Faculty, staff and students have returned to a new academic year using a new student information system put into place over the summer that helps streamline data across Georgetown offices.
The new system, Banner, replaces functions previously conducted by Student Access+, Faculty Access+ and SIS+, the latter of which was two decades old and soon would not be supported by the system’s vendor.
"We were approaching the time where we’d no longer be able to get updates to the system," explained
David Lambert, vice president and chief information officer. "That’s a difficult situation to be in because the things that a student system has to be able to do change with time. (This includes) the regulations for how financial aid is distributed -- which changes every year."
Banner puts all student data processes in one place and will be updated regularly to ensure the system can keep up with changing demands.
The move to Banner affects a wide cross section at Georgetown. Students use it for registration, records and accounts. Faculty members enter grades and manage advisees through the system. And offices and departments at Main Campus, the Law Center and Medical Center use Banner to access information on student enrollment, cash flow, financial aid and more.
John Pierce, registrar and assistant provost, said Banner restructures data distribution through university services and departments, so that hard data may drive decisions.
"For example, academic departments can easily get data about enrollment trends in their courses or numbers of majors over time," Pierce explained. "Then they can do a better job in planning courses or a better job making the case that they need additional faculty. In the long run, these things benefit students."
In addition to curriculum data, Banner also may help the university with communication and correspondence, Pierce said. For instance, the system can detect students who have not provided next-of-kin information, which may be used for contact in emergency situations.
"This system fits in with our long-range strategies to create data environments that enable the university to support decisions they make with good quality data that is easily accessible," Lambert said. "Each time we do a project now, we focus a lot of attention on the data and how we can organize it to provide support for decisions."
University leaders conceived of Banner in 2004, when it became clear SIS+ had a rapidly approaching expiration date. In the ensuing years, the highest level of university leadership, including the heads of all three campuses, the senior vice president and the chief financial officer, provided support to complete the project. All told, Lambert and Pierce estimate that about 400 Georgetown administrators, faculty members and staff members have worked on Banner since it was put in place.
As Georgetown completes transition of functions to the new system, Pierce said there is a learning curve for users. Some of the Access+ systems had been personalized for Georgetown, whereas Banner is a more general higher education system.
The registrar encouraged the university community to learn features of the new system, but also make suggestions if improvements are needed. Such improvements may be part of future system updates.
University Information Services provides more information on the new system, as well as tutorials, guides and frequently asked questions for students, faculty and staff at its
Banner Web site.
