The SIS Refresh team, in collaboration with partners from all three campuses, took on a new project this summer following an announcement by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) about changes to the provincial tuition framework. In addition to a continued tuition freeze for students who are Ontario residents, MCU announced an allowed tuition increase of up to 5% for domestic non-Ontario (out-of-province) residents.
Student awards play a large role in attracting new students and retaining current students. Improving the entire student award process, from creation to applications to selection and management, is the goal of one of our current projects: an Awards Management System. This system will enhance the experience for all stakeholders involved in awards across the three campuses, including colleges, Alumni Affairs & Development, Student Financial Services, Admission Services, applicants and students.
The SIS Refresh team is excited to announce the successful launch of the Curriculum Inventory Management (CIM) system. The CIM system was launched in June 2022 and is being actively used by the University of Guelph community to support the proposals and approvals of course and program changes.
The SIS Refresh team is excited to announce the imminent launch of the new Curriculum Inventory Management (CIM) System. The CIM System will improve workflows associated with course- and program-level curriculum changes, including updating course descriptions, creating new courses and developing new programs. It will streamline the approval process and allow integration and synchronization with Ellucian Colleague and the Academic Calendars.
To advance our strategic enrolment goals and remain competitive with other institutions, implementing a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform is essential. The Admission CRM Teams have confirmed their intent to proceed with the use of Slate as the University of Guelph’s Admission CRM platform. Detailed analysis and review of Slate were conducted in 2021, along with a proof of concept. The proof of concept was performed by the International Recruitment and Admissions Team.
As we approach the end of the academic year, we are working towards launching a new landing page for WebAdvisor. We are happy to announce what will be changing in the new academic year and why it’s important to you. The freshly revamped WebAdvisor landing page is being designed to help students, faculty and staff navigate the page quickly and efficiently. It will allow them to easily locate the information that is most important to them.
Students on the Guelph campus have benefited from a universal bus pass (UPass) for more than 30 years; it gives them unlimited access to Guelph Transit at a much lower cost. On-campus full-time and part-time students are billed for the bus pass as part of their compulsory fees each semester.
Throughout the SIS Refresh Initiative, one of the team’s focuses has been migrating tools and processes from the old WebAdvisor interface to the new Colleague Self-Service system. The Self-Service tools that have already been implemented include Account View for student finances and Student Planning for course registration and degree/diploma planning. The enhanced functionalities of Self-Service are more accessible and mobile-friendly.
Through continuous efforts and perseverance, the new Student Planning tool was successfully implemented this past summer.
Following the soft launch on June 15, students could immediately begin taking advantage of the degree/diploma planning functionality. When Fall 2021 course offerings for the Guelph campus were posted on June 22, students could build their semester timetables. Since the initial launch, over 12,000 students have used the degree/diploma planning tool to map out their courses for future semesters.
Students need to consider many factors when selecting their courses, so we are making it easier! The University will be launching an intuitive online tool called Student Planning in early June, in time for Fall 2021 course enrolment.
Student Planning will have a user-friendly interface that will allow all students to check their program requirements, plan their degree, track their academic progress and enrol in courses. It will have an improved search tool, and students will be able to visualize their course schedule and choose course sections that do not overlap.