The Student Information System, unpacked

This January, Concordia’s legacy student information system, together with several satellite systems, was replaced with a package solution from Oracle/PeopleSoft called Campus Solutions. The new enterprise-level Student Information System (SIS) supports virtually all student-related services, processes and business functions at the university.

“The SIS project is the foundation of other initiatives to replace and consolidate a number of our legacy and non-integrated software packages,” says Marc Denoncourt, associate vice-president and CIO, Instructional and Information Technology Services. “Our vision is to improve university operational efficiencies and increase services to our end-user community through a simplification of our application portfolio and to position Concordia on technologies that will serve its mission for the next 10 to 20 years.”

Benefits out-of-the-box

The decision to implement Campus Solutions was proactive, to keep abreast of institutional needs.

“We chose a technology that brings us off-the-shelf functionalities while we benefit from the R&D of a major software supplier dedicated to the higher education industry,” says Bradley Tucker, associate vice-president of Registrarial Services and University Registrarial Services and University Registrar. “We purchased a solution that will continue to evolve for many years in the context of an industry that is constantly evolving.”

Efficient upgrades

“Some additional development was necessary to accommodate the needs of the university — such as interactions with the Quebec government, how repeat courses are handled, and the need to incorporate CEGEPs, which only exist in Quebec,” says Terry Too, SIS project director. “Customization makes it difficult and more expensive to implement future upgrades and new software releases, so modifications must be kept to a minimum.”

In good company

After comparing the competing software products on the market, the university chose Campus Solutions by Oracle/PeopleSoft because of its ability to handle current and future requirements. Concordia is in good company. Oracle/PeopleSoft has more than 1,000 applications customers in more than 30 countries. In Canada alone, there are 25 other educational institutions using Campus Solutions. In the United States, clients include Princeton University and Columbia University, to name just two.

“With Campus Solutions, we continue to remain competitive as a next-generation university, providing an online student experience that will meet student expectations for integration and usability,” says Tucker.

Best practices

It’s widely agreed that a package solution is an effective way to ensure best practices for a transformation of this nature. Because many educational institutions worldwide also use Campus Solutions, Oracle/PeopleSoft provides Concordia with access to their knowledge, R&D and wider community of user support.

An annual Campus Solutions conference provides an excellent opportunity for system users to interact with other universities.

Upcoming features

More features of Campus Solutions will be rolled out as part of the phased implementation. 

Transition in action

As with any phased implementation of this size and scope, some glitches are to be expected during the transition. The SIS project team exists to support staff and work through any required fixes.

“We’d like to thank the faculty and staff for your continued patience and willingness to engage constructively with the new system. As we all develop fluency with the system, we’ll be better able to meet the expectations of students and better fulfill our administrative mission,” says Tucker.

Support

Training and support are ongoing. In response to feedback from the community, more training for faculty and department advisors has been scheduled on both campuses. Details and registration can be found at the IT Training page.

To learn specifics about the SIS support structure and more, consult the SIS Project Renewal Hub.