Proposed Student Information System Re-Implementation

University of Vermont
Proposed Student Information System Re-Implementation

Executive Summary

The University Registrar and the CIO have developed a prospectus for a software re-implementation project to re-develop the UVM Student Information System (SunGard’s Banner system). The goals of the reimplementation would be to offer more effective and efficient service for prospective students, students, and faculty; to streamline processes to simplify workflow and reduce manual labor; and to develop information services to support executive decision-making. By leveraging UVM’s working experience with Banner and current licenses for the major components, UVM will be able to revitalize its older student information system at moderate cost relative to a major new software implementation.

Motivation

In the eleven years since UVM implemented its Sungard (formerly SCT) Banner Student Information System, there have been many changes in enterprise software systems:

The Web has become a standard system for providing information and transacting business and most students and faculty are now comfortable using the Web to transact business in their daily lives;

Workflow automation has evolved as a way to streamline manual processes and improve services for clients;
Document imaging systems are now used routinely to capture images of printed material and share and archive them securely.
Data is now routinely integrated from multiple sources to provide information in easily-understood graphical representations for quick business analysis and decisions;
9/11 changed the way we think about security and privacy and resulted in more stringent constraints on how we handle data.

UVM’s Banner SIS provides direct support for Admissions, the Registrar’s Office, Faculty Advisors, and Student Financial Services, but it also provides indirect services for a number of other, related systems such as DARS (degree auditing/faculty advising), WebCT and Blackboard (course management systems), and the Library automation system, Endeavor’s Voyager. In reviewing the student information system services, the full range of direct and indirect services must be considered.

The client offices and Enterprise Technology Services have been exemplary in extending and maintaining the UVM Banner implementation with the resources available. UVM has been careful to keep its student system up to date with regard to software versions, security patches, etc. and is currently operating with the latest release of the software. Nevertheless, many of the capabilities of new software cannot be implemented as small projects, and the implementation of major new functionality is simply beyond the capacity of the limited staff and resources normally available. For example, the implementation of a portal system and integration of the University’s Peoplesoft system (CATalyst) as an information service are major projects that could not be undertaken in the normal course of business by staff in the business office and information services. As a result, the University has missed opportunities to improve the effectiveness of the student information system in support of academic administration and in support of executive decision-making.

A number of factors suggest that now – Autumn, 2006 – would be an ideal time for UVM to prepare to re-implement its Banner student information system:

Interest in personalized information services, exemplified by portals, continues to increase as portals proliferate for customers of commercial services such as Amazon and other web-based services.
The senior administration (President, VPs, deans, directors) has expressed interest in having available “executive dashboards” as a source of high-level decision-making information.
The Peoplesoft system is now in production, so its data structures have been defined and can be integrated with student information for analysis and planning.
As a result of Katrina and other experiences, there is a heightened interest in business-continuity planning. The University has current experience with the ERP implementation process and with the technologies required for implementing high-availability information services, and that experience should be applied to the redesign of the system that supports our core business function – Banner.
The CATalog project has raised awareness of the importance of integrated workflows and collaborative systems that cross traditional institutional organizational lines. The resulting document imaging project provides a context for an institutional process for streamlining document processing in support of student and faculty services.

Process

Philosophically, the reimplementation would be done by UVM business function staff with guidance from external consultants about alternatives to the current implementation, best practices, new features, and future direction of the product. The project plan would include details of the reimplementation process and would establish expectations for staff time and consulting time to be required. UVM’s technical staff would design the equipment architecture with advice from SunGard and Oracle on implementation of high-availability systems. UVM staff would design and implement executive dashboard/integrated reporting systems, perhaps with consulting assistance as needed.

The reimplementation would be somewhat different than a new implementation of some other ERP system because UVM’s staff already understand the operation of the current system. Less training would be needed, and the “conversion” of the data from the old system to the new system, if there is any, would be much simpler. The steps in the process would follow a normal Banner implementation, though:

Refine the project prospectus to be a community document; identify Banner components to be included in the reimplementation; identify savings/efficiencies/service improvements and metrics for quantifying;
Document the resulting project plan for reimplementation;
Negotiate licenses and contracts with Banner and/or other consulting firms;
Develop a comprehensive budget (including ongoing operating expenses) and obtain approval for funding;
Kickoff: team identification, clarification of goals and roles, etc.;
Training/implementation of various Banner Student System modules, including review/reimplementation of current modules, if desired, and implementation of new modules;
Concurrent reimplementation of equipment/operating system platform to be a high-availability system with business-continuity provisions;
Data conversions, if necessary, and testing; migration of production to the new environment (phased or “big bang”?);
Rollout of new services (synchronize with academic calendar schedules).

The detailed project plan can be constructed when the components to be considered are known.

Deliverables

This project will be expected to deliver several distinct and readily-identifiable services for the UVM community. Candidates for new services to be provided include:

Portal service for student and faculty access to the student system;
On-line grade entry for faculty;
Executive dashboard web services to provide easy-to-read indicators of critical student-service factors (admissions, registration, student financial services);
Integrated support for non-credit programs (Continuing Education, Extension, etc.);
… (to be completed by the business offices in the course of project definition).

Less obvious deliverables would be the improved service to students and faculty and the improved efficiency of staff in the student-service business offices (Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid). The Project Team should identify metrics for those improvements, establish the baseline before reimplementation, and then reevaluate after reimplementation in order to verify that the Project improves service and efficiency as expected. The Project Team would find it helpful to work with the Business Process Redesign Team to establish those metrics.

Management and Governance

Major stakeholders in the Banner reimplementation include:

Students and faculty
Admissions
Registrar’s Office
Student Financial Services
Graduate Studies
Institutional Studies
Continuing Education
Extension
Deans and Associate Deans.

The Project management structure would promote decisions by the stakeholders to define the system and services to be implemented, guided by professional staff in the business function and technology offices.