UK Retail Banking: Creating a Customer-Centric Branch
Microsoft UK
Published: June 2003
Abstract
This white paper provides an overview of research based on interviews with UK retail banks at the end of 2002. The paper discusses the need to co-ordinate areas of investment in customer-centric bank systems around a service-oriented architecture, rich technology support for customer-facing staff and improvement of the customer‘s interaction with the bank‘s processes. Only by combining these el ements will the customer‘s overall experience of the branch, and the bank, improve.
The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN
THIS DOCUMENT.
Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.
? 2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgements
A number of Microsoft partners have been instrumental in creating
this paper, and we would like to pass on our thanks to:
AIT Group
Allen-International Ltd
DPR Consulting
Financial Objects plc
Fincentric Corporation
NCR
Unisys
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UK Retail Banking: Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003
Overview
The resurgence of the branch and its re-acceptance as a major customer channel for retail banking means that all of the major high street banks are currently considering or developing strategies to revitalise their branch assets.
In the past, change has focused on the interests of the bank, rather than the customer. But customers are maturing and their relationships with, and perceptions of, the high street bank are changing. The majority now see through advertising, and are judging institutions, both new and old, on the quality of their service. For banks to retain their existing customers, increase footfall in their branches, effectively cross-sell and attract new customers, they need to address customer needs and create a customer-centric experience. No matter how much time and money is spent on other channels, a poor branch experience can taint an otherwise satisfied customer‘s view of the brand, leaving them more open to competitors‘ marketing.
Re-defining the branch and its role in the channel mix is key to maximising its value to both the bank and its customers. But upgrading the branch must go further than purely cosmetic changes; there is a need to embrace a change in service and attitudes. Staff must be freed from spending the majority of their time carrying out administrative duties and given more time to talk to and build relationships with account holders.
Over the past decade, the banking world has undergone a drastic change in its structure and practices. As banks have turned to technology in an effort to reduce staffing levels and shave costs, customers have been pushed away from traditional banking channels such as the branch towards using external ATMs, the Internet and interactive voice response systems. For cost saving purposes, banks would like their customers to confine all but the most complex of tasks to these channels.
But in general, it is clear that retail customers are still reliant on interaction with bank staff. This is proven by customers being willing to queue for a period of time either in the branch or on the phone to get personal service. The next generation of branch and multi-channel systems now available provide banks with an opportunity to encourage customers to use low-cost channels for low-value servicing and transaction requests, so that bank staff are free for sales duties. By employing the latest customer relationship management (CRM) technology, banks can help their customer-facing staff within the branch to become more effective sales advisors – trusted, or at least tolerated, by the customer.
Banks that can‘t persuade their retail customers to adopt this ?right-channel‘ approach will have to endure the high costs associated with a customer base still dependent on bank staff for routine servicing.
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UK Retail Banking : Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003
4 Research results
At the end of 2002, Microsoft UK conducted interviews with retail banks to understand what they wanted to achieve with the branch channel. The
research showed that primarily, banks want to become organisations that are easy to do business with, as this will help drive up revenues by encouraging greater sales. They also want to create efficiency in the branch by automating manual processes, and enable the flow of information and funds through the organisation so that customers benefit from a reduction in process times and in the errors caused by human intervention.
Banks want to fully utilise their staff in the branch throughout bank working hours. They also want to ensure that employees are fully occupied throughout the working day with useful, revenue-generating work, even though customer flow into the branch runs in peaks and troughs. Banks want to reduce the amount of paper handling that branch administration staff are responsible for. Banks do not necessarily want to reduce the number of staff working in
branches, they would rather ensure that staff are better utilised in the branch and perhaps retrained to make them more efficient sales people. This means customers receive advice and are sold products based on an in-depth relationship because staff knowledge is more detailed and focused.
To improve the customer experience, banks want to improve complaints handling and reduce ?handoffs‘. This term refers to the continuous handing over of a customer from department to department during, for example, a complaint investigation. This handoff encourages errors and delays the resolution of the issue, as each new department has to obtain all the
information about the customer and their problem again. This causes severe frustration for the customer and entails large administrative costs for the bank.
Following a review of the banks‘ responses and interviews, it is clear that there are three separate but interdependent areas where technology can be incrementally improved for the branch. It is also apparent that progress is needed in all three areas if the customer experience is to be significantly enhanced.
The three areas cover:
? Customer-centric banking applications;
? Technology support for customer-facing staff; ? Creating a rich experience for the customer.
Survey trends:
Mergers and acquisitions
Strong branding is required to signal change and to maintain brand integrity. It is also an
opportunity to build the bank's brand proposition.
Banks learning to be retailers
Banks can use good retailing techniques to make a branch v isit an enjoy able and productiv e experience. The leaders in this space are still other retailers entering into the f inancial serv ices industry.
Investment banking
The trend started in the USA with Charles
Schwab and E-Trade off ering inv estment products to the man in the street. There are large
opportunities at the retail branch lev el to promote inv estment products to new consumers as world economies recov er.
Channel migration
Banks around the world continue to migrate customers to alternativ e banking channels e.g. ATM's, self -serv ice, telephone banking and the Internet.
Segmentation
There is an increasing f ocus on mass market
tailoring, catering to indiv idual consumer needs by dev eloping products and branch env ironments that appeal to the more prof itable customer segments.
Cost efficiency
A v ery important trend f or most banks is to increase customer impact through reduced
branch costs. An ideal f ormula would be 20% cost f or 80% impact. Cost-effectiv ely dev eloping a ?kit of parts‘ improv es the customer experience at branch lev el, increases sales rev enues and improv es customer relationships.
In-store banking
Bank branches are now relocating to where the people are – supermarkets, shopping malls, railway stations, and airports etc. The trend in some countries is to open kiosk outlets to serv e customer needs in Bank in a Box? f ormats. These are v ery sales orientated, in high traffic f low areas, help build the bank's brand and are cost effective to implement.
Brand image and value at branch level A current design trend is to communicate the bank's image and brand v alues at branch lev el, making the customer‘s branch v isit one that is memorable and exciting, but which also
underlines the core brand v alues of the bank.
Customer-centric banking applications
The architectural roadmap is an important strategic concern for a bank.
The approach referred to as service-oriented architecture holds the key to customer-centric banking appli cations. It lays out how today‘s systems can evolve in three important ways: by separating data and function; by moving to a distributed multi-tier approach; and by exposing functionality as a service.
First, customer data must be separated from legacy applications where each application has its customer data stored within it. Banks have implemented customer databases, but few projects have made the CRM system the source of all customer data.
Since the first wave of CRM projects after Y2K, banks are now looking at the wider issue of customer interaction management. This is the process of first integrating delivery channel technologies and then making customer knowledge work by bringing the results of analysis to the channels where the customers interact with the bank. It is extremely valuable to understand the profitability of a particular customer segment, and today‘s delivery channel solutions are making that and other kinds of analysis actionable by providing the information at the point of customer contact.
Second, most branch-based systems are client/server –you can‘t change the front end without changing the back end. This is an inhibitor to change. There is a requirement for a strong middle-tier solution capable of separating the back end from the front end and enabling business logic that can integrate new services with a legacy system.
The integration problem is not just at the back end (integrating transactions across ?books of record‘ systems), but also in the middle tier. CRM, business intelligence (BI), analytics and business rules support must all be exposed as services, alongside the transactions, to the multi-channel distribution platform.
CRM systems available today can provide banks with an easily accessible, quick overview of all of the relationships that an individual customer has with the home institution. This view can also extend to relationships with competitive banks where the customer has provided that data, for example as part of a financial health-check, or from aggregation systems. In addition, an advanced CRM system, such as Fincentric‘s WealthView, can provide a bank with a clear understanding of all the related relationships that are relevant to a customer, for example spouse, child relationships and business/personal relationships. Dav e Patel of DPR Consulting expands on
serv ice-orientated architecture:
The serv ice-orientated architecture (SOA) paradigm is a new way or thinking about an organisation's existing inf ormation serv ices. An SOA reuses current sy stems in a standardised manner, turning legacy applications into real, tangible IT assets.
Many organisations hav e already succeeded with XML Web serv ice implementations that solv e discrete internal integration problems. Ty pically, these encapsulate, wrap and expose legacy
sy stems as atomic XML Web serv ices. Once the encapsulation is complete, those serv ices are
av ailable on the internal network to meet current and f uture requirements of the business. Companies that take this approach f ind new uses f or old data and f unctionality, and discov er that the cost of accessing that inf ormation is
signif icantly reduced.
The next stage f or these organisations is to
lev erage their XML Web serv ices strategically with a loosely coupled, standards-based SOA.
The core model in an SOA is a set of coarse-grained business serv ices that encapsulate and expose IT f unctionality throughout the business and bey ond. In an SOA, dev elopers construct serv ices to be as simple and broadly usef ul as possible. The resulting serv ices are then reusable in a v ariety of situations.
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UK Retail Banking : Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003
6 As customer-centric systems provide more services, customer
intelligence forms part of an enterprise-wide decision support system that helps a bank to apply customer information when:
? Supplying front line service representatives with practical and timely
information needed to recognise a cross -selling opportunity or suggest an appropriate treatment strategy for a customer;
? Identifying valuable customers (and future value customers) to prompt service representatives with the information to deliver a differentiated level of service;
? Providing customer service representatives with a complete view of the customer that enables them to deliver appropriate product recommendations and actions.
The challenge is to deploy effective packaged solutions, as well as build and integrate in-house solutions across a mix of platforms. Fortunately, there is consensus across the financial services industry that the easiest way to integrate disparate systems is by using XML and Web s ervices. Another
advantage of using XML Web services is that the same integration technology can also be used for integrating trading partners and suppliers (B2B) as well as across multiple customer delivery channels (B2C). This results in a middle tier that is based on a service-oriented architecture and can deliver across
multiple channels.
Technology support for customer-facing staff
Staff in the branch are trained to interact with customers. All the roles such as teller, sales and customer service need access to timely, accurate information and systems to resolve customer enquiries. While the pressure to move transactions from teller to self-service has been significant, and some simple transactions can be diverted, the teller also represents the most obvious point of face-to-face contact. Unless intercepted by another member of bank staff, the teller may be the only opportunity for the bank to engage with the customer.
Evolving branch model
Bank branches commonly consist of the following functions: teller, sales dviser, self-service and administration/back office. Microsoft found that most banks are moving administration functions out of the branch as centralised resources have a lower cost base. Technology is enabling banks to relocate or automate administrative functions and migrate to a simpler branch structure characterised by only two business functions: improved self-service ATMs or kiosks (replacing many of the tasks performed by tellers) and sales. The number of tellers is minimised and the remaining headcount focused on high value sales roles, leading to greater volume of sales and higher revenue.
Using this model, the branch becomes a location for customers to manage their accounts via self-service terminals with the option of staff support. It also becomes a place for customers to meet specialist advisers and a way for a bank to promote itself as a trusted brand and maximise cross-selling opportunities.
This simplified branch design also results in a cleaner business environment and helps re-enforce in the customer‘s mind what a next-generation branch is for. From a customer perspective, branches become the place to go to get financial advice.
Retailing
In support of this sales focus, banks are becoming more rigorous about applying retailing techniques to branch banking. We are seeing modern branch designs that could be easily mistaken for designer shops where brand values and design dictate the kind of experience that banks would like their customers to have.
But transforming a customer experience cannot be achieved by remodelling alone. These changes must be accompanied by fostering an effective sales culture that links to staff training and competency issues.
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UK Retail Banking : Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003
8 Increasing footfall in the branch
Driving up the number of customers flowing through the branch is one of the goals of the new banking model. A good way to do this is with a multi-channel appointment booking system. Such a system serves two purposes. First, it ensures that branch sales people are fully occupied with pre-qualified sales appointments throughout the working day. Enquiries made by a prospective or existing customer to the branch, Internet channel or call centre about a particular product or service that requires face-to-face consultancy can be channelled to the branch. The call centre can access the diary of the branch sales team remotely and enter appointments on behalf of the sales adviser. The booking system can match properly qualified advisors to corresponding product opportunities. The system also maintains a record of meeting room availability, and so is an effective tool for getting interested customers into a room with the right branch representative. The second advantage is that the appointment booking system encourages customers to call the shots,
selecting the branch location and the time of the appointment. Because the customer has initiated the discussion, they are more likely to attend the appointment and the likelihood of a sale is much greater.
Improving customer relationship management
As the key distribution channel in retail banking, the branch should be the
main focus for upgrading and differentiating customer experience. This can be achieved through the implementation of a fully integrated CRM system. Using a CRM system, the bank can maintain a single organisation-wide view of customers. All of a customer‘s contact with a bank can be recorded, digitised and annotated. There are several advantages to this approach:
Complaint handling: any communication between the cus tomer and the bank can be recorded digitally so it is possible to review the issue even if an alternative member of staff has to progress the problem. Whenever a
customer contacts the branch, staff can easily access customer details and respond to the quer y based on an understanding of the customer‘s personal financial situation.
Preparation: a sales adviser can access all of a customer‘s records and understand the customer ahead of the appointment, enabling them to offer targeted advice.
Profitability assessment: as a segment of CRM, a customer value
management (CVM) approach enables a bank to assess the profitability or potential profitability of every customer. This enables the bank to target customers more intelligently according to their likelihood of investment in additional products. More controversially, CVM can enable a bank to decide whether a customer is profitable enough to warrant personal service.
CRM systems such as Portrait from AIT, pictured on the next page, differ from first-generation, data-centric CRM in four critical ways:
? They are process-centric, with a business process engine that makes it easy to design and deploy new customer interactions;
? They are re-configurable so that new configurations, rules, processes and interfaces can be generated speedily;
? They are designed to integrate so that customer data can remain in the
systems and data stores where it naturally lives. This makes integrating with existing back-end systems easier;
? Finally, modern CRM systems support multiple channels. New products and business processes can be automatically deployed to the Web, the call centre and the branch – anywhere a bank has customer contact.
Real customer-centricity
As Jerry Silv a of TowerGroup points out, although banks hav e talked about the importance of customer-centricity f or y ears, and though most banking executiv es recognise the v alidity of the concept, powerf ul political and compensatory f orces hav e impeded banks from organisational alignment around a customer-centric philosophy. Only a few institutions hav e taken that crucial f irst step towards customer-centricity of hav ing all
deliv ery channel activ ities under one management structure, prov iding consistency in strategy direction and dev elopment of serv ices.
Silv a also notes: ―The second key to success is to hav e technology that supports the new customer-centric organisation. Customer interaction management is the process of first integrating deliv ery channel technologies and then making customer knowledge work by bringing the
products of analy sis to the channels where the customers interact with the bank. While it is v aluable to understand the prof itability of any particular customer segment through analy sis, today ‘s deliv ery channel solutions are making that and other kinds of analy sis actionable by using the inf ormation at the point of customer contact. Targeted marketing, personalisation, and
predictiv e behav iour/response capabilities are some examples of customer interaction management made possible by the latest
technology offerings. These solutions also cross diff erent deliv ery channels, usually supporting branch, call centre and online banking f rom the same platf orm. The integration of these channels enables the customer to benef it f rom consistency of experience across the bank‘s channels.‖
The challenge is to simplify and reduce the cost of delivering a range of rich applications and services to staff in the branch. Microsoft can help banks reduce IT complexity through:
?Stepwise migration, with co-existence between .NET and older systems such as UNIX and green screen applications;
?Simplifying the execution environment to reduce support and maintenance costs by using a single base operating system across device, laptop, Tablet PC, desktop, server and data centre.
Microsoft can also create a rich experience for branch staff through:
?Online and offline support for all levels of application – both standalone and rich applications for the branch – without the distribution costs or complexities of client/server;
?Support for roaming sales advisors using disconnected client capability
in .NET or applications built on XML;
?Collaboration and communication tools for fast resolution of enquiries and complaints;
? A multimedia-learning environment to maintain staff skills;
?Wide device support (Desktop, ATM, Tablet, PDA, Smartphone, etc) to
support branch ergonomics.
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UK Retail Banking : Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003
10 Creating a rich experience for the customer
The customer‘s experience of a bank extends across all of the bank‘s
interfaces. While customers complain about voice routing systems, a wasted trip to a branch uses up even more time, effort and goodwill.
The advantage of coherent booking systems such as branch diaries and collaboration tools is the ability to extend communication between the bank and customer. For specific products where the sales person is regulated, such as life and pensions, some solutions exist. But banks are also looking for solutions to support the sales process for simple products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.
A much richer, more helpful, intuitive self-service experience can successfully wean customers away from expensive (human-assisted) servicing
mechanisms for the appropriate transactions. Customers should be able to self-serve in the branch, at home or on the move, and the learning and experience of these devices should be consistent and reinforcing.
Organisational factors also play a part, as different business units are
responsible for different channels and different products. The technology now supports a new structure based on front, middle and back office
responsibilities with revenue allocated by product and channel, but with primary responsibility aligned with customer channels.
Targeted marketing, personalisation and predictive behaviour or response capabilities are some examples of customer interaction management made possible by current technology. These mid-tier solutions can be made available across different delivery channels, and can support branch, call centre and online banking from the same platform. This integration enables the customer to benefit from a consistent experience across the bank‘s channels.
To understand the benefits of customer interaction management, it is
important to consider how technology can affect the sales process lifecycle across areas such as awareness, interest, decision and advocacy.
Technology can also improve the individual ?conversion‘ measurements at each stage of the pipeline, as well as improving the customer‘s overall experience inside and outside the branch.
So what do customers now want f rom a v isit to a branch?
? They want to be treated like indiv iduals by their bank;
? They want their bank to be accessible when, where and how they want – usually the closest branch to work or home;
? They want their branch to remember them in terms of the relationships they hav e with the bank;
? They want their problems to be solv ed efficiently and without error, in one touch; ? They want their bank to speak to them in a language that they understand, without jargon; ? They want the bank to anticipate their needs.
There are many customer interaction scenarios that can be supported if the bank makes these functions available as Web services:
?Making appointments on the Web;
?Checking balances online;
?Authorising transfers;
?Communicating about potential fraudulent activity;
?Notifications for mortgage processing;
?Collaboration with real estate or solicitors.
These functions can be best enabled by linking to the Web service infrastructure that Microsoft is building out for consumers. Examples include: .NET Alerts and MapPoint; online services such as MSN Money for aggregation of financial information; and Microsoft Money and Digita Tax Saver products for the home PC.
But these Web services also support the customer‘s in-branch experience and enable sales/customer advisers to work outside of the branch if a customer‘s request has to be dealt with at the customer‘s location. Activebank 2 Internet banking from Financial Objects uses Microsoft technologies to support a range of channels and connect to the core business functionality driven by a common XML Web service. This approach enables an off-line loan application on the Tablet PC. The Tablet PC is automatically loaded with the client‘s account details and transaction history prior to a sales call to the customer‘s home or work place. The loan application can then be processed and entered into the system, validating against funding and settlement accounts using the same client processing as when a PC is connected directly to the core application.
UK Retail Banking: Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003 11
Customers want a bank that addresses complaints
In a customer-centric world, complaints from customers must be taken very seriously. When a customer makes a formal complaint to the bank they tend to already be disenchanted with the service they have received. It is therefore imperative that the bank provides the customer with the assurance that their complaint is being dealt with appropriately and that a prompt response will be made.
It is possible for a bank to be regarded positively in spite of a complaint if it is dealt with properly and promptly without delay. If the complaint is not resolved it can do irreparable damage to the customer relationship, possibly leading to the customer severing the relationship all together.
Complaints need to be treated at two levels, first with a timely fix, ensuring that the customer is satisfied. Secondly, they need to be addressed at the macro or organisational learning level. This requires the creation of a customer advocacy group to examine the complaint system and ensure that the bank learns from the experiences. This group must ensure that all systemic issues are put right and the quality of the service to customers is rising measured by diminishing complaints.
The challenge in creating a rich customer experience is that customers want to manage their finances when, where and how they want across a number of access points, wi thout repeated or wasted visits to the branch. Microsoft‘s model for the branch environment is customer-centric. It builds on the consumer experience (Windows XP and Web services adoption) to provide information, alerts and communication with the bank across multiple devices. It also provides the customer with control of his finances by downloading, aggregating and integrating information with personal finance packages at home or on the Internet.
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UK Retail Banking: Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003
Infrastructure for the branch
Microsoft provides the key components required for branch infrastructure. Various technologies and products are assembled into a branch software stack by Microsoft and its partners.
Windows XP Professional is recommended as the operating system for the client workstations, laptops and Tablet PCs. This release has many significant improvements and provides a reliable, secure and functionally rich platform for retail banking applications and personal productivity. Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 are available for the branch server. But there is much more required for a capable branch stack.
Caching
Typically, branch network architectures were designed for limited traffic between the branch and central data centres. The traffic that they were designed to transfer was text-based mainframe transactional data. As banks seek to take advantage of richer data between branch and data centre – such as training material, application components, intranet content and even enabling customers to access the Internet from branches – the networks of today must be upgraded to cope with the increasing traffic.
There are a number of options to manage escalating needs, improve performance and usability levels, including:
?Upgrading bandwidth (a continuous programme);
?Developing applications that use little bandwidth – or are designed to take advantage of caching;
?Caching at the branch;
?Content distribution – effectively pre-caching or pre-positioning commonly used content overnight or during quiet network times;
?Thin-client solutions where only screen dumps are transmitted to the branch.
For branch networks, thin-client solutions are problematic, as low latency is a requirement of these systems and therefore bandwidth needs to be well managed and highly available. Should network connectivity fail for any reason, no access can be enabled locally. In addition, if data files are needed in the branch, for example when printing, this print traffic can take up large amounts of bandwidth.
Microsoft has found significant benefits are available to customers who choose to locate cache servers in their branches – either on the branch server or as a separate device or appliance. In environments where commonly used sites are part of working life – such as using an Intranet – Microsoft has seen customers achieve 92 per cent cached content from such devices, resulting in huge network savings. Browser-based applications can also be accelerated
as only the dynamic portion of the application is refreshed. This makes them more usable, especially in a bandwidth-constrained environment.
UK Retail Banking: Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003 13
Security
Network security within retail banking has typically been focused on the points of connection to the Internet in the data centre. Defences such as firewalls, intrusion detection and content security including anti-virus, active code blocking (Java and Active X) and URL filtering have all been traditionally located in the data centre. Encryption of data between branch and the data centre is likely to be an increasing requirement as IP networks are shared, even if they are provided as private leased lines.
At present, few, if any, bank networks have firewalls or other pure network security devices at the branch level. The sheer number of sites involved makes this cost prohibitive, and there are also issues with managing and controlling policies on remote devices. But the branch stack can include additional security at the branch network level. Using the branch server as a cache server to improve network performance also improves security at branch level with the same infrastructure. The combination of Windows Server with Windows XP desktops and two-factor authentication from smart cards or tokens in the branches provides effective security directly at the branch level.
IT Management
The Windows platform delivers enterprise-class availability. To deliver performance and availability at the branch, the use of appropriate management tools is required across the spectrum of operational processes.
Microsoft provides a suite of management functionality and tools focused on the operational aspects of Microsoft desktop and server products. These include the Microsoft Systems Management Server product to cater for change and configuration management across the desktop and server estate, and Microsoft Operations Manager to underpin performance, event management and capacity planning of the branch infrastructure.
Microsoft brings unique and valuable input to branch infrastructure discussions. The Microsoft branch stack meets all the requirements for branch systems while reducing operational complexity and delivering a low cost approach that scales for the largest branch networks.
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UK Retail Banking: Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003
Next Steps
The greatest challenge lies not in defining the ideal, but instead in dealing with the inertia of existing systems and understanding what small steps can be taken first. In general, there is reticence to touch what isn‘t broken or replace existing infrastructure. Any new investment has to link directly to the sales process; measured by improving conversion rates, removing bottlenecks or reducing cycle times.
But branch infrastructure is being upgraded and bandwidth improved. The service-oriented architecture approach enables legacy functions to be integrated with new systems. New devices are being tested and staff trained as the branch evolves.
To this end, Microsoft and its partners can support incremental change and engage with your branch renewal team at the architecture, business and branch levels. Microsoft understands broad customer engagement. Retail bank customers are the same consumers that buy products and services from Microsoft and MSN. Microsoft is able to leverage this understanding.
There are a number of immediate steps that can be made quickly and simply to start to improve the customer experience:
?Branch diaries booked on the Web or via the call centre;
?Notification of account activity or application completion via customer-centric infrastructure such as .NET Alerts;
?Digital recording of complaints for later access by all parties;
?Support for roaming sales advisers visiting customers at home and at work.
Microsoft and its partners are already delivering service-oriented architecture engagements to financial services customers, building on their investment in architectural patterns. Microsoft has a strong partner model, leveraging the experience of companies such as Accenture, HP, CGEY, BT, NCR and Unisys to help integrate systems and deliver solutions.
Microsoft has the resources and capabilities to help banks further understand Microsoft‘s unique capability in .NET, which enables the creation of rich client applications that can be easily distributed and managed as well as working when disconnected.
As branch staff transform from tellers to sales advisors and as banks build in-depth relationships with their customers, connecting customer-centric applications through technology for the branch staff is important. Enabling the customer to choose how, when and where they interact will improve the customer‘s experience of the branch, and the bank overall, and will encourage them to remain loyal, revenue generating customers.
UK Retail Banking: Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003 15
Glossary
.NET Alerts:
Microsoft? .NET Alerts are time-sensitive notification messages that service providers can send to customers at the customer's request. Users can receive .NET Alerts on their desktop computers through MSN? or Microsoft Windows? Messenger, in email, or on a mobile device, such as a phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). For businesses, the .NET Alerts service provides a cost-effective method of reaching customers with timely information and updates. With .NET Alerts, you can connect with customers at the moment of peak opportunity—anytime, any place, and on any supported device.
Architecture and patterns:
Patterns are increasingly accepted as a way to share design experience and are used at progressive levels of abstraction to describe similar architectural designs across industries and sectors. Through an architects council, Microsoft is sharing best practice and providing support and tools that reduce the time to solution.
Links
Further information can be obtained from your business account team or by visiting the following Internet links:
http://www.microsof https://www.doczj.com/doc/ee4380205.html,/business/industry/fin
http://www.microsof https://www.doczj.com/doc/ee4380205.html,/net/serv ices/alerts/dev eloper.asp
http://msdn.microsof https://www.doczj.com/doc/ee4380205.html,/architecture/def ault.aspx
http://msdn.microsof https://www.doczj.com/doc/ee4380205.html,/practices/
http://www.microsof https://www.doczj.com/doc/ee4380205.html,/https://www.doczj.com/doc/ee4380205.html,serv er/ev aluation/ov erv iew/technologies/apps rv cs.mspx
http://www.microsof https://www.doczj.com/doc/ee4380205.html,/https://www.doczj.com/doc/ee4380205.html,serv er/techinf o/serv erroles/appserv er/def ault.mspx
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UK Retail Banking: Creating a Customer-Centric Branch, Microsoft UK, June 2003
英国大学预科课程申请流程全套攻略 预科，很多学生在英国留学之前，都会在英国先读预科，为什么要读预科?预科到底是什么?我们来聊一聊。 首先，我们来说一下英国大学教育体制。 英国大学教育一般从18岁开始，读本科需要3年(医科为5年)，可取得学士学位。硕士通常为1年~2年，博士为3~5年。 什么是英国大学预科? 预科即大学基础课程或桥梁课程，属于大学前的预备教育，一般都要求海外高中毕业生，读1年左右的预科，以适应国外的学习方式。 英国大学预科通常分为两类：一类是本科预科，一类是硕士预科。 今天，我们着重说一下英国大学本科预科课程。 本科预科是为了弥补中英教育学体制上一年的差距而设立的。 英国的教育学制是从5岁到18岁完成小学至中学的课程。 因此，在他们进入大学之前，已经完成了13年的学业课程了;而大学的学分，大约花费3年的时间来完成，从而取得学士学位，一共是16年的时间，完成整个学业课程。 而中国学生，只需花费12年的教育，高中毕业后就读4年的大学课程以完成16年的完整学业。 对于欲前往英国就读大学的中国高中毕业生，为了弥补中学教育一年的不足，学生应在大学课程开学前至英国就读为期一年的预备/衔接课程。 其实，很多家长和学生可能有这样一个误区，就是，去英国读预科就是读语言。 英国的预科学习包括语言、专业课以及学习技巧和方法，有严谨的课时要求，而语言课程则是根据学生的水平制定学习时长。 英国学生在高中阶段就会选择经济、商务，会计，物理，生物，考古，艺术设计等专业课程，而这类课程是国内高中学生从来没有接触过的。 所以，预科阶段，我们同学也必须学习这些专业课知识。 如何选择英国大学预科? 通常情况下，学校的综合实力越强，它的预科水平也就越高。 不过，英国顶尖名校从不开设预科课程，如牛津大学、剑桥大学、LSE、IC等，但这些大学接受一流大学的优秀预科学生。 下面给大家介绍一下，有哪些大学是自己开设的预科： 圣安德鲁斯大学、KCL、UCL、SOAS、华威大学、杜伦大学、巴斯大学、布里斯托大学、伯明翰大学、南安普顿大学、拉夫堡大学、爱丁堡大学、诺丁汉大学、利兹大学、伦敦玛丽女王大学、卡迪夫大学、埃克塞特大学、肯特大学、雷丁大学。 英国预科学制通常为一年(三学期)或半年(两个学期)，开学时间为每年的9月份和1月份。 所有大学均设有9月份开学，但并非所有大学的预科都有1月份开学。
高二英语知识运用与词汇期末复习题 单项选择 1 Had you listened to the doctor, you _______ all right now. A. are B. were C. would be D. would have been 2 Important people don't have muchfree time as their work ____________ all their time. A takes away B takes over C takes up D takes in 3 In the eyes of the newly-elected prime minister, there is never too small a thing as far as the farmers _______ . A. are concerning B. concern C. are concerned D. concerned 4 If you go for a long ride in a friend ' s car, it ' s the __________ to offer to pay some of the _____ . A. habit; expenses B. custom; expense C. custom; expenses D. habit; expense 5 _______ you know, the UN touches the lives of people everywhere. A. With B. For C. As D. What 6 I'm afraid my coming will ____________ your trouble. A. add B. add up C. add to D. add up to 7 My suggestion is that the meeting _______ off till next Sunday. A. be put B. put C. should put D. had been put 8 A new hospital will be _______ here to help people in the area. A. set up B. set out C. set off D. set down 9 Computers are now _______ to every teacher in our school. A. popular B. useful C. available D. enjoyable 10 The problem just _______ is a very important one.
西安市含光路南段1号怡和国际大厦 A座30楼01室 (唐称宾馆北侧) 电话:85330125 /16 /05 /06 英国大学申请材料 1．(1)已毕业的学生提供：毕业证和学位证的复印件，大学四年成绩单原件6份（成绩单要加盖学校公章）; (2)没毕业的学生提供：大学三年成绩单原件6份（成绩单要加盖学校公章）; 在读证明(为保证在读证明的准确性，由我公司负责制作,学生只需要到学 校盖章即可); (3)已参加工作的人员要提供：工作证明。（以上文件在15天之内给我） 2．(1)在校的学生提供：2封自己的大学老师的推荐信； (2)已参加工作的人员要提供： 1封自己大学老师的推荐信，另一份是自己的 老板/上司的的推荐信， （我方可为客人代写推荐信，我方需要的信息包括，推荐人的姓名、性别、职务、职称及与本人的关系、联系方式电话和电邮、和联系地址）（10天之 内给我我可以提前书写推荐信） 3．需要本人的个人成长经历包括自己的工作经历和自己想攻读的专业方向，（同时提供自己单位信纸一叠和信封7个，也需要10天之内给我可提前书写学习计划和PS） 4．个人在高中和大学期间所获得奖项的复印件。(10天之内) 5．自己的英文成绩（CET-4 OR CET-6 或者是IELTS，TOEFL成绩）。(10天内)
西安市含光路南段1号怡和国际大厦 A座30楼01室 (唐称宾馆北侧) 电话:85330125 /16 /05 /06 我们对提供的申请材料的标准及要求 1.申请表的填写 1）清晰打印或复印各大学最新版的申请表，并完整填写申请表中要求申请人填写的各项信息，尽量请申请人本人签名。 2）明确学生申请的课程和入学时间，最好是提前与学生将学习计划确定好，以免出错。 3）如语言成绩未考，请在“语言成绩”处填写将要考试的时间。 4）以下大学请填写推荐人表格，同推荐信一起签名并装封：曼彻斯特大学，斯特灵大学的管理学院，爱丁堡大学；另外爱丁堡大学要求申请人提交申请时附一张2寸彩照，而且该校MSc in Finance and Investment专业需在申请时缴纳25英镑申请费，该费用不退还，希望贵公司向申请人解释清楚。我公司一般要求申请人缴纳相当金额的人民币后（约合400元，会随汇率变化），由公司开具一张25磅的支票，同该申请人的材料一起寄出。 2.个人简历 1）原则上如果是在校生，可以不提供简历。但如果该生在大学期间从事过具体项目的研究或参加各项活动获奖或获得很多职业证书等与申请专业相关的信息较多时，需提供。 2）如果工作经验较丰富，或申请必须要工作经验的专业（如MBA,HRM,EDUCATION）时，需提供。 3.个人陈述（PS） 1）如果申请人申请的课程与其本人的教育背景相关，则需重点说明为什么还想在该领域就读硕士，为什么选择该大学，自己就读该专业有什么特长，学成后有何打算等。 2）如果申请人申请的为转专业课程，除了以上内容外，还需重点说明为什么自己要转专业。 3）PS中最好有具体实例，或有充实的统计数据等来说明想表达的问题，不要使用过多的形容词或复杂的从句。 4.推荐信 1）已经工作的申请人请提供一份大学教授推荐信及一份雇主推荐信。 2）在读学生可提供两封教授推荐信，但如果有较好的实习单位，也可请单位提供一份，但不是必须要求。 3）推荐信中要详细注明推荐人的职位或学历如：（Dr.或 Professor等）通信地址，联系电话（办公电话），email及传真（但不是必须）。 4）推荐信内容一定要用推荐人所在单位或院校的抬头信纸打印，并用印有单位名称的信封封口。（用9号标准信封封口即可） 5）如果申请表中推荐人的信息已经填写完整，请把推荐信封好口，并确认封口
近几年申请英国留学的人数与日俱增，因此更应该做好申请留学英国的规划。英国越是好的学校，对申请人的大学成绩、就读大学的档次要求越高。在此，为大家整理了部分英国大学的入学要求。 阿伯丁大学(University?of?Aberdeen） 本科：预科班毕业生，IELTS?，IBT85-93。 硕士：大学本科毕业，平均成绩至少75%以上，以上；IELTS?（写作），IBT90，（商科专业为或IBT95）；大学可为雅思成绩低的学生提供1个月免费英语学习（但学生的写作成绩必须达到6分），此外还可加读1至12个月的强化英语。 威尔士亚伯大学（Aberystwyth?University） 大学预科：预科班：高中平均成绩在80分以上，分本科：完成中国大一或英国预科，以上. 硕士：理科：平均成绩75分以上，?IELTS?，文科类：平均成绩78%分以上，IELTS? 阿斯顿大学（Aston?University） 本科：预科班毕业生，IELTS? 分（每部分都至少有分）。 硕士：本科毕业，需具备等同于英国一等或二上等荣誉学士的学位，各科成绩平均积分点（GPA）有所不同。 商学院硕士：均分78%，IELTS?分。 威尔士班戈大学（Bangor?University） 大学预科：高中毕业生，或特别优秀的高二生，平均成绩80%以上，IELTS5。 本科：完成中国大一或英国预科，IELTS6 - 。 硕士：大学本科毕业IELTS6-7，商科要求以上。 巴斯大学（University?of?Bath） 大学预科：高中毕业生。国际学生预科?IELTS?。艺术设计专业大学预科?。 本科：完成中国大一或者预科毕业生，英语能力分以上。 硕士：本科学历或大专学历有工作经验者，GPA至少75%以上。在学期间成绩良好者。雅思分以上，英语能力末达，可先上语言课程。 伦敦大学伯克贝克学院（Birkbeck?College） 本科：完成预科或者中国大一，IELTS?，单项不低于6，或TOEFL580，写作不低于4 或新托福92分 硕士：IELT?或TOEFL600，写作不低于5或新托福100分 伯明翰大学（University?of?Birmingham） 本科：ALEVEL成绩或者预科班毕业，以上（语言成绩没有达到要求者可先进行语言课程学习）。 研究生：本科毕业且有学士学位，大学平均成绩80分以上，IELTS成绩以上。 伯明翰城市大学（Birmingham?City?University） 本科：完成中国大一或者预科班毕业，以上。 硕士：商学院、建筑学、设计管理、传媒课程要求IELTS?6分以上，GPA至少75%以上。
带你走近英国大学的桥梁课程 去英国留学，往往绕不开“桥梁性”课程——本科预科、硕士预科、国际大一，也就是预科课程，本次我们主要带你了解本科预科和国际大一。接下来和我一起了解下详细的内容吧。 本科预科：针对全球所有没有读过Alevel课程的学生 要不要读本科预科以及什么样的学生会选择读本科预科呢？据陕西新东方前途出国英国部前期督导李真介绍，一般分为两种情形：一种是在国内读普通高考统考制的学生，高二结束或者高三结束，想去英国读本科，都可以通过6-9个月的本科预科课程衔接，进入英国大学的大一课程。 “为什么要读本科预科？这其实就说到了中国和英国学制，国内高中一般分文理科，数理化、史地政。但在英国，高中两年时间，Alevel课程只考3-5门课程，这些课程和大学要学的课程相关性很强，所以国内的学生要想去英国读大学，就要通过本科预科的衔接课程补充这部分知识”，李真说。 他说，当然，国内高三毕业的学生也可以直接申请个别英国大学大一课程的，但是可选的学校会比较少，“当然，我们也遇到过在国内读理科参加高考的学生，雅思考了8分，直接申请英国大学，牛津、剑桥也是可以试试的”。 开设本科预科课程的英国大学有多少呢？李真介绍，其实绝大多数英国大学都有本科预科课程，但是像牛津大学、剑桥大学、帝国理工大学是很难通过本科预科衔接本科课程的，其他英国G5学校-伦敦政经学院（LSE），伦敦大学学院（UCL）都是有本科预科课程的，除G5外的其他大学也基本都开设本科预科的衔接课程。 第二种情形是在国内读国际课程（Alevel、IB、AP等课程）的学生，一般是可以通过英国UCAS申请系统（英国大学报考志愿系统）投递5个志愿，拿到录取后选择自己最想去的一所学校。如果学生ALevel成绩不理想，或者雅思成绩不理想，可以申请本科预科课程。
高频高考英语常见词区别复习（四） 56. considerable, considerate considerable相当多的，可观的。如：He met a considerable amount of trouble.(他遇到了许多麻烦。) considerate 考虑周到的，体谅的。如：It was considerate of you not to trouble us.(你真体贴人，不打扰我们。) 57. consistent, constant, continual, continuous consistent一致的，符合的。如：His action is always consistent with his words. constant不断的，表示持续和惯常的重现，往往没有变化。如：He attributes his health to his constant exercise. continual频频的，不停的，时断时续，中间可有间歇。如：Continual smoking is bad for health. continuous不断延伸的，连续不断的，强调中间无间断。如：Everything in the universe undergoes continuous development and change. 58. crack, crash crack(使)破裂，砸开。如：I can crack it, but I can’t break it. (我能把它弄裂，但不能把它弄破。) crash摔坏，坠毁。如：The plane crashed shortly after the take-off.(飞机起飞不久就坠毁了。) 59. crawl, creep crawl多指蛇，虫类等身体沿地面或其他表面的动作。如：There is an insect crawling up your back. (有一虫子正在你的背上往上爬。) creep多指哺乳动物或人等用四肢爬行的动物偷偷摸摸无声缓慢的前行动作。如：They arrived late and crept into the classroom.(我们迟到了，便悄悄地溜进教室。) 60. cure, treat cure治愈，医治。如：The medicine will cure of your disease.(这药能治好你的病。) cure表示治好，treat只表示“给……治病”。 61. current, present 均可表“现在”，“目前”。 current强调在现阶段正在流行，通用，但不一定是最新的。如：current English (当代英语) present为常用词，指现在正在通用的，在时间上比current的范围更窄。如：What’s your present address?(你现住址是哪里？) 62. custom, habit 均可表习惯。 custom为正式用词，多指社团或人们的习惯行为方式。 habit为常用词，多指个人因多次重复而形成做某事的趋势或意愿。如：He has the bad habit of biting his nails.(他有咬手指的坏习惯。) 63. damage, destroy, harm, ruin 均可表“破坏”，“损坏”。 damage一般指部分性的破坏，含可修复使用。 destroy指十分彻底的毁坏，破坏。如：The whole city was destroyed in the earthquake.(地震中整个城市被毁了。) harm多指带来悲痛，产生恶果的伤害，可以是肉体的也可是精神的。如：Doctors say
本科英国留学申请准备材料清单 英国作为世界上教育资源最为丰富的国家之一，一直是众多留学生心目中的理想留学国家。有许多学生选择本科留学英国，那么申请英国大学要准备些什么呢？接下来看看给大家做的一个总结吧。 1.护照照片：彩色、两寸、四张 2.申请费：部分英国大学有要求，所以申请人一定要在网申前准备好英镑或者双币信用卡，用于提交申请费 3.毕业证或在读证明：有很多学生在申请英国留学时处于还没有毕业的阶段，这时便可以提供在读证明，记得加盖学校公章。如果已经毕业则可以提供相应的毕业证 4.成绩单公证书：或中英文对照的学校成绩证明并加盖学校公章 5.申请表：学生可以通过英国大学申请平台下载相应的申请表，并且需要填写个人信息、申请专业等相关信息。 6.简历：个人经历的简要介绍，可以让招生老师一目了然，申请人的经历和背景如何 7.两封推荐信：学生需要提供两封推荐信，一般由老师来写，有工作的学生也可以由工作单位来写。 8.推荐人信息：包括推荐人姓名，职务，职称，联系方式，与被推荐人关系 9.个人陈述：学生可将自己的学习计划、学术背景、未来发展计划、自身优势、学业表现、实践经验等情况简述出来，并且要条理清晰具有针对性。 10.获奖证明：申请人在校期间所获得的奖励及相关资格证书，如：奖学金证明、发表在刊物上的文章的奖状等 11.语言成绩单：英国留学申请材料必不可少的便是语言成绩单了，需要注意的是，雅思考试的有效期一般为两年
12.其他材料：比如有工作经验的学生可以提供相应的工作证明，正在实习的学生可以提供相应的实习证明，其他具体材料可根据申请学校和专业来定 准备申请材料需要注意哪些？ 英国大学非常看中申请人的自述信、推荐信、简历及成绩单等其他材料。他们希望看到的是申请者经过精心准备后提交的申请材料。如果大部分申请材料雷同、乏味，就很难体现申请者的特点，更难看出申请者具备哪些独特的素质，特别是自我陈述。这是肯定会影响到申请的进度的。
什么时候申请英国预科最合适 现在，很多高中在读或即将毕业的同学非常渴望去英国名校读书，但目前的成绩还不够。我就在这里为大家介绍下英国预科的情况，看看什么时候申请英国预科最合适。希望能帮助大家做好留学选择，我们一起来看看吧。 为什么要读预科 英国学生在进入大学前接受的教育为13年，而中国学生为12年，比英国学生少一年。而英国学生在高中期间就已经开始接受专业教育(如经济，金融，心理学等)，而中国学生只是学习了基础学科(语文，英语，数学等)。为了国际学生在入读大学前具备和英国学生一样的学术能力和知识，国际学生是必须要接受预科教育的。 很多学生想入读英国的顶尖名校，像牛津、剑桥、帝国理工这样的大学。而通过读本科预科申请到这样的名校机会相对来说是比较小的。所以这种情况下，如果有这样目标的学生，可以选择在高一结束之后进入英国的高中课程—A level(2年)。英国的A level课程含金量非常高，被世界所有的名校所认可，通过入读英国A level，最后进入牛津剑桥读书的中国学生也是比比皆是。 预科助你走进英国名校 很多同学担心高考成绩不好，国内都读不到好大学，去英国怎么入读世界名校呢。其实英国的很多院校，在关注高考成绩外，更多的是考虑学生的综合素质与潜力，并发展学生身上的闪光点。事实上，在中国学生高二结束，拿到会考成绩之后就可以申请英国预科学校了。这样利用高三的时间到英国读预科，也可以比国内的同龄人更早入读大学，拿到学位。 1、高考后去英国读预科需要什么样的申请条件? 首先申请英国的预科是不需要中国的高考成绩的，但是学校需要申请的学生提供三年的高中成绩。所以如果有申请英国留学的同学需要尽早在学校还未放暑假前开具完整的高中成绩单和高中毕业证明。另外申请英国
英国高中课程（A-Level）介绍 英国高中课程（A-Level）是英国的全民课程体系,也是英国大学的入学考试课程,其课程证书被几乎所有英语授课的大学作为招收新生的入学标准。因此,英国高中课程（A-Level）被国际教育界誉为“金牌”教育课程和全球大学入学的“黄金”标准。 英国高中课程（A-Level）是英国学生中学五年级义务教育结束以后,可以就读的一种2年制的课程体系。课程本身并不对应任何特定年龄,但英国本土及国际学生一般要满16周岁,年龄段向上没有限制。从不同课程体系之间的横向比较看,英国高中课程（A-Level）最好被看作是英国的预科体系里的学术性课程体系, 并且是主流预科课程体系。 若从学程/学龄段上进行类比,英国高中课程（A-Level）大体相当中国的高三和大学一年级。但若从课程的结构方面进行比较,英国高中课程（A-Level）在程度上都远远超过中国的高中。以数学这一门课程为例,它可以包括纯数学、工程数学、统计学、决策数学,仅纯数学部分就包括微分方程、线性代数、向量代数等内容；若从整体课程体系的方面看,英国高中课程（A-Level）提供60多门课程给学生选择,学生可以任意选择其中的3-4门课程进行学习,包括经济学、商业学等中国高中课程体系中根本不存在的部分。因此,如果中国学生选择高中阶段去英国留学,尤其是高二或高二之前,学习成绩属于中等以上,那么他们留学英国 的最佳选择就非英国高中课程（A-Level）莫属。 英国高中课程（A-Level）介绍
英国高中课程（A-Level）的考试将由所属的考试委员会分别于每年5-6月和 10-11月在全球统一组织,成绩分别在8月和次年 2月公布。成绩分为A、B、C、D、E、U六个等级,A为最优,E为通过,U为不及格。如果学生对某门课的成绩不满意,可以选择重考,最终成绩以最好的一次为准。学生达到及格成绩,就可以申请英国或其他国外的大学。 具体的等级与百分制之间的关系如下表所示： 在入学要求方面,英国及世界较好的大学通常要求学生3门课的成绩均应达到C 以上；而对于世界一流大学,如牛津、剑桥、哈佛大学等名校,则要求申请学生3门课的成绩达到 AAA或AAB。 文章来源：启德教育
英国本科预科怎么申请转校 申请英国留学的学生越来越多，那么英国本科和预科留学生怎么申请转学校呢？下面和来一起看看吧!欢迎阅读。 英国留学本科和预科怎么申请转校 英国大学本科转校 英国开设插班课程的大学不多，大部分大学对于插班生的专业有所限制，基本上只能是选择与所学的相关专业。英国可以选择转校的大学不多，大部分英国的大学都不接受转校的学生，只有少量的英国大学和专业可以选择。 申请英国插班，在具备雅思6.0以上的同时，申请人还需要提供大学在读证明及成绩单，办理时间要至少提前半年，通常英国正式课程开始在每年的9月底10月初左右。因为英国本科插读必须通过UCAS进行，所以申请周期会比较长，一定要赶早做，否则会耽误自己的办理进程。 英国转校申请材料清单： 1.需要提供高中成绩单和大学成绩单 2.两位推荐人+ 两封推荐信 3.个人陈述 4.个人简历(包括全名，性别，出生日期，家庭住址，教育背景，工作经历，兴趣爱好，专业证书) 5.转学英国一般都需要通过UCAS来做申请，转学周期较长，一般需要提前一年至半年做申请。 6.如果已经在英国本科入读一年或以上，大部分大学不再要求语言成绩。 7.大学的成绩一般都要求在60%以上，而且不能换专业。 具体可以插入哪一年需要看申请人的教育背景和申请院校的要求。
英国转校申请 在英国重新入读其它大学的本科课程，都要经UCAS(即大学与学院入学服务机构)来办理，包括本科插班课程。 签证相关 一般来说，英国转学比较麻烦。英国实行积分制留学签证政策，学生的签证是和学校联系在一起的，规定如果在英国留学期间，如果学生转学，原有的签证无效，学生应凭新的签证函重新申请签证。有留英打算的学生，做好规划和申请准备，最好不要寄希望于转学。 如果你在未办理入学手续前希望申请其它学校，只需通知原来学校你的决定即可。越早通知学校越好。 如果你已办理入学手续，或在学期中希望转学，则最好向学校和导师说明理由，征得谅解。当然转学不需要原来学校批准。大部分学校的学费都会返还部分学费。 另外，可以接受转学学生的大学不多，而且排名基本在中等或靠后。在大学录取之后，需要重新签证。 预科转校 如果是入读特定大学的预科，打算入读其它大学，一般在同一联盟的预科里基本上是可以互认的。如果是联盟以外的其它大学，需要和申请的大学联系，获取他们的录取要求。一般来说，本大学只认可自己开设的预科，特定专业的预科只能上特定的专业。
英国高中Alevel课程介绍 一、课程体系 英国高中课程(General Certificate of Education Advanced Level)简称A-Level课程，于1951年在英国正式启用。它是英国的全民课程体系，也是英国学生的大学入学考试课程，A-Level课程证书被几乎所有英语授课的大学作为招收新生的入学标准。因此，A-Level课程被国际教育界誉为“金牌”教育方式（British Golden Education System）。英国学生一般在16岁或稍大一些开始学习这种课程，圆满修完这种课程即可进入大学就读。这种课程可以简单理解为中国的高中。能否上英国大学特别是好的名牌大学，A Level成绩是关键。 二、课程的权威性 该课程体系的教学大纲、课程设置及其考试分别由英国四个主要考试 局Cambridge International Examinations,简称 CIE, Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations 简称 OCR, Assessment and Qualifications Alliance 简称AQA 和EDEXEL设计并组织，其权威性得到了国际上的广泛认可。迄今为止，全球已有5000多个教育机构开设了英国高中课程，每年有数百万学生参加由这些考试局组织的统一考试。由于该课程的科学性和权威性，新加坡甚至直接将该课程考试作为大学入学的全国统一考试。 三、教学质量控制 英国国家考试局对每一个开设A-Level的高级附属中心都进行严格的教学质量控制措施。每一位教授A-Level课程的老师都经过严格的筛选和测评。同时，老师们也可以通过多种渠道得到英国国家考试局的协助和培训。为了监控分布在世界上150多个国家教育中心的教学质量，这些考试局已经在全球各地建立了完善的组织网络；通过其批准的高级附属中心，不定期地对教学质量进行检查和评定。从而保证每一个就读A-Level课程的学生能接受到高质量的教育。 四、A-Level课程的优点 除大学预科课程之外，A-Level课程是中国学生入读英国大学的最佳途径。这是因为A-Level课程要大大优于大学基础课程，其优点有以下三方面： 第一、中国学生在国内的高一或高二的在校学生可以赴英国学习A-Level课程。这样，他们再经过两年的学习就可以进入英国大学就读，而不是像在中国那样，高中毕业然后还要学习一年的大学预科课程，才能入读英国大学。 第二、这种课程是为中国学生进入英国大学做准备的理想课程。无论是在学业方面还是在语言方面都会高于大学基础课程可达到的程度。中国学生要用英语学习各门课程，亲自体验新的教学方法，其英语也会达到相当熟练的程度。 第三、牛津、剑桥、帝国理工和伦敦大学学院这样的名牌英国大学几乎是从不录取大学预科的学生，而只录取A-Level毕业证书或同等学历的学生。同样，如果没有A-Level毕业证书或同等学历，要想就读像医科或医疗卫生领域的某些课程
1.clothes, cloth, clothing clothes统指各种衣服，谓语动词永远是复数；cloth指布，为不可数名词；clothing 则指服装的总称。指一件衣服用a piece of,an article of 2. incident, accident incident表示某事件的变数、插曲；accident指不幸的事故，但是happy accident表示意外收获。eg：He was killed in the accident. 3. amount, number amount后接不可数名词，number后接可数名词。eg：a number of students 4. family, house, home home指家，包括住处和家人；house房子，住宅；family家庭成员。eg：My family is a happy one. 5. sound, voice, noise sound自然界各种各样的声音；voice人的嗓音；noise噪音。I hate the loud noise outside. 6. photo, picture, drawing photo用照相机拍摄的照片；picture可指相片，图片，电影片；drawing指画的画eg：Let's go and see a good picture. 7. vocabulary, word vocabulary词汇，一个人拥有的单词量；word具体的单词。eg：He has a large vocabulary. 8. population, people population人口，人数；people具体的人。eg：China has a large population. 9. weather, climate weather一天内具体的天气状况；climate长期的气候状况。eg：The climate here is not good for you. 10. road, street, path, way road具体的公路，马路，street街道，path小路，小径，way道路，途径 eg：take this road; in the street, show me the way to the museum 11. course, subject course课程（可包括多门科目），subject科目（具体的学科）a summer course 12. custom, habit custom传统风俗，习俗，也可指生活习惯，后接to do；habit生活习惯，习惯成自然，后接of doing. eg：I've got the habit of drinking a lot. 13. cause, reason cause 指造成某一事实或现象的直接原因，后接of sth./doing sth；reason用来解释某种现象或结果的理由，后接for sth./doing sth. the reason for being late 14. exercise, exercises, practice exercise运动，锻炼（不可数），exercises练习（可数），practice（反复做的）练习eg：Practice makes perfect. 15. class, lesson 作"课"解时,两者可以替换.指课文用lesson；指班级或全体学生用class。eg：lesson 6; class 5 16. speech, talk, lecture speech指在公共场所所做的经过准备的较正式的演说；talk日常生活中的一般的谈话，
英国大学预科是国际留学生进入英国大学的路径之一，在国内和其他留学目的地国家，也有很多学校和机构开设相关预科课程，到底什么是英国大学预科?哪些大学的预科格外的优秀?下面51offer免费留学申请智能平台小编为同学们带来英国预科申请有哪些好院校推荐，希望能帮到大家! 英国大学预科简述 英国的大学预科课程专门为国内完成高二学习或者高中毕业的学生而设，学制一般是一年，弥补了中英教育体制的差异。英国高等教育之前的学制是从5 岁开始到18岁，完成小学至中学的课程全部课程。因此在他们进入大学之前需要完成了13年的学习;国内学生只需花费12年就完成进入大学学习前的教育。为了弥补中英两国在教育体制上的1年差距，以达到英国大学的入学标准，大学预科课程显得尤其重要。 英国大学的预科也是针对高中毕业的海外留学生的一种预备过渡课程，包含语言课程和大学专业基础课程。学生完成课程并顺利通过大学预科的考试后，可以继续升读英国大学的本科学位课程。这种课程一般都由大学或与大学挂钩的延续教育学院/机构提供，读完后进入相应大学的相应专业。
本科预科和硕士预科推荐的学校： 英国杜伦大学 杜伦大学坐落于英格兰北部的杜伦古城，另一现代化校区Queen’s Campus位于Stockton。学校建于1832年，是英国第三古老大学，采用学院制，均分布于全市各校区中，仅须步行即可到达。该校大部分都在杜伦市中心以外，也有一些古老的大楼在市中心处，紧挨着历史悠久的大教堂及城堡。 本科预科：社会科学、科学 英国布里斯托大学 英国布里斯托大学(University of Bristol)的历史可追溯至1876年创立的布里斯托尔大学学院，后者是全英国最早平等录取男女学生的高等教育机构。1893年，布里斯托大学学院与布里斯托尔医学院合并。学院与Merchant Venturers技术学院(Merchant Venturers" Technical College)于1909年合并成为布里斯托大学。布里斯托大学现已成为一所世界一流的高等学府。 本科预科：学术、数学、人文艺术、物理、化学、金融、经济 伦敦国王学院(King"s College London，简称KCL或者King"s) 是伦敦大学联盟的创校学院之一，1829年由英王乔治四世和首相威灵顿公爵于伦敦泰晤士河畔精华地带所创建，国王学院与早前成立的大学学院-UCL 联合发起创立了当今赫
10月的Alevel已经结束一段时间了，而明年的Alevel还会远？每年都有新的考生参加其中，想必给位都在努力学习吧。那么今年数学考试有哪些变化呢，下面就为大家介绍一下。 Edexcel去年第一次开始考新版大纲，也就是这里看到的P打头的科目，Pure纯数部分，以前是C打头的叫做Core。 国际版新版大纲中只有P1-P4和D1（Decision1，决策数学，跟计算机有点关系，一般会放在高数里面学）的大纲变了，其他的都没有变。今年10月的考试还是新旧版考试都存在的过渡阶段。 一、参加10月份考试的大致分两类人： 1、补考； 2、基础好的或者暑期预学了提早参加考试。 对于补考的学生来说，大部分是选其中一门进行补考，只需要冲刺这门就可以，一般来说都是补考C34。因为数学A*的标准要求C34达90%，总分达80%。C34重点内容也有很多。 比如三角函数（trigonometry），比如微分（differentiation），比如积分（integration），甚至重点内容还会交叉，顺带考一些小的知识点，比如可以用一个parametricequation的题把上述三个重点全串在一起。但如果说重中之重，那一定是integration。Integration里面的内容过于繁杂，列表如下。
6.1-6.4和6.6是积分的计算，是提醒大家有几个不常见的公式在公式表上都有给出，6.5和6.7是积分的应用，包括C12中的求面积和体积。最重要的还是微分的计算，这块是基础，所以要求学生能够熟练做出以下的积分是很有必要的： 6.2部分 6.3部分
6.4部分 这些做好了，微积分就不用再害怕了，才能披荆斩棘继续进行下一步积分的应用。至于其他的知识点，比如经常会出现错误的微分chain rule，这里就不一一说明。大家在刷题过程中要了解自己在哪里容易错，然后对这些点进行挨个击破。 学通国际课程培训中心自2008年起一直致力于ALEVEL、IGCSE、IB、AP、SAT2等主流国际课程中30多门科目的提分与培优，经11年深耕教学，目前已拥有教师团队80余人，其中20%为博士，80%为名校海归硕士，平均国际课程教龄8年以上，每年
你必须知道的英国预科申请机密！ 英国以高质量的教育水准、灵活的教育渠道以及含金量高的文凭长久以来在国际上都久负盛名，许多学生向往去英国留学，但又限于自身条件而选择读预科，接下来就详细你必须知道的英国预科申请机密！ 预科是指针对想去英国留学，却语言能力限制、专业基础欠缺及教育体制的差异等因素而无法申请去留学的同学们而设立的课程。通常选择学制三个月到一年，在此期间，同学们可以提升自己的英语能力，掌握基础的专业课知识及学习方法，它是为升读本科或者研究生课程的途径和基础。 英国预科课程还分为本科预科和研究生预科，接下来我们来看一下英国预科申请的具体细节： 1.本科预科 英国大学要求中国高中毕业生入读大学必须先读一年预科(部分大学接受高二完成)。英国一些排名不错的大学都是要求必须读预科的，但是排名很差的就很少有严格的预科要求。 本科预科一般分类为： 本校预科：是学校自己开设的预科课程，一般课程完成后可以直接进入本校对应专业的本科学习，但是在预科课程完成后也可以申请其他学校的预科。英国预科申请一般要求高三毕业，有三年完整的成绩单，雅思一般4.5-5.5。例如SOAS、UCL、KCL、布里斯托大学、肯特大学、利兹大学、南安普敦大学等。其中南安普敦大学高二毕业即可申请。 集团预科：在英国开设预科课程INTO、KAPLAN、SG、CEG、Navitas 等，这些集团都是受到英国大学授权开设的课程，英国集团预科相对来说，专业选择比较多。完成课程后可以进入相对应的大学，也可以选择其他学校。
学院预科：是英国的大学委托城市学院承办的预科课程。毕业后必须进去对应大学，不可选其他学校。英国预科申请一般雅思求4.5-5.5。例如：巴斯城市学院、约克学院等。一般雅思要求4.5-5.5。 开放预科：选择学校不受限制，但是必须要重考雅思的。例如：EF、UF、NCUK等。 英国大部分的本科预科申请是直接有我们的外联老师直接向学校申请的，风险相对较小。 2.硕士预科 英国硕士预科是针对大专毕业或本科毕业无学位;本科毕业但成绩是很好，想去名牌大学读硕士;本科毕业但雅思成绩不好;想换专业读硕士的学生去英国硕士留学而开设的。具体如下： 本校预科：也是学校本身直接开设的预科课程，例：KCL、伯明翰大学、伦敦大学皇家霍洛威学院等。一般雅思要求5.0-5.5。 集团预科：开设硕士预科的INTO、SG、KAPLAN等，申请大学较多，雅思要求一般5.0-5.5。 一般而言，如果在完成硕士预科的时候能达到所申请的大学及硕士课程的录取标准，那么英国大学就会接受你的申请，顺利入读。 无论是本预还是硕预都是为了进入更好的学校学习正科而打的基础。他不仅是大学用来提高学生的学术力量和英语能力，学生也可以利用读在英国预科的机会，亲身自感受英国的教育教育体制是否适合自己。以上为大家介绍英国预科的大概情况，请大家针对自身情况，为自己定下目标，调整自己，向着理想前进。
很多家长在选择国际学校的时候，就需要为孩子考虑相应的课程。一般来说在国内较为主流的国际课程主要有IB课程、A-level 课程、AP课程这三个，那么各位家长在选择这些课程的时候是否有所了解呢，关于这方面下面我就选取IGCSE课程和A-LEVEL课程为大家详细讲解一下。 说到IGCSE和A-LEVEL课程就不能不先介绍一下英国的教育体系。英国是一个拥有悠久历史教育传统的国家。他们的教育体系经过几百年的发展和沿革已经变得相当的完善和复杂，且具有多元性和包容性。 一、Alevel课程 而Alevel就是英国普通高中教育证书考试高等水平课程，也就是英国学生大学入学考试的课程。 相当于我们的高中课程，因此A-LEVEL考试就像我国的高考一样。A-LEVEL和IGCSE—样同样存四个考试局。 1、A-Level的学制
英国高中课程（A-Level)的学制为两年： 第一年称为AS水准，学生通常选择自己最擅长且最有兴趣的3~4门课，通过考试后获得AS证书。 第二年称为A2水准，学生可选择AS水准中优秀的3门课继续学习，通过考试后获得A-Level证书。 二、GCSE课程 GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education)是英国的一种课程体系，在英国，学完GCSE的学生就结束了义务教育的学习。如果学生选择上大学，会继续读A-LEVEL，如果学生去一些技术类的院校学习，毕业后会在相应的岗位就业。 GCSE和IGCSE课程一共有四个考试局：AQA、OCR、EDEXCEL、CIE，其中英国本土学校基本选择前两个考试局。这两个考试局在四个考试局里面也较简单。 1、GCSE/GCSE 学制
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE MARRIAGE CUSTOM AND WESTERN MARRIAGE CUSTOM 中西方婚俗的差异 1 Introduction Marriage is formed in a long historical evolution of the marriage custom in a nation. It is the regularity of the activities that restrains people's awareness of marriage and marriage. Marriage custom’s binding does not depend on the law, and it cannot rely on science tests neither, but on the force of habit, traditional culture and national psychology. During the development of human history, the institution of marriage and family system has experienced different processes of development. Human have experienced group marriage, the dual system of marriage and individual marriage system (monogamy). 2 Chinese Marriage Custom Like other folk, marriage custom has the same development and evolving process. In the early days of humanity, the human relationship in a very long period of time still carried the irregular relations like the animal world. There was no marriage at all, if suggest some, the only "arbitrary marriage."