“This is the beginning of a whole new era of student service at UTC.”
This was the sentiment expressed by Yancy Freeman, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management at UT Chattanooga, when the campus officially launched the undergraduate and graduate admissions component of the new Sungard Banner student information system on Monday, October 5.
“For students who are applying to come to UTC, they will not necessarily see much difference at this point, but for those of who are processing the applications, this new system is going to mean a whole new world of opportunities to research data, to process applications and registrations, and to provide student information,” said Freeman.
Students who apply for admissions to UTC for fall 2010 are being processed in the new system. During the course of this year, other functions such as financial aid, records and registration, advisement, and fee payment will be moved to the new Banner system.
“This is the first step in an entirely new system of student information and services,” said Debbie Parker, associate vice chancellor for business and finance and co-director of the UTC Banner Project. “For these new students, they will never know anything is different, but our current students and faculty and staff will eventually see a new on-line service experience.”
The entire University of Tennessee system is transitioning to the Banner system, and the Chattanooga campus is the first in the new implementation. UT Martin already uses the Banner student system.
“We are proud of the tremendous effort of the Banner team here at UTC, and the smooth go-live of this admissions component is testimony to their meticulous attention to the process,” said Clint Smullen, director of Academic and Research Computing Services and co-director of the UTC Banner Project.
The next step in the UTC Banner implementation process will be a mock semester to simulate a semester of registering for classes, inputting grades, and processing graduates. This exercise will be in preparation for the registration component of Banner going operational in spring 2010.
