AUBG will have a new student information system next year, Dean of Faculty Steve Sullivan said. The software platform to be used is called Blackbaud, after the company which develops it, and will cost about $75,000. Its features include a new course registration system that, unlike the current one, will be available off-campus, too.

The system AUBG uses now has different components, some of which come from an old version of Blackbaud, said Latchezar Filtchev, director of the Office of Computing and Communication (OCC). Lack of security is one of the main reasons why it is inaccessible outside the AUBG network. This will no longer be an issue with the new system, Filtchev added.

Off-campus accessibility is one of the main reasons for the migration, Sullivan added. Another benefit is Blackbaud's commitment to update the software as technology evolves. The current system cannot be updated and we are the only ones in the world who are using it, Sullivan added.

Blackbaud will allow records to be uploaded directly from the Admissions to the Registrar's Office. There will also be a faculty portal.

The decision for update was taken last year when the AUBG management convened several meetings between the provost, OCC, Registrar's, and other administration members, Filtchev said. We bought new servers during the summer, and the whole process has taken us a year so far.

The funding for the project has been granted under the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program and our intention was to update during the winter of 2010, but we will probably leave it for next year due to problems that may arise with the transition, Filtchev added.

Sullivan said that moving all student records to a new system is complicated. Every time a new system is adopted, it is likely to cause initial disruptions, regardless of what the vendor promises. In addition, AUBG has to upgrade the hardware infrastructure in order to install the new software, Sullivan added.

As for this academic year, students will register for courses using the old website. So far, there have not been many complaints about the draft schedule, but it is still not final, Sullivan said. One problem is that departments requested the same time slots as individual faculty members. Some time slots are more popular than others, Sullivan added. "There are not enough classrooms for [all the classes] and I have to work with faculty to move classes around," Sullivan said, adding that there will be some changes for sure. However, 90 per cent of the schedule will stay the same.

Before the draft schedule was complete, the Student Government (SG) run the survey "No More Cancelled Courses" in order to secure that highly-demanded courses will be offered next semester. "I have not taken into account the results from the SG survey about students' course preferences," Sullivan said. "I received it after I had set the draft schedule and I have only had a chance to glance through it, but I will share it with department chairs."

Comments

elkelany

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I Hope To know What The System ?

Saturday 18 December 2010, 16:57

RT

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Finally! This has been long overdue:

Quote:

[Sullivan] said he hopes the new system will be up and running for next academic year

(http://www.defactobg.com/index.php?act=2&id=936" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">defacto, Sept. 18, 2008).
I was hoping to get to see the new system before I graduate, but seems like it's not going to happen :-/

Wednesday 01 December 2010, 08:56

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