Putting the We in… We are Penn State!

Copyright [Carol Findley, Lisa Dibert] [2003].

This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the authors. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the authors.

Putting the

WE ARE PENN STATE!

WE

In…

Carol Findley, Registrar’s Office

Lisa Dibert, Student Systems Development Office

What is eLion?

• History

– early 1990’s: OASIS (client-server student application)

– 1994: CAAIS Project Design Team formed

– 1996: CAAIS prototype (web-based interactive advising system)

– 1997: CAAIS (production release 1)

– 2000: eLion (new look for CAAIS)

What is eLion?

• Initial Vision of CAAIS

“Develop an interactive advising system that will be delivered by the latest technologies to supplement and enhance the student/adviser relationship.”

What is eLion?

• Current Purpose of eLion

– provide current, prospective, and former students access to the information and services needed to initiate and complete academic programs

– provide advisers access to the information needed to successfully advise students

– provide faculty access to the information needed to successfully advise and teach students

Teams Involved

• CAAIS Project - Administrative Units

– Enrollment Management and Administration

– Undergraduate Education

– College of Business Administration

– Information Technology Services

Teams Involved

• CAAIS Project Design Team

– Administrative Staff (Registrar’s Office and Undergraduate Education)

– Advisers

– Administrative Computing Specialists

Teams Involved

• CAAIS Project Design Team-Initial Charge

– Examine the scope of the system

– Identify the required outcomes

– Establish milestones and deliverables

Teams Involved

• CAAIS Project Design Team - Major Tasks

– Surveyed the University community

– Presented the CAAIS concept

– Solicited consultation and training

– Developed a conceptual design for the project

– Designed interactive advising applications

– Employed technical staff

– Purchased hardware and software

Teams Involved

• Executive Sponsors

– Enrollment Management and Administration (Registrar, Student Aid, Undergraduate Admissions)

– Information Technology Services

– Undergraduate Education and International Programs (Division of Undergraduate Studies)

Teams Involved

• Executive Sponsors

– Establish vision

– Provide funding

– Provide continuing support and encouragement

Teams Involved

• Project Governance Team

– Appointed by the eLion Executive Sponsors

– Represent the key stakeholders

Teams Involved

• Project Governance Team

– Maintain strategic plan

– Approve new eLion franchises

– Establish priorities

– Oversee changes to eLion

Teams Involved

• Technical Management Team

– AIS Deputy Director (Team Leader)

– AIS Manager of Student Systems Development

– One, and no more than two, members from each franchise

Teams Involved

• Technical Management Team

– Establish and oversee technical standards

– Assist developers in professional development

– Coordinate the timing of eLion changes

– Address technical issues/problems

Teams Involved

• Web Team

– Appointed by the Project Governance Team

– Generally a representative from the franchise offices

Teams Involved

• Web Team

– Develop and maintain Web standards

– Maintain general HTML pages

– Review new eLion applications

Teams Involved

• Franchise Development Teams

– Administrative Information Services

– Bursar’s Office

– Division of Undergraduate Studies

– Registrar’s Office

– Student Aid Office

Teams Involved

• Franchise Development Team

– Programming

– Testing

– Help documentation for end-users

Teams Involved

• eLion Integration Team

– Appointed by the AIS Manager of Student Systems Development

Teams Involved

• eLion Integration Team

– Maintain testing and production environments

– Coordinate production implementations

– Coordinate updates and enhancements

Teams Involved

• Other Staff

– Hardware Specialists

– Software Specialists

– AIS Support Center

Teamwork in Practice

Franchise office requests new application

Review made by Governance TeamMay require

AIS Web Application Approval

Application programmed by Franchise Development Team

And tested!

Teamwork in Practice

Application moved into new images by the Integration Team

Users access new application via Web browser

AIS Support Center assists with questions

With assistance from AIS

Server Staff

Review made by Web Team

Review made by Technical Management Team

Challenges

• Breaking down the administrative silos

• Too many hands spoil the pot

• All that red tape

• Speed of changing technology

Success

• Strong support from executive-level sponsors• A shared vision among all the teams• Effective communication between and within

teams• Creation of formal standards and procedures• Willingness to adapt to changing needs

Success

• Measurements of our success

– User feedback

“I use eLion all the time and I love it – it’s easy to use and offers accurate information about individual students and all of their relevant academic information right at your disposal.”

--Amy Leddy, premedicine counselor

in the Eberly College of Science

Success

• Measurements of our success

– National recognition

• American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers (AACRAO)

• American Council on Education

• National Academic Advising Association

• Computerworld Honors Program

• Enterprise Systems Journal

• IBM and Cincom

Success

• Measurements of our success

– Statistics

• Over 5,000 faculty members used the eLion grade reporting system in Fall 2002. (75%)

• 62,439 unique students retrieved their grades through eLion in December 2002. (82%)

• Since Fall 2000, the eLion Semester Bill paying system collected $33,650,113 in tuition payments.

eLion Demonstration

• Bursar Account (Bursar/AIS)

• College Cost Estimate (Student Aid)

• Course Drop Dates (Registrar/AIS)

• Late Course Drop (Registrar/DUS)

• Withdrawal (Registrar/DUS)

• Grade Processing (Registrar/AIS)

References

• eLion Home Page (with link to demo)– elion.psu.edu

• Programming environment:– atsctest.oas.psu.edu/smalltalk/