# Hughes Hall Modernise Admissions Processes with Valto Hughes Hall transforms a fragmented, manual admissions workflow into a secure, increasingly automated cloud-based platform – reducing risk, increasing efficiency, and improving applicant experience. Centralised #### Systems and Processes Faster #### Application Processing Secure #### Reducing Cyber Threats **Want to achieve similar results?** [Speak with us here](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#contact-form/index.html) [Customer](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#customer/index.html) [Challenge](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#challenge/index.html) [Solution](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#solution/index.html) [Results](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#results/index.html) [Why Valto?](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#valto/index.html) [Sector Takeaways](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#sector/index.html) ## Institutional Context Across the higher education sector, colleges and parent universities face similar strategic challenges: delivering a seamless student  admissions experience, strengthening compliance and governance, reducing operational risk, and moving away from fragile legacy systems. Hughes Hall’s transformation illustrates how a moder, cloud-based platform can address these goals, providing a blueprint for other institutions seeking efficiency, insight, and scalability. By replacing manual spreadsheets, email-based workflows, and a legacy portal with a single, secure, automated system, Hughes Hall and Valto have created a first of its kind platform that accelerates admissions processing while fully aligning governance expectations. As Hughes Hall put it: “This is the first of its kind. We’re paving a new pathway.” #### Hughes Hall **Hughes Hall is one of the 31 colleges of the University of Cambridge, managing the full student lifecycle from application to senior membership. Each year, the college processes 700-1200 applications. Historically, the admissions process relied heavily on manual workflows, fragmented systems, and spreadsheets – leading to bottlenecks, duplicated effort, and compliance risk.** ## The Challenges Many higher education institutions will recognise Hughes Hall’s pre-transformation challenges: - **Manual, labour‑intensive processing:** Repetitive Excel‑based workflows slowed applicant processing and increased the risk of human error. - **Fragmented student data:** CAMSIS, the University’s central student information system, was difficult to work with directly, creating visibility gaps and a reliance on staff expertise. - **Aging portal and workflows:** The legacy admissions portal required manual document handling, offered limited automation, and became a single point of operational failure. - **Compliance and governance risks:** Email attachments and local spreadsheets increased GDPR concerns and data‑handling vulnerabilities. - **Significant cyber‑risk exposure:** The outdated system posed a real security threat. As Hughes Hall put it: “Our legacy system gets compromised and that is game over.” #### Labour-intensive processing #### Fragmented student data #### Compliance & cyber-risks ## The Solution: The Valto Student Admission Platform The Valto Student Admission Platform, coined ‘Athena’ by the college, is a bespoke Microsoft Cloud-powered platform that delivers a modern, secure, and centralised system for managing admissions and the full student lifecycle. The platform enables: - **Accurate and authoritative data** through seamless CAMSIS integration, ensuring University records flow directly into the college environment. - **Faster, more efficient application processing** by replacing spreadsheets with automated, guided workflows for undergraduate and postgraduate admissions. - **Comprehensive contact management** via a unified database covering students, staff, fellows, and senior members in a single governed directory. - **Secure committee and paper access** with intelligent group assignments, controlled through SharePoint and Entra ID. - **Streamlined digital workflows** using Dataverse, Model‑Driven Apps, Power Automate, and Business Process Flows to guide every admissions step. These outcomes result in a future-proof, cloud-managed platform that improves accuracy, speeds application handling, strengthens compliance, and supports broader college-wide digital transformation. [Previous](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#prev/index.html) [Next](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#next/index.html) [1](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#1/index.html) [2](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#2/index.html) [3](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#3/index.html) [4](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#4/index.html) [5](/content/case-studies/hughes-hall-admissions#5/index.html) [Athena 3](/content/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image-1-1030x554.png "Athena 3"/index.html) [Admissions dashboard](/content/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Admissions-dashboard-1030x516.png "Admissions dashboard"/index.html) [Athena 1](/content/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-10-162407-1-1030x554.png "Athena 1"/index.html) [Athena Solutio Architecture](/content/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Athena-Solutio-Architecture-1030x367.png "Athena Solutio Architecture"/index.html) [Athena 2](/content/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-10-162430-1-1030x554.png "Athena 2"/index.html) ### The Results The Valto Student Admissions Platform is delivering clear benefits: - **Faster application processing** with automated triggers and workflows. - **Reduced duplication and elimination of manual steps**. - **Centralised, secure documentation** through SharePoint. - **Enhanced GDPR compliance** and reduced data handling risk. - **Imroved cyber security**. Hughes Hall leadership emphasises the solutions long-term strategic value: “The Microsoft cloud powered platform will allow us to take the solution a step further by integrating Power BI to pull data and create custom reports and KPI dashboards.” Improved #### Data Accuracy Tightened #### Security and Access Streamlined #### Digital Workflows "What we’ve built will not expire. It will evolve. For Hughes Hall, this means Athena becoming one central system that connects all the systems used across the college through APIs. This is a real game changer and will revolutionise how we operate." Harj Josen IT Manager, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge ## Why Valto **“Valto have gone over and beyond… they’ve gone the extra mile”** Valto’s partnership enabled Hughes Hall to move from spreadsheet-driven admissions to a secure, scalable, fully automated cloud platform, setting a new standard for the sector. Valto was said to deliver both within and beyond scope, whilst working towards ensuring systems are robust, compliant, and future-ready. This breadth of expertise is underpinned by something rare in the market. As holders of all Microsoft Solutions Partner designations, Valto can manage your institution’s entire Microsoft environment from one place, removing vendor complexity and ensuring the same standard of care from first conversation to long-term support. ## Takeaways for the Sector For peer institutions, the Valto Student Admissions Platform demonstrates how a single platform can provide visibility, insight, and governance that fragmented systems can’t match. The Valto Student Admissions Platform is proof that higher education institutions can modernise admissions without losing control over data or compliance. By consolidating workflows, integrating authoritative student data, and automating processes, colleges can save time, reduce risk, and build insights to drive strategic decision making. ## Speak to our Higher Education Transformation Specialists ### Trusted by Universitites and Colleges Across the UK We work with universities and colleges across the UK to modernise the way they operate — reducing admin burden, improving staff experience, and delivering better outcomes for students. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, we bring proven expertise in deploying technology that fits the way HE teams actually work. Tell us about your challenges and we’ll show you how we can help. Your Name: Email Address: Phone Number: How Can We Help? Please leave this field empty. 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