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Imagine a SIS system……
- that has the capability to respond to new and rapidly changing requirements
- with improved reporting and analytics
- that provides a better overall user experience for staff and students and
- with modern interfaces.
This is becoming a reality as Stellenbosch University is embarking on a journey with Serosoft’s Academia and their South African partner Eiffel Corp to design, develop and implement a state-of-the-art cloud-based solution that will address each phase of our student life-cycle from recruitment and beyond. The new SIS is called SUNStudent and this forms part of the Stellenbosch University’s System Renewal Project (SRP) to replace the ageing student information system.
What is
SUNStudent?
SUNStudent is SU's new student information system, which will use the Academia software provided by SeroSoft Solutions. This state-of-the-art student information system dealing with student administration, of which academic curricula and modules are important components, takes SU on its next step to digital transformation in education. The new system will replace the current, outdated system and promises to be solid and reliable, yet also flexible, modern and student-centric.
How long will implementation of the SUNStudent system take?
The implementation of SUNStudent kicked off during the week of 6 May 2019. The project will follow a phased implementation approach and will run over an estimated two-year period.
What are the benefits for SUNStudent users?
- Prospective students and parents: Easy and quick on-line application and registration processes
- Current students: Quick on-line annual registration process, from anywhere and at any time, as well as a smartphone app that facilitates access to information on the move
- Management: Automated management reports/dashboards with the click of a button
- Academic staff: real-time automated reporting
- Administrative staff: Quick input and processing functionality whilst having easy access to information and reports
What will change with the introduction of the new system?
SU has always managed its own hardware (servers) at the IT building. The new market trend is to make use of a Software as a service (SaaS) solution, which sees a third-party provider store data at an off-site datacentre and making it available to customers over the Internet.A good example of such systems is Office 365, which is cloud based and is running on servers somewhere in the world.
What kinds of data will be migrated from the old system to SUNStudent?
Millions of SU records housed on the current student administration system will be migrated to SUNStudent.
The scope and vast size of the data housed in the current system are illustrated by the following:
- 1 206 217 personal records
- 727 766 student records
- 31 156 registrations per year
- 62 935 145 records of Grade 12 learners' school subjects
- 3 348 450 programmes and modules
- 364 395 residence records
Who will be involved in the SUNStudent project?
The successful implementation of SUNStudent will depend on the cooperation and support of staff and students, who will ultimately benefit from the new generation and student-centric information system. The project will include consultation sessions, regular communication and training of stakeholders across the University.
Who is spearheading the implementation of the projects?
Dr Ronel Retief, SU Registrar, is the chair of the new Steering Committee for SUNStudent. She will be assisted by experts from our divisions of Information Technology (IT) and Information Governance, and input by relevant functional areas will be solicited throughout the project.
Contact details
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