requested to automatically update the transcripts stored in the

transcript database 82 at periodic intervals. Servicer 18 sends status reports to each high

school 12 periodically, providing status information of pending transcripts request, transcripts

received, and requests for re-transmittal (i. e. , in the case that the received document was illegible).

The system is preferably integrated into a complete applications system, that can access,

for example, standardized test results and provide those results as part of admissions applications

to institutions 16, thereby ensuing the integrity of the scores on the application and obviating the

need to have the testing entity mail the scores to the institution.

Like the application itself, a transcript contains private information that cannot be released

without authorization from the student. When a student completes an application with the servicer, the student can authorize transmission of the transcript. The servicer requires a credit

card number to process any transaction, thereby providing a level of security by identifying the

transcript requestor. Moreover, transcripts are transmitted only to the servicer, who forwards the

transcripts only to institutions registered with it and specified by the student.

A transcript can be transmitted via facsimile from any high school that is willing to accept

a request from the servicer and return the facsimile request using the return facsimile cover sheet.

It is desirable, however, for high schools to register with the institution or servicer so that they

can be instructed in the system and be assured that any transcript request has been authorized by

the student. Because transmission of the facsimile copy of the transcript from the high school to

servicer 18 is typically over telephone lines and not over the open Internet, the transcript need not

be encrypted during that transmission.

One method of registering participating high schools, shown schematically in FIG. 6, is

to have institutions request that their primary feeder schools participate in the system. The

institution that contacts the high school provides it with a sample facsimile cover sheet and

instructs the high school in using the system. The high school commits to forward transcripts

in a timely manner and review regular status reports to ensure that transcripts are being

transmitted successfully. In return, the high school's administrative overhead associated with

sending transcripts is greatly reduced, and postage costs for transcripts is eliminated. The high

school is no longer required to read and understand each student's transcript request, verify the

student's signature, identify the institution to which the transcript is to be sent, generate a

transmittal letter, and address and post an envelope. Once a high school is registered by one institution, any student of that high school can

have his transcript sent to any institution using servicer 18. Institutions could also be notified by

servicer 18 when a student applies from a high school that is not yet registered, and the institution

or the servicer can contact the high school and enlist it in the program. Institutions that recruit

a high school into the system could add the high school to the database of registered high schools.

In an integrated application system such as the ApplyWeb® system of the assignee, the

status of the transcript request can be displayed in the applicant's 'Personal Log' of the application

processing system. The log can show, for example, that the transcript has been transmitted to the

institution from secure electronic storage or that a request for transcript has been transmitted to

the high school, but the transcript is not yet received.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should

be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without

departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For

example, information in the transcript itself can be interpreted by the automated software and

converted to text, so that the transcript information can be saved as text or data base entries, rather

than as graphical data. Skilled persons will recognize that the invention can be used in a wide

variety of situations in which it is necessary to attach information to a form, such as attaching a

resume or a writing sample to an employment application. The invention could also be

implemented by an individual institution, rather than through a provider that services multiple

institutions. The scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular

embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and

steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from

the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,

means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially

the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the coπesponding embodiments

described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended

claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture,

compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

We claim as follows:

Claims

1. A method of on-line processing of applications for admission to institutions, the

applications requiring as attachments documents obtainable from third parties, comprising:

transmitting over a computer network to an applicant an application form to

complete;

receiving over the computer network from the applicant a competed application;

automatically transmitting to a third party via facsimile a request for a document

to be associated with the application;

receiving from the third party as facsimile data the document along with machine

readable identifying information indicating the application to which the document is to

be associated; and

automatically determining from the facsimile data the identifying information and

associating the facsimile data with the application, whereby the third party uses only a

facsimile transmission device to transmit the document in electronic form and the machine

readable identifying information facilitates automatic matching of the document with the

application at the institution.

2. The method of claim 1 in which:

automatically transmitting to a third party via facsimile a request for a document

to be attached to the application includes transmitting a return facsimile cover sheet to be

used with the return transmission; and returning via facsimile the document along with machine readable identifying

information includes transmitting the return facsimile cover sheet.

3. The method of claim 2 in which the return facsimile cover sheet includes

identifying information in the form a bar code.

4. The method of claim 2 in which the return facsimile cover sheet includes

identifying information in the form of recognizable alphanumeric characters.

5. The method of claim 1 in which the document comprises a transcript.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the document in a file in

electronic facsimile format in association with an applicant, the file being available for subsequent

applications completed by the applicant.

7. The method of claim 1 in which automatically transmitting to a third party includes

verifying that the third party has agreed to return the document via facsimile.

8. The method of claim 1 in which automatically transmitting to a third party includes

verifying that the institution accepts electronic attachments to its applications.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting the application and the

document to the institution.

10. The method of claim 9 in which the application and the document are transmitted

together to the institution.

11. The method of claim 9 in which the application and the document are transmitted

at different times to the institution and the identifying information is used to match the document

with the application.

12. An apparatus for processing electronic forms, the electronic forms requiring

attachment of paper forms from third parties, comprising:

a server transmitting a form to an applicant for completion and for receiving the

completed form posted by the applicant;

a facsimile transmission device for transmitting in accordance with an instruction

from the server a request for a document to be attached to the form , the request including

identifying information for associating the returned document with the form;

a facsimile receiving device for receiving the returned document and identifying

information in facsimile format; and

an automatic interpreter for interpreting the identifying information and

associating the document with a specific form received by the server.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 in which the server transmits the forms and the

document to an institution.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 in which the server transmits the form to the institution

after receiving the document.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 in which the interpreter includes a bar code interpreter.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 in which the interpreter includes an alphanumeric

character recognition.

17. A method of associating first information in electronic form from a first source

with second information in printed form from a second source, the method comprising:

receiving the first information in electronic form over a computer network from

the first source;

transmitting a request for the second information in printed form to the second

source;

receiving the second information in electronic facsimile format from the second

source, the second information including automatically inteφretable identifying

information;

automatically inteφreting the identifying information; and

using the identifying information to automatically associate the printed

information with the electronic information.

18. The method of claim 17 in which transmitting a request for the second information

to the second source includes automatically transmitting a request via facsimile, the request

including a return facsimile cover sheet including the automatically inteφretable identifying

information.

19. The method of claim 17 in which the automatically inteφretable identifying

information includes a bar code.

20. The method of claim 17 in which the automatically inteφretable identifying

information includes alphanumeric characters.

21. The method of claim 17 in which the first information comprises an admissions

application and the second information comprises a transcript.

22. The method of claim 17 in which receiving the first and second information is

received by a third party servicer and further comprising transmitting the first and second

information to an end user of the information.

23. The method of claim 17 further comprising transmitting the second information

and a return facsimile cover sheet including the automatically inteφretable identifying

information in response to the request for the second information

24. The method of claim 17 in which transmitting a request for the second information

includes determining whether the second source has agreed to transmit via facsimile the second

information.