A full year has passed since the first module went live in December 2008, and St. George’s University staff and students are now very engaged in the Banner world. Because of this integrated system, all departments of the University and University Support Services are working closely together, enabling a better understanding and greater perspective of offices and departments outside of one’s own.
The first component of Banner, Recruitment and Admissions, has processed over 46,000 recruit records and over 6,349 admission applications. Benefits include better tracking of recruits and applicants with the ability to capture different types of data, and a more efficient process for maintaining records and history. All recruitment and admission events, i.e. open houses, university visits, are now tracked through Event Management in Banner which allows better event management and recording of RSVPs and alumni volunteer activities.
Financial Aid Module, live as of April 6th, is being fully utilized on a daily basis. The Financial Aid Office has disbursed over $138 million throughout this academic year. The system was designed to automatically check student’s eligibility so that any federal compliance requirements are met before funds are disbursed. Banner provided the Financial Aid Office with the ability to automatically notify students via email when documentation is needed to process their financial aid and when their aid has been processed. Students now have 24/7 real time access to their financial aid information via Banner’s Financial Aid Self –Service. They can view any missing financial aid documents , their awards, budget, automatic web accept or decline their awards online, and see if forms are missing or have been received.
On May 29th, one of the largest components of the SGU Beyond 30 Implementation – Student Registration Module - went live. With the new integrated system, almost 3,700 students have been registered for all programs with 900 new students registered. One of the most satisfying and public accomplishments with Banner is the student “hold” process and notification features, which combined with Self-Service Banner, virtually eliminated lines at the January 2010 campus registration.
Banner has turned the student registration check-in into a lineless, paperless, and secure process, contributing to the University’s efforts toward a more environmentally friendly academic institution.
Student Self-Service was implemented in part in mid-June. Through web based self-service programming, students are now able to access course registration, review their account information online, loan status and more, on an as needed basis.
Student Finances went live on June 3rd and have achieved several successes with Banner. Transitioning various Accounts Receivable processes from manual data entry to job processes that are directly incorporated with data from their Banner modules has significantly diminished human error and increased time efficiency for all fee assessments. The Banner assessment process is automatic; the initial billing takes one-to two hours (vs. two weeks under the old system), and the updates are automatic and instant.
With the advent of a July 1st, Finance Module GoLive, the University now has one system of record which is most important for yearly audits, and applies to potential Investors, Bankers and for the Officers/Owners of the University. Through Banner, Finance has improved its overall efficiencies: consolidating time for various processes including student record reconciliation; managing cyclical revenue streams; and developing and managing budgets by department.
Please refer to the Project Timeline for exact GoLive dates and future implementations.
Posted: March 1, 2010