Starting in March 2019, a new platform called Banner will replace the current service of WebAdvisor.
Banner, a self-service program, will allow students to access all of their information including class registration, financial aid and finances.
Implementation and Launching Process
The South Dakota Board of Regents approved the implementation of the new student information system in June 2017.
Beth Freeburg, associate provost of academic affairs, said that the increased self-service functionality in the new program was the reason for the change.
“This is a critical milestone for USD along with all other SDBOR schools,” she said.
Freeburg said a state-wide team has been working to ensure the successful launch in March.
“It is all six schools within South Dakota Board of Regents that are doing this transformation,” Freeburg said. “A statewide team of people from various institutions is working to implement this new program.”
Freeburg said there has been some struggle with the transition process.
“We currently use Ellucian’s Colleague Student Information System and that is connected to their self-service product, that we refer to as WebAdvisor. As we move from Colleague to this new product, which is Banner, we will be using a new self-service model called Student Banner,” Freeburg said.
The features and processing capabilities of Banner covers all of the school’s holdings, including finances, human resources, students, alumni development and financial aid.
The Banner platform is not totally new to USD. Some of the university’s departments like the financial and human resources have been pioneers of the program.
“Our financial system at the university, as well as our HR system, has used the Banner product,” Freeburg said. “We are actually just merging. Actually, that’s why the Board of Regents approved this move from Colleague to Student Banner, which was due to the desire to migrate so that we are fully using all of the same systems.”
Freeburg said that creating efficiency by using one service system was the goal.
Former registration rules will apply to this new program as well. Webadvisor will still be accessible to students for academic mapping purposes.
“Our registration process works here that we get priority registration dates, so all of that will remain the same. It will just be a new product,” Freeburg said. “As we roll out this new product, students are still going to be able to open Webadvisor for planning purposes and see what is offered for summer and fall. ”
WebAdvisor will be phased out later in the year.
Avery Sage, a first-year education major, wasn’t aware WebAdvisor was being replaced and said she thinks the change will be inconvenient to students.
“We as students don’t really have any say over it, but it ends up affecting us directly,” Sage said. “I never really felt that WebAdvisor was ever hard to use, but if the changes being made make it more user-friendly then I think the inconvenience is worth it.”
Debbie Agbeniyi, a junior nursing major, said she has no problem with the change.
“I liked WebAdvisor because it was easy to navigate,” Agbeniyi said. “We do not know what the change is exactly, but if it is something that will benefit the students…then I think it is a good change.”
Banner is scheduled to go into service for all students Monday, March 18.
