The Surge

LA Times article on enrollment. It is way up as Colin pointed out. My question is: what will happen with growth in enrollment going up and funding growing at 2% maximum?

"With the governor's proposed budget allowing for only 2% growth, many colleges
are anticipating funding shortfalls."

Will we cut the number of classes offered or something else?

B.I.G. Writing the B.P.A.

I attended the first B.I.G. (Banner Implementation Group) meeting on Monday. I replaced Jim N. on this committee. B.I.G. is the committee that will implement our new MIS system. The other faculty on the committee is Belen. There are two consultants, one works for Rio Hondo and the other works for Banner/Sungard (the software company). Our consultant seems like a no nonsense type of a man. He is in the process of figuring out Rio's business practices.
He asked each group to come up with business practices that we can implement. The software is very flexible and robust. However, it has to be customized to fit our business practices. Once the system is programed, it will be hard to go back and make changes. We have to decide on our procedures before we start implementing the system. The software is flexible but having contradicting procedures can lead to failure of the MIS. We need a road map before uploading any features because it will be messy to change anything midway through the process.

So here is my homework: I have to sit down and write down how teachers submit grades, Add/drop, and get our roster now. I need to get the Curriculum people to walk me through the curriculum process, so it can be duplicated in the software. I may have to consult with the SLO people too (I hope not. They are so slooo) if the software can track these tedious forms. I will have to consult with A&R and the Academic Senate to come up with acceptable procedures.

This is going to be a big change and people do not seem to realize how big! It will end all back door channels and the software will enforce the procedures. Before we write anything down please contact me and relay your concerns. As I write these BPAs I will post them here and send them out to faculty before presenting them to the Committee. If you see anything you do not like please hit the reply button or post your comment on this blog.

March 7 An Important Date

On Wednesday March 7 Banner (software company) will visit the school and put on a show. It is important that faculty attend. It is especially important that we attend between 10:45 AM and 2:00 pm. During this time they will demonstrate "We’ll see what the system looks like through the perspective of the student, of the faculty, and of the staff".
I have class on Wednesday between 9:40 to 2:00 pm, and I am hoping that others attend.
Below I have copied, pasted, and highlighted the schedule

UDC Presentation for Rio Hondo College

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

9:00am – 10:30am – “The Unified Digital Campus”
This session will give an overview of the administrative systems, self service, and custom individualized portals (including the Student Web Portal). We will show “A day in the life” of a student, an instructor , of an executive, a department head, and staff. We will show how all the pieces in our proposal will come together under the Unified Digital Campus (UDC) umbrella.
Banner Student System
During the Student System sessions, we will follow a student through the system from recruiting, registration, admissions , advising, and progress reporting. We’ll see what the system looks like through the perspective of the student, of the faculty, and of the staff.
10:45am – 12:00pm -- Admissions & Records Management
Banner Solutions for the Admissions Office:
Tracking Prospective Learners
Managing Admission Records & Processing Registrations
Communicating with Learners
Evaluating Transfer Students
Reporting & Instututional Intelligence
12:00pm – 1:00pm -- Lunch
1:00pm – 2:30pm -- Admissions & Records Management (Continued)
Banner Solutions for the Records Office:
Developing Catalog & Schedules
Maintaining Learner Records
Processing Registrations
Instructor authorization codes
Class Rosters, Grading, Academic Record Management
Instructor & Student Access to Academic Records via “UDC”
Certifying Graduation, Transcripts, Enrollment Verification, Degree Audit
2:30pm – 3:00pm -- Counseling Center
Banner Solutions for Counseling:
Education Plan, Advising & Academic Records
Support Services – (DSP&S, EPOS, Cal WORKS, etc.)
3:15pm – 3:45pm -- Student Accounts Receivable
Banner Solutions for Student Accounts:
Assessing Registration & Other Fees
Billing Learners
Web Access to Accounts
Cashiering Services
3:45 – 4:14 Automating processes across the campus (Workflow)
4:15pm – 4:30pm – Q&A & Identification of any Follow-up Issues by SGHE


Thursday, March 8, 2007

Financial Aid Demonstration – 9:00 to 11:00
Navigation
Needs Analysis
Tracking
Budgeting
Packaging
Loan Processing
Disbursement
Return of Title IV Funds
Student Employment
Funds Management
Reporting
Banner Human Resources Overview - 11:00 – 12:30
Overview
Position Management
Applicant Administration
Employment Administration
Benefits Administration
Time Entry
Payroll Processing
Employee Self-Service
Web based applications (PeopleAdmin)
Lunch Break – 12:30 – 1:30
Banner Advancement Overview – 1:30 to 2:30

Technical Overview 2:45 – 4:30
How users can personalize the Rio Hondo secure portal
Oracle tools
Ease of customization
Questions and general review