Universities spend huge amounts of staff time every year managing Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) processes. From collecting documents and checking financials to tracking actions, monitoring statuses and staying on top of compliance, the admin load builds quickly.
What’s often missed is how much of that work is manual, repetitive and repeated every intake - regardless of whether teams are processing high-risk applications, high volumes, or managing everything through spreadsheets and inboxes.
The result is the same: skilled admissions and compliance staff are pulled away from the meaningful, student-facing work they do best.
What CAS processing really costs universities
At Enroly, we modelled the workload using data from UK universities issuing around 3,000 CAS per year. Once you account for manual checks, email chains, document reviews and follow-ups, the time involved is substantial.
Our modelling shows that CAS Shield can save the equivalent of around £82,000 in staff time every year, simply by removing unnecessary manual steps.
While institutions vary in size and risk profile, the same manual checks and follow-ups still apply - whether teams are issuing large volumes of CAS or managing smaller, predominantly lower-risk cohorts.
That’s time teams can put back into applicant support, conversion activity and stronger compliance - not more admin.
How we calculated this
The estimate isn’t based on assumptions - it reflects how CAS work actually happens across a typical admissions cycle:
- How long teams typically spend on manual tasks per CAS
- The number of applicants processed each year
- The time saved when document workflows, reminders and communication run automatically
Across a full admissions cycle, universities using CAS Shield see up to an 80% reduction in manual admin time, a major shift in team capacity.
For a university issuing around 3,000 CAS per year, that adds up to thousands of hours of low-value admin removed and given back to admissions and compliance teams right when they need it most.
Efficiency doesn’t weaken compliance, it strengthens it
There’s sometimes a concern that speeding things up means cutting corners. In practice, the opposite is true.
CAS Shield is designed around UKVI requirements, with fully auditable workflows, consistent steps and clear decision-making, and a complete evidence trail for every action.
For universities operating in any market, CAS Shield doesn’t replace good practice. It helps scale it safely, consistently and without gaps.
What this looks like day-to-day
When manual admin is reduced, the difference shows up quickly in day-to-day work:
Fewer repetitive checks
Automated reminders, tasks and document prompts reduce unnecessary back-and-forth.
More time for real applicant support
Teams can focus on helping students, answering questions and resolving issues instead of chasing paperwork.
Happier, less overwhelmed teams
Staff report feeling more in control when routine admin is taken off their plate.
Stronger, more consistent compliance
Every CAS follows the same workflow, with no room for missed steps.
Taken together, these gains can release the equivalent of hundreds of additional working days across a typical admissions cycle.
Smarter systems, not faster shortcuts
CAS Shield doesn’t make teams work faster by skipping steps.
It speeds things up by removing the admin that shouldn’t sit with staff in the first place.
And this efficiency benefit is only one part of the bigger picture. CAS Shield also brings:
- Complete visibility across all applicants in one place
- A smoother, clearer applicant experience
- Higher conversion, thanks to fewer bottlenecks and faster turnaround times
When efficiency, compliance and student experience improve together, universities can scale international admissions with confidence, not pressure.
Performance snapshot
- Up to 63% faster document-checking and processing times
- 50% fewer CAS errors and manual interventions
- 30% reduction in late-stage visa refusals
- Up to 80% reduction in manual admin time
- 100% audit-ready documentation and records
Ready to see what this looks like for your team?
CAS Shield doesn’t make teams work faster by skipping steps. It speeds things up by removing the admin that shouldn’t sit with staff in the first place.
When efficiency, compliance and student experience improve together, universities don’t just move quicker - they move with more confidence.
And over successive intakes, that confidence compounds in exactly the same way manual admin does when nothing changes.
Book a short demo to get a personalised efficiency model based on your university’s CAS volumes and see how much time your team could get back this cycle.
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