By Hayley Piazza, Staff Writer
With the prospect of growth in mind, Bellarmine University is working toward a new software to be completed by Aug. 1, 2016 that will strengthen Moodle while replacing myBellarmine, as well as the underlying CARS/CX system.
“About three years ago, Bellarmine began a process of evaluating our existing administrative system, which is the software that manages all the university’s records and business processes, to determine if it would be able to support our desired growth and help us realize Vision 2020,” Vice Provost for Technology, Eric Satterly said.
The selection step in this process was named ‘Embrace or Replace.’ A committee determined whether to embrace the current system or replace it with a new system. It decided to replace the current system with Ellucian’s Colleague software system.
“Hands down, they [Ellucian] are the number one vendor for colleges and universities worldwide. They have a great reputation and they create really good software,” said Fred Claypool, implementation project manager and system administrator.
The next step was implementation.
“As we embarked on our replacement, we created a project charter to help everyone remember exactly what it was we were doing and why we were doing it. We named this phase of the project ‘Embrace our Replace’ to signify that we were replacing the system,” Satterly said.
The charter acknowledges that the replacement will be a two-year initiative but will include small features going live over that two years. Functions for financial aid, payroll, housing applications and admissions have already been completed.
According to embraceourreplace.com, “The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to create a culture of technology innovation that empowers all members of the Bellarmine community to actively contribute to student success.”
The first area of the system to go live was finance: accounts payable, general ledger, purchasing, projects accounting and administration portal on June 1, 2015. The final area is planned for Aug. 1, 2016, completing the implementation process. The areas include everything myBellarmine and Moodle cover, as well as a new BU mobile app.
“I feel excited about it. A university’s core system gets replaced about once every 20 to 25 years and I feel so lucky to have been given the chanced to lead the team,” Claypool said.
The new sites will provide easier access in almost every area for students and staff. Updates include easier registration, viewing bills, financial aid, payments, and grades.
“Students will be able to plan their courses (eventually for their whole academic program) and then register for the give session at essentially the push of a button… Moodle will be integrated as well which should allow for an integrated dashboard view of each student’s academic life,” Claypool said.
Current BU students are happy about the replacement.
“I remember my freshman year applying to Bellarmine. It [myBellarmine] was really confusing, because there were so many different tabs. I think it’s confusing for all students having to jump between five different websites… I think condensing it into one will be quicker and easier,” sophomore Sierra Hall said.
Many have acknowledged the lack of organization within Bellarmine’s many sites.
“It’s confusing and kind of a mess to have to navigate two different websites [myBellarmine and Moodle] and I know that I like to have everything in one place,” freshman Eli Megibben said.
Ellucian Colleague solves these issues, recognized by all students, with a user-friendly, cover-all system.