1. LEWIS Launch--Student System Live!
After continuing acceleration over the past several months, the Banner
Student system went live with student registration as of April 10th in
the afternoon. During the first week, 1,824 students were registered
for the fall semester using Banner. The system worked well and the
biggest problem for the registrar's staff was students who submitted schedules
with time conflicts, more than one class scheduled in the same time slot.
Since this was the first time priority for registration was given by class,
the coveted 10 AM time slot for nearly all sophomore classes was filled
by upperclass students.
2. Database conversion: A Successful Herculean Effort
Although working on computer systems doesn't require brute strength,
the recent conversion of Lehigh’s legacy student data to the Banner system
was a monumental effort. Thousands of data elements from the old
system had to be identified, transferred and properly formatted for storage
in the correct location in Banner. Creativity and dedication by the
ESI staff, working with the Registrar’s Office staff, made this conversion
a reality on April 3rd. Many thanks are due to the Enterprise System
Implementation staff members: Jim Baker, Pauline Chu, Susan Donchez, John
Early, Rose Anne Evans, Brian Hearn, Phil Lawrence, Jerry Lennon, Jean
Nonnemaker, Mary Louise Powers, Ron Wagner, Randy Wambold, and Sherri Yerk-Zwickl.
3. Seeing Green
In other areas of the Student system, all student accounts were zeroed
out on the old BRS system and the account balances successfully transferred
to the accounts receivable portion of Banner. This means that student
bill processing is now being done in the new system.
4. "Appearance Makes the Man"
If appearance is indeed an ingredient for success, then not only did
the financial aid office succeed in producing 1,838 offers of financial
aid for prospective freshmen, but they succeeded in generating a letter
that looked professional, was even beautiful, and that, most importantly,
was accurate in its details! Congratulations to all involved.
5. Mac Users Empowered
Lehigh technical staff have determined it is possible to run Banner
on a Macintosh with the addition of a software package called VirtualPC.
For details on this and other equipment requirements for running the Banner
clients, see the "Equipment needed… section on the LEWIS Web page:
http//:www.lehigh.edu/lewis
6. What Lies Ahead?
The Banner software is a constantly evolving product. The version
of the software Lehigh is currently using is version 3.x. The next
major release, 4.x, will soon be available in a test instance for use in
training by the SCT consultants. This release includes some major
new functionality for finance and human resources in particular, and the
LEWIS Steering Committee will soon be making a recommendation on when we
should adopt 4.x across the board. Sometime this summer is the likely time
with the recognition that there will need to be additional training for
all staff already using the system.
7. Coming Attractions
Under the big tent this summer, look for Web for Student to be piloted
during the second summer session in a partial implementation. The
first priority will be to provide students with online access to their
grades. Also watch for more details on additional training sessions.
When you have the appropriate approvals and log-in codes, you may want
to check out the instructions on the LEWIS home page for downloading Banner
clients, documentation and navigation training.
8. SCT on High
During Spring Break week, a number of Lehigh folks made the trek to
San Francisco for the annual SCT Summit Conference for users of its Banner
products. Those attending were: Manny Pena, Tom Smull, Sheri
Yerk-Zwickl, Mary Louise Powers, Debbie Feldman, Jane Frounfelker, Bruce
Correll, Linda Bell, Robert Siegfried, Dick Sanders, Toni Lee Febbo, Becky
Bowen, Dot Ouellette, Robin Bodnar, Emil Gnasso, Veronica Hesch, and Lisa
Werley. One of the highlights of the conference was a session on
SCT's plans for the future for Banner.
If you have comments or questions on this newsletter or about communication
about LEWIS, contact Jean Farrington at jwf3@lehigh.edu