IT Tech News

New Student Information System

At the end of last year, Union made a huge commitment to the future of technology at the university.  A decision was made to upgrade the old Jenzabar Student Information System with the latest and greatest version.  An upgrade of this magnitude is a huge undertaking – especially with staff that already have full plates.  A typical upgrade of this size takes approximately 18 months to complete.  The planning kicked off at the end of 2008 with a launch planned for the middle of 2010.

After conferring with the many programs and centers throughout the university, a launch week of April 12-18 was selected.  Obviously, with a university offering so many services, no date is perfect for everyone, but this date should have the least impact on university operations.

There are multiple phases to the project and the various parts of the university will be brought into the process during those phases.  The current phase is called “Pre-Configuration.”  During this phase, the administrative and academic offices are reviewing our current system configurations and reviewing best practices with Jenzabar representatives.  The “Configuration” phase will take place in June when the new system is set up with information specific to Union.  The remainder of the year is a complex process of mapping our existing data to transfer to the new system, as well as completing test transfers.  Beginning in January, several months of training will take place leading up to the April launch.  Training will include all parts of the university and schedules will soon be communicated to departments.

This is a huge undertaking and will certainly stretch our resources to their limits.  Your help and cooperation during this upgrade is greatly appreciated and you will be rewarded with a new, state-of-the-art Student Information System.

(Published April 29, 2009)