Tennessee Board of Regents, ETSU’s governing body, has signed a $51 million contract to use a new software system called Banner in all of its schools because of a grassroots effort begun by its universities.
“It wasn’t actually the Board of Regents that chose this software,” said Tom Danford, the chief information officer for the TBR.
“In 2002, the schools formed committees on their own looking for a new computer system. Then they presented us with the information they had collected about the Banner system.”
Banner developed by SunGard, is an integrated administrative system that uses a relational database. This means that all the information in the computer systems of human resources, payroll, financial aid and student records will be combined to create one large database.
“One problem with old systems is that each department would maintain the same information in a separate database for its own use,” said Chris Bryant, a senior majoring in computer science. “If a student ever wants to change his address, it’s a typical ETSU nightmare to do it. With a relational database, if something needs to be changed, it’s changed in the database with one simple command.”
Information from TBR says that Banner will be able to provide online features that the current system cannot, including advisement, registration and a degree audit feature, which allows students to determine which classes they need to graduate or to see how changing majors will affect them.
“This is some of the most student-centric software out there,” Danford said. “SunGard is one of the few companies that focuses on the students because they know students are mainly using their programs.”
One of the most emphasized features of Banner is its ability to provide easier access to all student services.
“Our goal is for students to have a single sign-on for managing all of their information,” said Edwina Greer, project manager for Banner at ETSU. “After one signs on you can manage your registration information, pay your fees, and even access your e-mail or BlackBoard.”
The new system will also have less down time than GoldLink – the current system students use for managing most of their information.
“The system that we’re using now has its roots in the 1970s and is written in an archaic programming language,” said Mark Bragg, assistant vice president of the Office of Information Technology, who is overseeing the technological aspects of switching to Banner.
“To update the system and create a backup, you have to take it down at night. The new system can create a backup while running, so it is available almost 24/7. It may be offline on Sundays from midnight to noon for system maintenance,” Bragg said.
Although some of ETSU’s computer systems are already online with Banner, it will be 2008 before students are affected by the change.
“The human resources and payroll systems came up in January of this year, and the finance system came up in July,” Greer said. “We’ll remain on our current student financial aid system through this and the next academic year. The plan is for students attending the university in fall of 2008 to be admitted into the new system.

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