Student Information System: Vision and Scope

Student Information System: Vision and Scope

Project Vision

The vision for the Student Information System Project is to provide state-of-the-art software for managing student academic and financial records. The system will provide Case Western Reserve University campus members the tools to create, maintain and report on student data in an efficient and convenient manner. Upon completion of the project, the system will improve the quality of the academic experience for students, faculty and staff. PeopleSoft SIS will be the single, integrated, authoritative source for student-related data.

Our vision is to create an environment that:

• Eliminates the reliance on Social Security Number as the primary student identifier
• Migrates all student data from the unsupported legacy mainframe environment to the enterprise Oracle database
• Enables a stable, reliable and convenient self-service registration environment (replacing SOLAR)
• Provides more timely (real time), convenient (24/7) and flexible self-service options to students, faculty and staff
• Provides the opportunity to improve on current business processes
• Is conducive to managing and maintaining changes to academic and/or regulatory policies
• Improves communication by sharing consistent information within and across functional areas of the University
• Does not limit the academic vision of the university

Project Scope

A clear scope is important to any project because it defines those areas that will be addressed by the project as well as those areas that will not be included in the project.
Scope management will be a critical task during the project in order to ensure an on-time and on-budget implementation. Any changes in the defined scope of this project could potentially cause an increase in cost and extension of the project timeline.
If changes are identified, the Decision Support Policy will be followed. An analysis of the impact of the change will be made by the project team and recommendations will be made concerning if and how the change will be accommodated.

Definition of Project Scope

The scope of the student information system implementation project is to evaluate the current business processes through fit/gap analysis and install a new student information system to meet the needs of all Undergraduate, Graduate and Professional Programs at Case. It also encompasses interfaces to and from the current Financial Aid and Admissions systems which are not in scope.
The Fit/Gap Analysis phase will build a working prototype of the student information system and identify any gaps in service or functionality. The objective is to develop and define specific strategies for addressing these gaps in Student Records, Student Financials and Campus Community IDP sessions. The decisions made in these sessions will determine the full scope of the project.
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Additional Outcomes of the Prototype

1. Evaluate pros and cons of implementing the most current release of the software.
2. Evaluate pros and cons of implementing Academic Advising versus interfacing to DARS.
3. Determine which parts of Admissions need to come back into scope because they are currently in ISIS.
4. Evaluate pros and cons of running in a shared database with Human Resources (HCM).
5. Evaluate pros and cons in implementing SEVIS processing versus interfacing to FSA/Atlas.
6. Understand how the Medical School processes work in the new student information system.
7. Promote learning, knowledge transfer and system ownership.
8. Identify and implement reporting needs through the Enterprise Data Warehouse.
9. Identify the scope of modifications required for interfaces.
10. Implement self-service modules that would be available through the MyCase portal.
11. Decisions related to interfaces will take into consideration the potential future implementations of Academic Advising, Admissions, and Financial Aid