Brenda Major is no stranger to the benefits of Banner, so while she shares the burden of working to implement the software's changes, she can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“It is painstaking,” she said of the initial groundwork, “but I know how cool it is after all the hard work has been done, and that's what keeps me excited about it.”

Major, EIU's director of admissions, was impressed with Banner software when she worked at Millikin University , where she saw firsthand how well the program handles information on the admissions process.

She is looking forward to seeing EIU's admissions processes similarly streamlined when the system goes live here this summer and fall.

“So much of what we do now is manual,” Major said of the pre-Banner system. “It's time-consuming, and it can be inaccurate.”

For example, under the old system, it might take a week for employees to gauge admitted students' interest in attending EIU by looking up how many of them had made their deposits, applied for housing and filed financial aid documents. With Banner, that information can be accessed in minutes.

Banner can also provide Admissions Office staff status reports on prospective students, including what schools they're coming from, whether they've visited campus, and how far they've gotten in the admission process.

Using Banner's Self-Service component, prospective students will be able to go online to check the status of their applications. This should significantly cut down on phone inquiries the admissions office handles, Major said.

Making such information accessible online should be very well received by today's students, who are accustomed to finding information at the click of a mouse, Major said.

“A savvy student pays attention to how easily they can access their information at a university,” Major said. “It sends a signal of how technologically savvy and user-friendly the university is. If you get it right on the front end, if you handle people well, parents have a lot of confidence that their students are going to be experiencing a high level of efficiency.”

About half of all incoming students already apply online through a service called CollegeNET. EIU will continue to use CollegeNET to collect online applications, and that information will be imported into the Banner system.

Previously, three large segments of campus – International Programs, Graduate School and the Bachelor's Degree in General Studies program – didn't use CollegeNET, but they are to join in once the CollegeNET-to-Banner import is up and running.

The CollegeNET application provides a personal, easy-to-use and understandable Web interface for prospective students.

Another positive aspect of CollegeNET is that it allows students to request specific information about EIU and then instantly receive an e-mail with all requested information.

“They get immediate responses to what they're asking for,” Major said.

The combination of CollegeNET and Banner will go a long way in meeting the Provost's goal of bringing the admissions office into the 21st century, Major said.

It should also help meet another of the Provost's goals, to make the office more of a “one-stop shop” to make the admission process more convenient for students and their parents.

“We won't have to transfer students all over the campus,” Major said.

The entire transformation will benefit the office by providing an opportunity to start with a nearly blank slate as far as admissions procedures are concerned.

“We're trying to mold a system that works for everyone,” said Sue Harvey, EIU registrar. “It's exciting to be able to shape things that are going to impact Eastern for quite a time to come.”

Building the system from the ground up is allowing the staff to rethink many of the processes they use to contact students and to make admissions decisions, Major said.

“I think this will really give us the opportunity to work smarter, not harder,” Major said. “With Banner, we'll be able to better manage files and eliminate paperwork, which will allow us to really focus on the personal aspect of the process. We'll have information at our fingertips.”

Elsewhere in Banner...

As of the end of June, 200 people had participated in Finance Self-Service training, and 218 people had been trained in Finance Internet Native Banner.

Self-Service is a query-only process, so trainees understood that they “couldn't hurt anything,” said Kay Carter , a Business Office employee who serves as one of the Finance system training coordinators.

“I think it went really well,” Carter said. “You could see them nodding their heads, saying, ‘Yeah, I think we'll like this! They know it's going to put information at their fingertips.”

“Everyone seems to be very receptive to the changes that are coming,” said Kay McElwee , a Purchasing Office employee who also serves as a training coordinator.

Finance Internet Native Banner and Self-Service training sessions will continue throughout the summer and fall as needed.

EISE – which stands for Enterprise Information Systems Enhancement – actually encompasses two software suites: Banner, the main software suite involved; and DARwin , a degree-audit system.

The purpose of the project is to change the university's entire campus over to one integrated infrastructure to make the system easier to use; cheaper to maintain; and more efficient in data collection, organization and reporting.

The project, which started taking shape in January 2005, is on schedule and on budget. All aspects of the system are expected to be online by early 2008.

Upcoming milestones for EISE/Banner

By EIU Department of University Communications