September 27, 2005
NEWSNew student system to allow easier access
Maricopa Community College District has been working for the last 10 years on a new Student Information System (SIS). The Student Information System is a computer program used for the keeping of student records, allowing a student’s record to be accessed from any computer terminal linked to the record database.
In February 2006 the work will be complete when the new system is implemented simultaneously across the district.
The new system will benefit both students and faculty. Students will have more access to important services.
“The new system provides increased self-functionality for students,” said Joni Grover, the MCC dean of student affairs. “Students will be able to facilitate many of the enrollment processes such as registration, financial aid, and tuition payment through an online student portal.” Since all of the colleges in the district will be using the same system, students will be able to transfer faster from one college to another within the district.
“It will be easier for us to admit those students, because there will be a common database,” said the MCC supervisor of records and registration, Bob Vogt.
However, Vogt said since each school is individually accredited, students still will have to request transcripts when transferring.
This will be the second time the district has purchased a “technologically-driven student system,” Grover said. The last time was 1984, when Grover was employed in the Financial Aid office.
“It was a drastic change, taking us from many manual and paper-intensive processes to . . . using computer technology. As with any change, it took a while to understand how to use the new technology to our best advantage,” Grover said.
Vogt said making an adjustment to the system is something the faculty has been considering.
“There’s going to be a learning curve, so I think everyone is a little anxious but also excited about the prospects of the new student system,” Vogt said.
Vogt said the faculty has already been training on the new system. He said he thinks the conversion may slow things initially. But he believes the faculty will be fluent with the new system within a month of its launch.
Grover said the district is closely watching the transfer of data. “They are taking every precaution to ensure all data migrates from the current SIS to the new SIS,” she said.
Grover said “data testing and conversion” is being conducted at each college, with the guidance of the district.
Vogt expressed confidence that no data would be lost in the transfer.
He also said the district has been going through the databases of the different colleges and “cleaning” or matching records. He said this meant some students were contacted to verify the spellings of their names, their birth dates and other information.
Vogt said the district discovered that sometimes information about a student registered at two different colleges in the district did not match.
To ensure that data will not be lost, the current SIS will be available in read-only form after the conversion. The current records on the system will be available in case information is lost in the transfer.