Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) Update

1. Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) Update Pierce Cantrell Vice President and Associate Provost for IT January 12, 2009

2. Outline • SIMS History • Compass Selection Process • Compass Student Information System • Project Governance • Project Team • Compass Implementation Steps • Howdy Portal • Compass System Timeline • Training • Graduate Student Information • The Compass Advantage – Admission Reports • Additional Project Information

3. SIMS History • Commercial product purchased in 1984 and implemented in 1985 • IBM mainframe, Cobol, ADABAS data base, & Natural • We have been modifying the original code for 23 years • Came close to replacing SIMS prior to 2000, but we chose to spend more than two years modifying SIMS to be Y2K compliant • Web registration went on-line in Fall 2001 followed by MyRecord Web-based functions for students • No Web interface for faculty, department administration, advisors, or staff • No data warehouse for query and reporting • Older platform that is harder to maintain

4. Compass Selection Process • Letter from President Bowen in 1999 requests review of both SIMS Student and BPP Payroll systems • Reports in April 2000 recommended replacing SIMS & BPP immediately • During 2000-2002, a planning team is appointed, RFI issued, site visits to other universities, vendor presentations on campus, and project director is hired • Fall 2002, new administration. President Gates requests a review of the proposed project. Campus review recommends proceeding • Consultant hired to recommend selection process. Report issued in fall 2004 with recommendations that we follow • EIS Selection committee formed in 2005. Includes administrative offices plus OGS, Dept Head, Faculty Senate, & Advisors. • In 2006, the decision is made to purchase SunGard Banner Student, Luminis portal, ODS data mart, and EDW data warehouse • With the exception of WTAMU, all other A&M System universities and the HSC have implemented or are implementing Banner student

5. Compass Student Information System • New platform – Oracle database • Internet-based and tied to Howdy Portal • Dynamicdatabase for reporting – in the long run, more reporting available for end-users • Search functions – Admissions, Records, Student Business Services and Financial Aid all report success • Students maintain functionality • On-line registration and payments • Can review grades and allow others certain access • Faculty • On-line grade entry • View class roster in real time

6. Project Governance • EIS Council • Jeffrey Vitter, Provost & Executive VP for Academics • Russell Cross, Executive Vice President for Operations • Luis Cifuentes, Vice Provost • Terry Pankratz, Vice President for Finance & CFO • Pierce Cantrell, Vice President and Associate Provost for IT • Responsibilities • High-level strategic direction for project including review of funding plans and timeline • Review recommendations made by EIS Steering Committee • Make decisions about software configuration that have significant impact on university policy, project budget, or project timeline • EIS Executive Committee • Pierce Cantrell, VP & Associate Provost for IT (Chair) • John Crawford, Associate Vice President & Controller • Martyn Gunn, Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Associate Provost for Academic Services • Ramesh Kannappan, (ex officio, non-voting) Project Director for EIS • Responsibilities • Implement Steering Committee Recommendations • Liaison to EIS Council • Oversight of project budget • Also members of the full Steering Committee

7. EIS Steering Committee Membership (During Student Implementation) • Student System Representation (17) • Academic Department Head – Valerie Taylor • AOC – Kriss Boyd • Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Academic Services – Martyn Gunn • Distance Education – Jan Richards • GOC – Bob Webb • Faculty Senate – Doug Slack • Graduate Student Council • Graduate Studies – Brenda Thomas • International Programs – Suzanne Droleskey • Recruiting and Admissions – Alice Reinarz • Registrar – Andy Armstrong • Student Business Services – Bob Piwonka • Student Financial Aid – Joseph Pettibon • Student Government – Andrew Chin • University Advisors and Counselors – Vida Wilhelm • Vice President for Student Affairs – David Sweeny • Vice President for Finance – John Crawford • Branch Campuses (2) • Texas A&M University at Galveston – Steve Conway • Texas A&M University at Qatar – Robert Hensley • Information Technology (3) • Vice President and Associate Provost for IT – Pierce Cantrell • Computing and Information Services – Pete Marchbanks • Enterprise Information Systems (ex officio) – RameshKannappan

8. EIS Steering Committee Responsibilities • Make recommendations to EIS Council for key decisions including decisions that have a significant policy impact or financial impact • Provide direction for activities of the project on a monthly basis • Review project status and project plans • Determine the level of modifications of the SIMS and Compass systems

9. Project Team • The SIMS team is now part of the EIS organization • Partnership with CIS, Admissions IT, Financial Aid IT, Galveston IT, and Qatar IT • Technical team is trained in Oracle technology and creates reports, interfaces, bolt-ons, etc. • Staff from TAMU functional departments have joined the EIS project on a full time basis • Functional staff are responsible for documenting processes, system configuration, system testing, and meeting with their home departments regularly • Support from CIS for systems management and other services (HR, Accounting, and Desktop/LAN Support) • SunGard Consultants – full time project manager, Student consultant, and Financial Aid consultant

10. Compass Implementation Steps • Started implementation in January 2007 with completion in Fall 2009 • Functional and Technical Training • System Configuration • Data Conversion • Testing • Development of reports, interfaces, customizations, etc.

11. Howdy Portal • Compass access will be through Howdy • GoLive was in March 2008 • Single point of access for many on-line resources • http://howdy.tamu.edu

12. Compass System Timeline Functional AreasGo-live dateTraining Admissions September 1, 2008 Completed Transfer Admissions January 5, 2009 Completed Financial Aid February 16, 2009 Currently ongoingClass scheduling and Registration March/April 2009 February 2009Departmental Scholarship entry March/April 2009 February/March 20094th Year Vet School students April 2009 February/March 2009 CAPP (degree audit) July/August 2009 June 2009Student Business Services (billing) August 2009 April 2009Online grade submission Fall 2009 September 2009

13. Training • Compass Navigation Training • Basic Navigation in-class training • Online materials available as a refresher. • Help available at Compass@tamu.edu email • Functional Training • Completed for Admissions GoLive in September 2008 • Financial Aid and Records training will continue throughout 2009 • Faculty and staff will be notified by Primary Authorizing Agent when training is needed for your module

14. Additional Project Information • http://eis.tamu.edu • Listserv • To subscribe to the EIS-Project-Information LISTSERV list http://listserv.tamu.edu/archives/eis-project-information.html • Aggie Hotline • Distribution - A