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SECTION 6: STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM PROJECT

6.0 Background

The Student Information System (SIS) is at the heart of almost all administrative activity relating to students and their courses at Queen's. The SIS deals with the various processes that underpin the University's administration. Its remit ranges from dealing with prospective students and admissions, through to enrolments, fees, and registration. It also deals with exam results, graduation and statutory reports.

The present system has served the University well – it is an INGRES system developed as part of the MAC Initiative, and it was first used in the academic year 95/96. It is now used much more extensively than its design anticipated, with over 1000 staff users and almost all students accessing their SIS information via the Queen’s Online Portal.

The current SIS has been in use for quite some time, and needs to be updated in terms of functionality and user-friendliness. The future of the INGRES database system is now in question, so there is a need to revise the current provision. This gives us a chance to review the University's operational activities, and gives us an opportunity to significantly enhance support for teaching and learning.

The SIS Project was established to facilitate the smooth procurement and implementation of a replacement system, almost certainly through the purchase of a commercial system.

6.1 Purpose of SIS Project

The key objectives of the project are to:

• manage the selection and implementation of an appropriate system or systems to meet agreed requirements, through all stages from inception to post-implementation review;

• facilitate the key business processes of the University and its colleges;

• identify and enable process improvement and efficiency;

• allow easy interface to, and seamless integration with, other key systems.

Three committees have been established to oversee the project: a Project Steering Group, a Project User Group and a Project Implementation Group. The scope of the project includes all aspects of student management, from initial inquiry right through to when students join the alumni. It will involve all aspects of course management and related student and course reporting as well as a staff and student portal.

Our aim is to adopt a system that :

• provides a single, complete, integrated & authoritative source of information for all stakeholders;

• reflects and drives the University’s business processes;

• enables a new model of service delivery;

• gives us the ability to succeed in an increasingly competitive environment.

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6.2 Project Plan

Project Milestones

The project has been split into three phases covering the period from September 2005 to July 2009:

1. Set-up and Specifications of Requirements (Sept ’05 – July ’06) Phase One is now complete. This stage involved consultations with schools and directorates. A Market survey provided an overview of commercial systems available. An extensive consultation exercise analysed business processes and specified the requirements for the new system.

2. Procurement (July ’06 – March ’07) We are currently at Phase Two of the project. This stage involves preparing a Vendor Questionnaire and considering the responses. A selected set of suppliers will be sent Operational Requirements, before the final supplier is selected.

3. Implementation (March ’07 – July ’09) A timetable of activities will be drawn up to ensure that each SIS component is adopted in a timely fashion, and ensuring staff training as and when appropriate.

6.3 Processes

Analysis of Business Processes

The project team has identified 20 business processes which need to be analysed. As each process is analysed, the resulting documentation will be made available online.

The purpose of analysing the business functions is:

(i) to form the basis of the Specification of Requirements for the new system; and

(ii) to facilitate analysis, and where appropriate re-design, of the current processes.

The 20 business processes include:

1. Prospectus and enquiry management 2. Admissions (UCAS) 3. Admissions (Direct) 4. Postgraduate awards 5. Student accommodation management 6. Enrolment and registration (Supplementary Documentation) 7. Core student record maintenance 8. Research student management 9. Open Learning (extra mural) 10. Examinations and assessments 11. Progression 12. Graduation 13. Progress Files (PDP & Transcripts) 14. Fees and bursaries 15. Statutory returns (Supplementary Documentation) 16. Course management 17. Satellite systems and Nursing functionality 18. MIS information and reporting

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19. Publications (Calendar books etc.) 20. Interfaces and data transfer