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Division of Information Technology
P.O. Box 6888
Radford, VA 24142
Phone: 540-831-5173
Fax: (540) 831-6217
Email: cio@radford.edu

Division of Information Technology (DoIT)
Radford University

Banner Student Registration Swings Into Action

Radford University's Banner Implementation Team celebrated a milestone on November 2 when the Banner Student registration module was launched. While students have had online access to the Banner Financial Aid module since 2008, the Banner Student registration module is the most recent functionality to come online and to have significant impact for all students. After the first day of registration, over 1700 students had successfully registered for the spring 2010 semester using Banner.

The Banner Student registration module provides increased functionalities like a more intuitive user interface and more class search options - by course number, subject, days of week, times offered, department, etc. With the Banner Student registration module, online registration appointment times can now be provided electronically via the MyRU portal-based channel devoted to registration that is located on the Academics tab. While the legacy system could only register 60 students at a time, the Banner Student registration module has no such limitation, has fewer phases of registration and provides more flexibility in scheduling. Overrides for courses can now be granted electronically and a course’s status is available to the student electronically as well.

In the Banner Student registration module graduate students do not need PINs to register and they maintain their ability to register throughout the registration period.

When fully implemented, the Banner Student module features course catalog, class schedule, individual information (address, biographic, etc), faculty grading; class location management and housing; registration; accounts receivable; academic history and self-service access for students and faculty advisors.

The remainder of the Banner Student module including academic history, additional self-service functionalities, faculty grades, rosters and student accounting among others will launch in January, 2010. Upon completion of the Fall 2009 semester grading period, academic history will load. Student Accounts Receivable will also convert upon completion of the Fall term, so current student balances will appear on individual students’ MyRU portals in January.

The Banner Student registration module launch is part of Project RUDI (Radford University's Database Initiative), a major multi-year project designed to review, replace and enhance the university's administrative information systems. These core systems include undergraduate and graduate admissions, financial aid, registration and records, student housing, advancement and fundraising, financials, and budget and human resources. Together, these systems provide the business processing, data retrieval, reporting and self-service functions critical to providing essential services to faculty, staff, students, prospective students, alumni, and the entire university community. The project was launched in January 2007.

DoIT lauds those who helped launch the Banner Student registration module: the RUDI Steering Committee and the Executive Committee, the Banner Student Project Team, and the planning and implementation teams. The project team implemented the registration module and the staff of the Registrar’s Office kept up the daily operations and assisted with testing while the following team worked on the system implementation.

The Registrar’s team was Becky Alls, Matthew Brunner, Jay Flynn and Suzie Roop. Damien Allen of Institutional Research; Allison Pratt of Financial Aid and Rebecca Conner of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies also contributed expertise and testing on this phase. The Technical and Enterprise System teams were Jeff Brewster Don Duncan John Ford, Debbie Johnson, Paul Lusk, Jackie McNabb, Gregg Shadel and T.J. Tamagni. The Data Base administrators were Ron Rojewski and Aaron Weeks.

Voice over Internet Protocol Phone Migration Continues

Installation of the new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system continues and telephones in Heth, Young, Martin, Preston, Whitt, Davis, Reed, Curie, McGuffey and Tyler Halls have successfully been converted, including the addition of “call queuing” systems to Student Accounts and Financial Aid that enhance the ability of callers to reach these offices. The transition to a campuswide VoIP system is estimated to be completed by January 2010.

The following buildings will soon be converted to VoIP: Covington, Cook, Porterfield, Dedmon, Powell, Russell, Armstrong and Preston. Telephone Services is currently contacting departments to coordinate the specific date for office conversions. Users should note that on the date of conversion from Verizon to VoIP, phones may be unavailable between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. as Verizon transitions the number and the necessary campus configuration is completed.

Business offices, deans and department chairs will be equipped with multi-line digital VoIP phones. Faculty offices will be equipped with an analog phone providing caller ID, speaker phone, and a voice mail indicator light.

On October 15, functionality of the enhanced emergency telephone announcement system was tested. This system connects the existing phone/text messaging Emergency Notification System with the VoIP system to broadcast emergency messages to all digital VoIP phones and to speakers in residence halls. In the event of an emergency, digital VoIP phones will play emergency messages through the speaker on individual phones.

In January, the way long distance calls are routed will be modified and users will notice a slight change in the two beep prompt they hear when they make a long distance call (you may notice that it beeps slightly sooner).

DoIT to Discontinue Modem Pool

As access to Broadband Internet connections has increased, DoIT has seen a steady decrease in the usage of its modem pool serving off campus users. Since September 1, less than 200 people have utilized the existing modem pool. Further reduction of the number of modem lines has fallen below the minimum threshold required to maintain the service. Due to the decrease in demand for this service and as part of DoIT’s budget reduction plan to eliminate the monthly cost associated with these phone lines, this service will soon be discontinued.

In the interest of facilitating the transition for those still using the modem pool, current users will be notified of the discontinuation date which has yet to be determined. DoIT recommends users research their options and begin comparing vendor packages to keep their home internet service reliable. DoIT has created a web page listing several available options at https://cio.asp.radford.edu/broadband. Service options available in the New River Valley include DSL, cable modems, wireless and dial up connectivity. For further information, contact Technology Support Services at (540) 831-7500.

Security Training Deadline Looms

Almost half of Radford University faculty and staff have completed the mandatory IT security awareness training for all RU faculty and staff. To complete MOAT, RU's online IT security awareness training program, users can log on and get started today at https://sat.vita.virginia.gov.

To provide a secure information technology environment and ensure users fulfill their responsibilities to protect systems and data, the Commonwealth of Virginia requires users to complete annual IT security awareness training. To satisfy this requirement, all University employees must complete the security training by December 31, 2009.

For additional details and the answers to the most frequently asked questions, read the MOAT FAQ: http://www.radford.edu/~rtilley/MOAT_FAQ.html.

DoIT Employee Profile

Danny Colson

How long have you been employed in the Division of Information Technology at Radford University? Since June 2009 and Radford University since 1986.

Family: Married for 30 years to Michele and we have two sons, Dane, 24, UVA ’07, who is currently living and working in Washington,DC, and Eric, 20, a junior majoring in Environmental Resource Management at Virginia Tech. . . .a Hokie and a ‘Hoo makes for interesting family gatherings!

Hometown: Pulaski, VA.

Interests/Hobbies: Outdoor activities like boating, hiking, fishing, organic gardening, reading, cooking, entertaining friends and family vacations.

Favorite Vacation Destination: Our favorite vacations have been to areas we haven’t been before, especially in and around our great National Parks, particularly those in the midwest and on the west coast. We also love those small towns and out-of-the-way places you find off the beaten path. I’m looking forward to whatever adventure that Michele is planning for us next.

Favorite part of your job: The great staff I work with who all share the same desire to improve our services to the campus community. Also, one of the pleasures of working in a university environment is that I work with a diverse and interesting group of people and with so many different events and projects, everyday holds something different and challenging.