While progressing through transformation discovery and design gate presentations, there have been a number of system requirements and projects that have surfaced. Those that have been approved support the most critical and timely processes for our business and academic teams. A regularly updated dashboard can be found on the transformation website.
We are at a point where we have prioritized our phase 1 list of system projects that are most critical to support the July 1, 2023 launch of Vermont State University and broader administrative efforts across the system. Although we will not be adding any new system projects at this time, transformation is a multiyear process. Prioritizing meetings with core and sub-teams will be held in early January to develop a “next up” or phase 2 list of system projects that will go through review and prioritization with leadership.
Phase 1 System Project Details:
Slate: Thanks to much hard work by Admissions staff and others, the Vermont State University application went live in September! Since then, the team has been able to move inquiries into the new Slate environment, and now Common App applications are coming in directly. The application import from Slate to Colleague is being tested and evaluated. The team is looking forward to on-site Slate training from the vendor.
Colleague: Much work has been done on the Colleague project since our last update. After business process reviews were completed, recommendations were received from our vendor, Ferrilli, and reviewed in partnership with project teams per our project governance on the transformation website. With help from the vendor, a project plan with timelines was developed for changes and decisions, and a decision log was created. Functional teams meet weekly, and they continue to work through policy, process, and configuration decisions related to Financial Aid and Registrar operations (e.g. terms, location codes, section codes, modalities, etc.). It is a huge project, and we appreciate the hard work of this extended project team!
Ad Astra: This project to implement a new academic scheduling system to support academic processes is underway. The technical implementation, including data connections with Colleague, is complete. The team is working with the transformation business analyst on an academic scheduling process map to facilitate system implementation discussions. The second phase of this project is expected to begin in the new year as we retire our current event management system and move to add that functionality in Ad Astra.
Acalog/Curriculog: Work is underway to implement Acalog to house the Vermont State University academic catalog. Companion product Curriculog is also being implemented to support the alignment of curriculum management across Vermont State University and to analyze change impacts on the programs and courses included in the catalog.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Data: Recommendations surfaced from the group after reviewing data elements in the summer and fall. The group is now discussing how to implement the recommended value list into Colleague. The focus will be on implementing those recommendations across Slate admissions applications and Colleague for both VTSU and CCV. A project charter is being developed to guide the scope and support the work.
Formstack: With the priority of creating a student- and digital-first experience, the Formstack project team has been meeting regularly with several sub and project teams to assist with form-building needs. The Formstack product will continue to be rolled out to more departments. A need has been identified to ensure the alignment of forms with business processes; that work with be undertaken soon.
eRezLife: The effort to combine residence life operations in one instance of eRezLife is going well. The housing contract and terms and conditions have been drafted and are being reviewed. The project team is developing a list of forms that need to be built in eRezLife and the team is meeting regularly with the vendor for training and help with configuration tasks.
Perceptive Content: Our internal teams and two vendors worked together to develop a list of recommendations for the structure and use of Perceptive Content (our document management system). Those recommendations are going to the core team leads for review and approval. A statement of work is being developed by our vendor partner, Shamrock, for their help in implementing the approved recommendations.
Portal: Work will begin on scoping necessary changes to the portal, with a lens on how the portal will serve as the hub of the student experience and ensuring updated branding. A project team will be assembled, and a project charter will be developed to guide the scope and timeline of the work to come.
UKG: With Ferrilli supporting our Colleague efforts, we are also using this as an opportunity to improve our data flows between Colleague and UKG. This work is underway with key HR and IT staff and with support of our two vendor partners.
Aviso: A statement of work was developed by the vendor to scope a consulting engagement to help the Vermont State University team unify processes and procedures in Aviso. The contract has been signed, and the work will begin soon.
Our pause on new projects is not intended to prevent ongoing process and business improvement. Instead, it is to ensure staff have the capacity to be successful in preparing for the launch of VTSU and of the IT Shared Service model. Our goal is to consider supporting those efforts. For those on transformation teams, you are encouraged to share any questions you may have with your core team leads. Also, feel free to reach out directly to Kellie Campbell, our Chief Information Officer, by emailing her at: kcampbell@vsc.edu