You don't listen to 8-track tapes on your way to the office, you don't do all of your typing on a typewriter, and you don't make copies using a mimeograph machine.
So why should Eastern Illinois University 's computer infrastructure run on decades-old software?
It shouldn't, and that's why implementing the Banner system is so important, said Bill Witsman , project director.
The updating of the university's computer infrastructure involves changing the entire campus over to one integrated system, in a process called Enterprise Information System Enhancement.
The project is better known on campus as Banner, because Banner is the name of the main software suite involved.
Its benefits are far-reaching, and they will affect everybody on campus – students, staff, faculty and administrators – in some fashion.
The bottom line is that the system will be easier to use, cheaper to maintain and more efficient in data collection and organization, which will have a positive impact throughout campus.
The project, which started taking shape earlier this year, is on schedule and on budget. All aspects of the system are expected to be online by early 2008.
Why do we need it?
One of the main benefits of Banner is that all offices on campus will use the same database with information on all employees and students. This will provide consistency of information such as names and addresses, saving time and cutting down on errors.
In addition, much of our current software doesn't provide the best ways to compile information that is needed in today's society.
During the 1960s and ‘70s, computer hard drives were expensive, so programmers limited the amount of information that was stored. Therefore, a field for a street address might be limited to 20 characters, which isn't nearly enough for many of today's lengthy addresses.
And nobody in the ‘60s could have anticipated the need for entering e-mail addresses or cell phone numbers, transferring funds electronically or making automatic payroll deductions.
“There are a lot of old techniques that worked then that don't work today,” Witsman said. “We keep different data now, and we use it in increasingly complex ways.”
Efforts have been made through the years to update the systems, but they have created a hodge-podge that needs to be cleaned up.
Witsman cited the example of one public school building that had different colors of bricks in every building addition, the result of board members choosing the cheapest possible way to get the job done.
“That's what happens with computing systems sometimes – they don't fit together as well as they should,” Witsman said.
The EISE/Banner software will make it easy to make changes in the way data is stored, in case new information needs arise as society continues to change.
How does this affect the university financially?
From a financial perspective, it's good that the university is taking the initiative to implement the changes now, because for every year the project was delayed, it would have cost about $1 million more.
And the timing was also right for EIU to take advantage of a deal offering the Banner software at nearly no cost, saving the university at least $1.2 million.
Banner will be much cheaper to maintain than the current mainframe, which will be retired when Banner becomes operational.
With Banner, EIU will pay the company a yearly fee to keep up on maintenance, freeing up EIU staff members to do other needed work on campus.
How will it affect me?
If you're fearing a complicated system, don't. Banner screens are far easier to use than the mainframe (often referred to as Switch) currently used on campus, as the new system eliminates the need for memorizing codes.
In fact, if you already use a computer at all, you will probably be familiar with the Web-based format used by Banner.
“The way that people are going to interact with this system is going to be a lot more like what they're used to in everyday computing tasks,” Witsman said. “It's point and click. The new system is much easier to use.”
Don't worry, though – training will still be provided to make sure all employees know exactly what they're doing.
Campuswide training will be led by employees most familiar with each area's particular system.
“We feel we're going to have a campus that's better trained in these systems,” Witsman said.
Plus, if questions should arise, there is an extensive amount of online documentation about the system, Witsman said, adding that it would take reams and reams of paper to print it all out.
“The entire campus will have many of their peers at other institutions that they can get advice from,” he said.
By EIU Department of University Communications |
