Banner introduced this Fall
Western Carolina University administrative systems will
soon be receiving a much-needed update as the new Banner
project finally gets off the ground this fall.
Banner, Western's core business system, will be increasing
its service levels to allow for easier, around-the-clock
access. This technological update keeps pace with similar
upgrades at other universities throughout the state.
Banner is a huge institutional project that will take a
full seven years to implement. Those sections affected by
the upgrade include areas as diverse as alumni records, fundraising,
student records, financial aid, as well as many others.
"This upgrade and modernization is ultimately geared
at serving the university community," said Chief Information
Officer Tom Franke. "The ultimate goal is to bring a
more unified and integrated computer-based service to the
campus."
The first step in the Banner project will specifically affect
alumni records and services as well as fundraising records.
This will be followed in the spring by an update to financial
aid and student information. Both changes will prove to be
cost saving and to raise efficiency over the current systems.
"The real significance here is that this is really
going to happen now. This thing is about to go live," said
Franke.
The Banner project has been in the works for several years,
according to Franke. Funding problems in the past have prevented
the ambitious change from coming to fruition. These obstacles
have been cleared, however, with additional state funding
and revenue generated by a new student fee.
The update will be coming just in time, said Franke. The
university is currently working with technology that is significantly
outdated. The general operating system is over 20 years old;
some of the hardware is over nine years old. Franke said
it is important that the technology be brought up to date
in order to accommodate newer improvements to the operating
system. Otherwise, expansion and future upgrades might have
proved extremely difficult.
The Banner upgrade is being conducted in collaboration with
the University of North Carolina Shared Services Alliance,
an association that consists of most of the 16 universities
in the UNC system. Western is a full member of the alliance.
According to the alliance's mission statement, the project
is being implemented to bring a "consistent solution
across thirteen system campuses to minimize effort and maximize
output through shared information, common structures, collaborative
efforts, and the common best business practices. IT, Alliance,
and administrative transformation are essential components
of the overall system."
Franke said the Banner implementation is another important
step towards accommodating the needs of the people affected
by the system.
"This is really the capstone to an overall effort.
We are finally able to bring a unified system and shape it
around the user's needs," he said.
For more information on Banner, contact Edna Waldrop at
227-3223.
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