What's New in 4.48?
Welcome to ebs 4.48, our second release of 2025, and as ever our primary release for statutory returns. I am so pleased to be able to share our successful statutory updates, as well as updates to integrations, exports, and Curriculum Planning.
As with the previous release, users of ebs: central will be prompted to view the release notes post-upgrade. All changes are documented in the release notes, which we recommend all customers read; they contain key information on product updates and how you can make use of them. This release will not be accompanied by a release webinar, as the vast majority of changes are statutory field updates and changes to validation rules for each region.
Updates
Curriculum Planning has been updated to allow Scottish institutions to plan by credit, rather than cash amount. We anticipate that this work will enable us to deliver the Lifelong Learning Entitlement more quickly when a specification is made available. Scottish institutions can now also use Exams Manager for SQA exams, and we’re delighted that ebs now supports the FES return for Scottish FE institutions. This is the first statutory return where the output is managed in web, and we owe thanks to the staff at NESCol, along with Kavita Sirpal from ebs Customer Advisory, for supporting testing of this new dataset and format.
To help manage the ILR, a new Event Indicator tab has been added to Enrolment Details and ILR Manager. This is to support Skills Bootcamp courses and will replace the need to create multiple learning aims against them. Updates have also been issued for the Northern Irish, Welsh, New Zealand, and Higher Education returns. Updates have also been added to the UCAS integration, including a new institution setting to allow institutions to ensure old data is deleted as part of the workflow process.
Future Developments
2025 continues apace with significant improvements to ebs. ebs 4.49 will release in November with a focus on removing casual users from the client by replicating, and improving, client functionality in Ontrack. This will include Correspondence Manager in web, building on the success of Correspondence Manager in the Welsh IDP module; the first release of Fund Manager in web; and a final release for the first phase of Ontrack Concierge. This release will ensure temporary staff, and staff drafted in from across the college to support peak enrolment days, can complete individual enrolments without needing to access the client.
This year has also renewed our focus on technical improvements, reinforcing our web technology as we plan to reduce, and eventually remove, the ebs Client. In the background our Innovation development team have been testing new API technology, and testing an updated Mark Registers page to establish whether we can significantly improve both performance and accessibility for this high-traffic, business-critical function. Attendees at this year’s Empower conference will have the first opportunity to see these screens, and to discuss our technical strategy with the product team.
Final Thoughts
ebs 4.48 is also my last release as product manager for Tribal. As I move on to a new role, I want to thank every customer who has offered feedback and insight, shared their processes, welcomed me on site, and challenged the roadmap and vision. I tell customers I would rather a demanding customer than a silent one, and I have been so lucky to have demanding, open, ambitious contacts, and long standing partnerships to ensure the future of ebs is defined by our users and their big, audacious dreams. The team I leave behind are the best I have ever worked with, and I know ebs is in safe hands.
Gabi Walshaw Lead Product Manager, ebs, Maytas, and Engage