A Unified Digital Campus - The FSC Initiative
News & Updates
"Unified Digital Campus Initiative project kicks off"
By Bethany McDonald, News Editor
The Gatepost - September 22, 2006 - Page 1, 3
On Sept. 15, Framingham State College held an introductory meeting to kick off the new Unified Digital Campus Initiative. This was the first of many meetings scheduled that will follow the progress of this ongoing project.
Patrick Laughran, chief information technology officer, explained that the Unified Digital Campus Initiative is a name coined by SunGard Higher Education. It refers to a software system that will be implemented to help students and administrators "manage student records, academic information and financial data" and which will be "integrated across all functions of the college combined with the services of the World Wide Web."
Over the course of three years, this project is intended to phase out the current systems that the college uses, including Ingres, which is used to manage student and administration information. Ingres, which has been used since 1990, will be replaced with a system called Banner, created by SunGard, which is more updated, easy and efficient.
Banner is a fully integrated system, which spans all areas from alumni relations to financial aid to faculty and student information. Additionally, it will incorporate other systems that the school has decided to keep.
Another system to be replaced is MyFSC, an online portal which allows students to view grades, classes and financial information. MyFSC will be replaced with Luminus, also created by SunGard, which is another new application. The look of the MyFSC portal will remain the same, "but the technology behind it will be much better," said Laughran.
Systems that will not be replaced entirely, but will be updated and integrated, include HRCMS, which manages human resources, and MMARS, which is a state-wide accounting system.
Blackboard, a student and faculty learning application, and PowerFAIDS, the financial aid application, will stay the same but will be integrated into the new system.
The project, which will span three years, has a budget of 4.8 million dollars and will be paid for by the state and student fees, said Dale Hamel, vice president of administration and finance.
The new system will "bring the campus technologically into the twenty-first century," said President Timothy Flanagan. "Students expect advanced and up-to-date technology."
Flanagan helped his previous college also undergo a vast systems change. Although difficult and time-consuming, he stressed that "change is good," and that he was "convinced that we are going this in an intelligent and straightforward manner."
The benefits and long-term goals of this project will be easier access to more clear and concise data for students, faculty and administrators, online registration and bill payment and a more unified flow of information throughout the campus.
Additionally, there will be added security for system users, especially students.
Social security numbers "will not be used as the unique identification mechanism," said Laughran.
Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Scott Greenberg said, "Needless to say, we are very thrilled and excited about this...There is enormous potential here - a new landscape." Greenberg said that the department of graduate and continuing education will be able to use this system extensively, and that in the future online advising and registering will be possible.
Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations Alan Quebec said, "From my experience of converting to an integrated system, it's painful at time, but the result is so fabulous that you won't want to go back."
This initiative, as outlined in the project charter, will have an organizational structure, including both outside agencies as well as groups of FSC employees. The partners in the project will be SunGard Higher Education and Strata Information Group. FSC will have project managers and leadership committees in Information Technology Services, Enrollment Management, Development and Alumni Relations, Academic Affairs and Finance Administration.
According to the project charter, readiness assessment and discovery sessions will begin in October and last until December. Representatives from Strata Group will learn how FSC conducts business and does daily tasks with the Ingres system. Training programs on learning how to take full advantage of the new system will be made available throughout the project, and will begin in December.
Conversions from the old systems to Banner will begin in the summer of 2007 and continue until the spring of 2009. However, Laughran said that they will be releasing full functionality in stages, and that there will be "overlapage" of systems usage during the project. He said that "we will know when we are finished [with the project] when we stop using Ingres, MyFSC portal and are totally using the new technology."
Hamel said "We are very anxious to get started here, and we will soon see the benefits." He said that there are a few factors that lead to success of this project, the most important being people's ability to evolve and change their management and usage patterns with the new technology. "We chose in a strategic move to increase technology in the last few years, which has really impacted students and teachers in the classroom...We look forward to supporting this initiative."