Not So Scary, by Liz Kenney

Liz Kenney (on the left in the picture) works in the Office of the General Counsel. This was the first training session for finance users in the new Banner system.

As with anything new and different I had my reservations about the Banner System. So when it was time to sign up for the training session for Banner, I chose the first session which was dedicated to Finance Training and included handling the budget for a department. The first pro of the new Banner system is that there will be no more black and green screen! Also, Banner has a lot more capabilities than Scan’s Scanware software package. Some of these capabilities are that you can do multiple line budget transfers, not exciting to most, but for those who need to transfer funds between more than one account, this is quite exciting. Another plus, you can save templates for vendors and save budget queries which is a nice feature because each department for the most part uses the same vendors more than once.

A few things that I did notice, are that it is user friendly and your password will be linked to your login password and will change automatically! One of the things that will help enhance functionality at the college, is that Banner will be used for many different purposes, but each department can utilize the system for their own purposes.

Since I was in the first training session, there were a lot of questions asked and it seemed like a lot of the kinks are being worked out through the questions. Each participant in the training session was able to actually log onto a training site for hands on training. During training, we did a good number of exercises which helped out both the employees and the trainers. The employees were able to get a feel for the new system. The trainers were able to fix some of the unforeseen questions and problems that the employees had during the training exercise.

After the training session I felt more at ease and realized as scary as change can be, that this process is necessary in order for the College to move forward with the times. The College has been using Scan since 1991! After a little time and practice it will be a very effective step for the College.

More pictures from that first day of training...

Trish Brown was a little apprehensive at the start of the training session...

Class working diligently ...

Regina Egan completes the class with a smile!

The Portal Has a Name

And it is...MyHill

The Name-That-Portal contest generated over 50 great suggestions for names. With help from the Marketing Department it was determined that continuity with incorporating the word "Hill" in the portal name would build on an already established identity with Stonehill and transition easily.

• While there were at least 10 notable submissions incorporating Hill in the name, an honorable mention goes to Greg Wolfe with "Googhill". Although we like the name recognition, we didn't want the legal attention.
• Fran Dillon also receives an honorable mention with "Many Minds...One Portal".
  

Given the portal name chosen was not officially submitted through the contest, the winner was selected at random from the list of participants. The Banner Communication Team would like to thank everyone who participated and express our appreciation for all of the clever submissions.

MyHill is simple, easy to remember, transitions well and has the Stonehill identity built-in. Along with Hill Rec Sports, Hill Book, Hill Card and in conjunction with the phasing out of HillNet; MyHill will become synonymous with "easy access" to all your Stonehill IT resources and much more.

SunGard Banner Summit 2009

Hello from Philadelphia!

As 14 of my Stonehill colleagues converged onto the streets of Philadelphia, we represented numerous modules being implemented at Stonehill College in the upcoming months. We came together with both excitement and anxiety about what awaits us. SunGard Banner hosted almost 6,000 people, who represented 26 countries and the 1600 higher education institutes that are current users of the SunGard Banner System.

On Sunday, the program kicked off with Ron Lang, the SunGard Higher Education's new CEO. As he rolled onto the stage with a backpack and skateboard, he made a renewed commitment to the audience. SunGard will continue to focus on improving their product, services and continue to stay committed to the needs of their customers. Mr. Lang challenged each one of us to use this Summit Conference to “Connect”.

The keynote address was given by Dr. Mya Angelou. The 81 year old poet, author, actress and civil-rights activist opened the conference and shared experiences and perspective on how to be empowered by inspiration and connections. She silenced the crowd’s applause by singing “When it looked like the sun wasn’t going to shine anymore, God put a rainbow in the clouds.” Rainbows in the clouds, which symbolize hope for humanity in times of hardship and change, became the underlying message of her talk. She challenged each of us to go out and make a difference and embrace change.

So, as we left the hall recalling the task put forth from Dr. Angelou and Mr. Lang, we had a mission for our four days:

Connect to possibility:
New possibilities are just around the corner. Participants came to the Summit to learn how to connect their students and colleagues to information that matters to them. And alternatively discovered how their peers are connecting the right data and analytics to drive performance. We had over 600 classes to choose from each designed to provide a unique learning experience.

Connect to community:
We come together as a community dedicated to education. This conference provided countless occasions for us to meet people with similar goals and interests. Gaining both insight and years of hands-on experience, we connected with a common purpose and shared a common vision.

Connect to the world:
As I mentioned above, nearly 6000 participants from 26 countries came to share and learn. Each one representing one of the 1600 institutes that partner with the SunGard family to share their successful implementation stories. Education is changing the world. And the world is changing education.

Connect to the future:
Each one of my Stonehill colleagues is now better prepared for the implementation challenges in front of us. I think I speak for all of my colleagues when I say, we don't have all of the answers yet, but we do have a new found network of colleagues to partner with to ensure a successful implementation on the campus of Stonehill College.

Name That Portal

Perhaps some of you are wondering about the outcome of the contest that we ran for naming the new Banner portal. We had a very enthusiastic response from the Stonehill Community and many creative names were submitted. We would like to thank everyone who participated and as soon as a decision is reached we will post it here! Stay tuned...

Step by Step

Hello!

Here is another installment from Erin Brousseau from the Admissions Office!

So we finally had a Banner training last week that was Admissions-specific and let us get our hands dirty. I even got to sit in the front of the class to be the trainer’s assistant, navigating screen to screen and entering things while he pointed out options on the overhead screen. I enjoyed it because physically working on Banner helps me remember a lot more than just listening to a lecture or reading a PowerPoint presentation.

Instead of speaking in general terms as we had in the past, we began discussing our current business practices and tried to figure out how to accomplish (or improve) them in Banner. Our trainer John reemphasized the importance of documenting everything we do in case we accidentally alter something between test phase, pre-production and production. I now know how to print screenshots, dump validation tables into backup files and take copious notes to avoid having to reinvent the wheel should we have really bad luck and break something. I sincerely hope we’ll never have to rely on these backup measures, but it’s definitely comforting to know they are in place. We will follow these exact steps (screenshots, file backups and note-taking) for every little thing we set up.

The next step is to complete the homework that was assigned to us, due next month. It will be interesting to see what’s next.

Banner 101

Everything You Need To Know About Banner (for now) and Then Some!
The first information session about the Stonehill Banner Project on Monday was very well attended. The presentation, led by Tammy Anderson, CIO and Alice Aguiar, Associate Director/Banner Project Manager, was chock full of helpful information. The presentation set out to answer the questions we probably all have:

• Why are we doing this?
• What systems will be in place?
• What is the timeline for each of our departments/divisions?
• How will we move to Banner?
• Who is heading up the implementation teams for each area?

To see the answers to these questions, check out the Stonehill Banner Project Presentation.

In addition, here are some questions that were brought up during the session:

Q: Where will training be held?
A: On campus

Q: Have we spoken to other institutions that have implemented Banner?
A: Yes, we have and we have hired employees who have previous experience with Banner implementation

Q: What is the biggest challenge to overcome?
A: Change. This is a change for all of us, but the benefits will be worth it

So, you might ask; what are the biggest benefits we can expect from this implementation? According to Tammy & Alice, the biggest benefits will be the ability to share all college data through one portal and more importantly the ability to transform that data into valuable information that will make all of our jobs easier! That is something we all can relate to – even if we don’t understand the inner workings of the technology.

Update from Admissions

And so it begins!



Erin Brosseau, our office Enrollment Systems Coordinator is beginning her initial days of training this week. Here, in her own words, are her reflections about the upcoming training sessions and the conversion in general:



"I’m sure it’s pure coincidence, but the day we begin our training for Banner happens to be the same day we inaugurate a president with the campaign slogan “Yes, We Can!”. Change is not always met with excitement but personally, I am excited by the idea of building something to work with our way of doing business, rather than altering our plans because of the confines of our old system. However, my biggest concern is that time is ticking and there are still so many unanswered questions: when will we migrate the rest of Admissions and Enrollment to Banner (our “go-live” date in November is only for the applicant piece)...what is the solution to scheduling tours and GIS sessions...how long will it be before we have our functional expert in place...how am I going to manage my normally hectic schedule and complete all that is needed for the Banner conversion without disappearing from my family and truly ticking them off (not acceptable in their world or mine!)?

Today’s training should really be at the end of our cycle because it’s all about report writing and since this is our first foray into Banner, it seems like we’re putting the cart before the horse. However, stealing more words from our incoming president, I have to remember Banner will provide the “change we need/change we can believe in” and this inaugural week of Banner will give me a great preview as to how we will operate come November."


Erin will be providing her impressions and feedback about the conversion and training throughout the year so check back soon for more updates!

The Finance Team has been busy with the Banner implementation since we will be the first team to go live (July 1, 2009). We have attended several informative training sessions with our Banner rep, Ken.

Some feedback from the staff:

"Being web based, Banner is very user friendly compared to our current system, SCAN."

"Ken is very knowledgable and patient."

"Banner can do so much that we currently do manually. I cannot wait."

Blog Charter

The goal of this blog is to provide the Stonehill Community with information and updates regarding the Banner implementation project as it relates to each blogger's personal experience. As Banner is phased in for each division, a representative blogger has volunteered to make periodic entries to help keep the community informed. We encourage readers to post comments and begin a dialog that will address any questions or concerns regarding the program.