Transition to New Administrative Software Begins in March

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Feb. 22, 2010 – Springfield College is upgrading administrative software, and the result will be greater ease, efficiency and effectiveness in serving students, faculty, staff, admissions candidates, parents, donors, alumni and others.

The college is partnering with Jenzabar to migrate from the iSeries TE platform (AS400) to the CX platform. Jenzabar, a leading provider of software, services and strategies for higher education, has served Springfield College for 12 years.

According to Springfield College Vice President for Administration and Finance John L. Mailhot, the transition will take about 18 months. “This is the biggest technology project that a college can undertake, and it affects everybody,” he said.

The college will begin assessing the needs of each business area in March, and will integrate modules in sequence beginning with the most admissions-sensitive. There will be training during and after the implementation. The college has contracted with Serensoft to manage a smooth transition.

The new system will establish one unified and expanded database. It will eliminate the need for users to maintain information in other systems, such as spreadsheets. Users will have rapid, convenient, and shared access to administrative information. There will be common business practices across the college, resulting in significantly improved reports based on more timely, accurate and complete data.

Jenzabar’s Internet Campus Solution (JICS) will allow an individualized self-service portal for every user on the campus. It offers web-based features to assist the college in fostering, building and sustaining lifelong relationships with prospects, students, parents, alumni and other groups.

The Advancement Officer and Constituent Module is designed to serve institutional advancement in managing campaigns, planned giving, stewardship and grants. The Admissions Officer and Candidate Module serves admissions office staff and prospects. It allows high school students to view application requirements, request a campus visit, and apply online. Once in the admissions process, students can sign in, view their status, and link directly to their admissions counselor.

The Faculty and Student Module provides the faculty and students with information and a means of interacting. Faculty members may view their courses, class lists and class venues, and enter grades. To assist them in student advising, this module also includes an advisee roster with the ability to register advisees for classes, view or set up meeting times, and record notes. It allows students to register for classes; make payments; and view their financial aid awards, previous coursework, remaining courses required for their majors, and requirements if they decide to change majors. They will also be able to view and print unofficial transcripts.

The Staff Module allows departments and associates to view budget information and to create and approve requisitions. These features involve role-based security.

Springfield College will also implement Jenzabar’s Non-Traditional System (NTS), which delivers registration and course management options, pricing and payment plans, and student-friendly e-commerce capabilities for students in nontraditional programs.

In addition to JICS, the transition will include IBM’s Cognos. This feature quickly translates information from the college’s various systems and data into visually rich presentations using gauges, maps, charts and other graphical elements to show multiple results.

The college will periodically inform the campus community about the status of the software upgrade throughout the transition period.

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02/22/2010