Below are answers to some frequently asked SIS questions. If you would like additional items to be posted, please submit your question to sis@osu.edu or use the Ask Us link.
What is the SIS project?
The Student Information System (SIS) Project is part of the university’s initiative to connect areas of academic excellence, and to provide a system that can meet the needs of the student population for many years to come. The project’s mission is to establish a single, cohesive authoritative data source for student-related data, thus providing consistent information sharing among faculty, administrative and student users. Planning for the project began in 2005 and will continue over a 4-year period to allow sufficient time for system design and testing. The system is expected to be fully integrated by the summer of 2009.
With the design and development of the new system completed, the Project began the testing phase in January, 2008.
For more information on the current status of the project, read the current University Community newsletter at: oaa.osu.edu/sis/newsletters
How was Oracle/PeopleSoft decided upon as the system of choice?
An important factor in the selection of PeopleSoft/Oracle (hereafter called Oracle) software was the outcome of high level module assessments that occurred in Winter 2005. Representatives from colleges, the Office of Enrollment Services and Undergraduate Education (ESUE), the University Treasurer's Office and the Office of Information Technology reviewed the modules and determined that the software meets our needs for most student related processes.
The Ohio State University is currently using Oracle software to manage its Financials, Grants and Human Resources processes. By using software developed by the same supplier, the university can take advantage of the technology infrastructure already in place as well as technology and user expertise gained from earlier implementations. In addition, integration and interfaces between modules are provided as part of the Oracle product license. If similar software were developed in house or by another supplier, custom interfaces would have to be created.
Another consideration is that the university's contract with Oracle includes licenses for its entire suite of software products. The implementation of the student modules saves software acquisition cost and required annual maintenance fees.
What areas of the student system are involved?OSU will be implementing Oracle Student modules for Admissions and Recruitment, Student Financials, Student Financial Aid, Student Records and Academic Advisement. The new system will interface with the current DARS system.
When will the system be ready to use?
The tentative target date for full implementation has been set for the Summer of 2009. However, the system is being implemented in waves, with the first implementation occurring in June, 2008 when the Graduate Professional Admissions office will begin accepting applications for SU09 and AU09 in the new SIS. All planned implementations will follow the life cycle of a student, beginning with the Admissions application process and concluding with activities related to student commencement.
For more information on the implementations that will occur from June, 2008 to August, 2009, see: oaa.osu.edu/sis/timeline
Will the old system completely go away?
The legacy system(s) now in use will begin to be phased out in Summer, 2008. There will be a period of time between 2008 and 2009 some system users will need to access both the current student system and the Oracle system to do your job. As we move closer to the final implementation phase, you will use the old systems less and less until finally you will not use them at all. At full implementation, the Oracle system will replace the current systems – specifically PRODCICS, MARX, SAM, BARS, and ARCS - completely. The legacy systems(s) will be kept operational for a period of time as a reference database but no new activity will occur in the systems after the new SIS is fully implemented.
Will the Operational Data Store (ODS) be impacted?
Yes. Because the structure of the new SIS is different from the current systems, the structure of the ODS will be different as well. Queries to run reports that have been created in unit maintained systems will need to be re-written. Training sessions for the Admissions module have already occurred. Additional training sessions will occur for the other modules beginning with Student records in Summer 2008. In addition, some reports for users will be created and interfaced with Hyperion – the reporting tool for the university. The first reports should be ready early in Autumn 2008.
Is the new system flexible and adaptable in terms of upgrades for advances in technology as they arise?
The Ohio State University will install the most recent version of the Oracle student modules. By implementing the latest version, the university will be positioned to stay up to date on software patches and any Oracle upgrade/technology releases.
What kind of training will be available for users of the new system? How hard is it to learn? What is the anticipated learning curve/implementation time?
A detailed training plan has been developed that includes hands on training in computer labs, and access to online materials. As with any new product there is a learning curve. Attending training sessions and allocating time to practice using the software before "go live" are important factors for a successful implementation. The training plan has been developed using these guidelines.
For more detailed information on system training, see:
oaa.osu.edu/sis/training
Who else uses this system (other universities, etc) and did you confer with them as to their level of satisfaction with it?
A number of other universities use the Oracle student modules including several Big 10 schools. We regularly confer with Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin to discuss their Oracle student implementations and learn about their experiences. We confer with the Big 10 schools collectively to discuss system implementations with them through various CIC (Committee on Institutional Cooperation) groups.
Each year, from 2006 to present, representatives from The Ohio State University attend the Oracle Higher Education Users Group (HEUG) where they interact with thousands of representatives from colleges and universities who are using Oracle software, including the student modules. Several of the SIS Project team members have been asked to speak at each the HEUG conference since 2006 to share information and design strategies that have resulted from the work that has been completed or planned for the new SIS.How often does the system go down, and what happens during data outages?
We expect to have regularly planned downtimes to process batch jobs or apply major patches to the software. These processes will be similar to the current Student, HR and Financials systems. We do not expect to experience significant emergency downtime. Should that occur, communication methods are in place to notify system users of the situation and expected downtime.
How were the people in the SIS project (representatives from colleges, units, etc) selected?
A pre-assessment team was identified in 2005 to evaluate the Oracle software and to determine the feasibility of moving forward with an implementation project. In addition to representatives from the Office of Enrollment Services and Undergraduate Education (ESUE), the University Registrar and the Office of Information Technology (OIT), representatives from the Colleges also participated.
In late 2005, Executives began identifying project team members with the intention of capitalizing on the expertise of university staff as much as possible. The project requires the full time effort of a significant number of individuals throughout the 4-year life of the project. Advisors may be called upon to provide input on specific processes at certain points during the project. Business sponsors from central units also worked to free up staff and to provide subject matter expertise for functionality assessment/design and training purposes. The Office of Academic Affairs worked with colleges to identify individuals with process knowledge, desire and availability to participate. OIT is also providing technology and change management staff. Project leadership was put into place in November, 2005 and was followed by a ramping up of staff from January, 2006 for project planning and again in April, 2006 to prepare for the Fit/Gap phase.
Two groups, the Change Management Liaison Group (CMLG) and the College Implementation Managers group (CIM) have been formed to communicate information and project updates to colleges and units across campus and the extended campuses.
If you have any questions about the SIS project or would like to provide your college or department with more information, please contact the CMLG or CIM in your area . If you do not know who your representative is, please contact the SIS Change Management team at: sis@osu.edu
How is the new OSU ID numbering scheme related to the new Student System?
With the implementation of the first phase of the Student Information System (SIS) in the spring of 2008, the SIS and Human Resources (HR) Systems will share a common database and a common OSU ID format (Referred to as Employee ID number in the HR System). This new numbering scheme will uniquely identify new individuals to the university and will allow the university to maintain current and new employee and student records in the same database, providing a more flexible system to meet our future needs. The new numbering scheme impacts HR, the Medical Center, the new SIS and the Operational Data Store (a database that contains a daily "snapshot" of key transactional information used for queries and reports).
For more information on the OSU ID number scheme and its impacts, see oaa.osu.edu/sis/communications
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