(Left to right) Michael Jewett, SIS project manager; Madeline Carnevale, director of desktop technologies; Dot Hess of CARS; Jane Brown, vice president for enrollment and College relations; and Susan Perry, College librarian and LITS director, at the SIS implementation kickoff. Photo by Fred LeBlanc.

These days, it seems that rapid advances in Web technology are changing the face of just about everything—and such tried-and-true processes as applying to college and registering for college classes are no exception.

As one way to ensure that Mount Holyoke keeps pace with changes in technology in an increasingly complex information age, the College formed the Student Information System (SIS) Steering Committee to facilitate the upgrade of Mount Holyoke’s SIS. Since 1998 the committee, and representatives of the faculty, staff, and student body, have been in an information-gathering mode. They have weighed the costs and benefits of various approaches to student information systems; solicited information about work flow and system needs from College SIS users; defined requirements for a new system; worked with consultants; reviewed numerous proposals from software vendors; and attended several multi-day vendor presentations.

In August, after an intensive nine-month process involving faculty, staff, and students, CARS Information Solutions’ SIS software was selected. Says Jane Brown, vice president for enrollment and College relations and a member of the steering committee, “The Web services and the flexibility provided by the CARS system were the deciding factors in the selection of CARS. In addition, the company’s philosophy and approach to student information systems fit ours.” Among the colleges using CARS student information system software are the Claremont Colleges, Colby College, Macalester College, and Kalamazoo College.

With the decision to purchase CARS software, MHC is now poised to leave the planning phase of the SIS project and to move forward with an implementation process that will continue, in phases, for at least the next two years. On November 13, a SIS implementation kickoff meeting, attended by more than eighty staff members representing nineteen departments on campus, was punctuated by enthusiasm and excitement. The broad representation was consistent with the far-reaching implications of the new system.

Admission, student records, student billing, financial assistance, residential life, and student activities will utilize the CARS system, which will interface with the College’s financial, payroll, human resources, and alumnae/development systems. Some of the new student information system’s most prominent capabilities are online application, registration, and degree audit; admission tracking and communications support; the ability for faculty to call up class lists, submit grades, and check advisee transcripts; and ready access for faculty and staff users to the student data needed to do their work.
The kickoff event began with Brown acknowledging the “great work that everyone has done” and offering a thank-you for each person’s part in the success the College has achieved so far in the SIS process. “The selection of CARS is a milestone,” Brown said. “It is a time to celebrate a thorough and inclusive process.” Brown also discussed the specific ways in which upgrading the SIS is in keeping with the goals of The Plan for 2003, noting that the system would be used as a tool to assist with everything from increasing diversity and retention to strengthening the admission profile.

Brown next discussed changes that the new system would bring—ranging from a new database structure, new reporting tools, and changes in some aspects of the participants’ work. She noted that what would not change is the basic work of the College and the attendees’ participation in that work, the need for technology to support their work, the role of LITS as a provider of technical support, and the continued use of the AS400 by some departments. Brown also highlighted the many ways the College has demonstrated its commitment to SIS, from being high on the list of the president’s goals and priorities, to creating the SIS project manager position, to fully funding the more than $2 million project.

In touching on SIS implementation, Brown stressed that MHC staff will be supported by the “highest level” of CARS implementation services, as well as training provided by CARS, LITS, and Holyoke-based Pioneer Valley Training. In addition, when appropriate, temporary staff will be brought to assist MHC staff with their everyday duties while they are focusing on SIS implementation. “Shaping the CARS system to fit the needs of MHC is something that many people will need to be involved in,” said Brown, “We will develop a shared understanding of how we do our work, what’s working and what isn’t.”

The remainder of the morning portion of the meeting revolved around discussions of the socio-emotional side of managing change. Diane Dixon, a consultant from Edutech, gave a presentation on managing transitions based on a model discussed by William Bridges in Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change (Addison-Wesley, 1991). Small-group “sharing” focused on applying Bridges’s model to the SIS implementation and answering questions such as “What will be easy to let go of?”; “What will be difficult to let go of?”; and “What will change mean?” The entire gathering then reviewed each smaller group’s discussions. At the conclusion of the exercise Dixon noted, “I feel great, positive energy in this room and a spirit of camaraderie.” CARS representatives Dot Hess and David Allen also addressed the group, with Allen noting, “This is by far the best kickoff meeting I’ve ever seen. The community should be proud.”

Following lunch, the group reassembled for the final portion of the meeting. SIS project manager Mike Jewett gave an implementation plan overview, answering the question, “What is implementation?” Included in his response was information on everything from training; policy and procedures analysis; configuration of the CARS system; and data conversion to interfaces development; reporting; testing; and documentation. He described the College’s general approach to the process as “utilizing the CARS system as it is delivered and limiting modifications to critical areas.” Jewett also gave a list of next steps and an implementation timeline.

Immediate next steps in the implementation process, according to Jewett, include ordering hardware, filling two new SIS coordinator positions, and a December 5 meeting with CARS staff. Admission will be the first office in which the CARS system will be implemented, and this process should be ongoing between February and June of 2001. Work will begin simultaneously in student services, where the CARS system will be rolled out in spring 2002. The meeting ended with the distribution of “SIS tool kits,” consisting of an MHC coffee mug and a CARS mouse pad. Learn more about the SIS project at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/go/sis.

Beaulieu and Blyda: Up for the SIS Challenge

When Sue Beaulieu came to work at MHC's admission office as a part-time clerical worker twenty-six years ago, names of applicants were kept on 3"x 5" cards. Over the years, Beaulieu, who is now an assistant director and the office's systems coordinator, basically taught herself about computers and, with the assistance of LITS programmers, was instrumental in "building" the admission system used today. She remains the office AS400 [the current system] ace, particularly when it comes to data retrieval. Office coordinator Dawn Blyda has been helping Beaulieu "tweak" the system for the past twenty years, and she now oversees all of admission's voluminous data entry and the many details related to processing applications.

Sue Beaulieu, bottom left, and Dawn Blyda, to her left, at the SIS implementation kickoff. Photo by Fred LeBlanc.

"We loved the AS400," they say. "We were asked to learn it, and we rose to the challenge and did it." Knowing of their intimate involvement with the system and their extensive knowledge of it, one might expect that Beaulieu and Blyda would be opposed to adopting a new system, but this is hardly the case. "We can't wait for the new system, and we're really looking forward to starting at square one," says Beaulieu, who was involved in the CARS selection process. Says Blyda, "We're thinkers, and we enjoy a challenge. We have reached the limit of what we can do with the AS400, and it's time to move on." Both Beaulieu and Blyda are looking forward to the improvements in communications tracking and enhanced flexibility with data fields that CARS will provide.

Beaulieu seems particularly pleased that the new system will enable others in admission to access data and produce reports, "empowering them," and relieving some of their current reliance on her. "I've been called about AS400 questions as I was about to hit the ski slopes in Colorado and when I've been home sick," she says. "Once the CARS system is in place, other people will know as much about it as I do, which is great, since I plan to retire in 2003."