Technical Debt
Complex, aging systems and integrations lead to technical debt that is challenging to manage and transform.
ENTERPRISE STUDENT APPLICATION MANAGEMENT
Student Information System Management and Transformation
Expert support to manage and maintain enterprise student applications and transform student services.
CHALLENGE
Increasing Capacity and Specialized Expertise
Colleges and universities struggle with internal capacity constraints and often lack the specialized expertise they need to manage and transform critical student applications. And when they do have the right resources, they are challenged to keep them engaged, fully utilized, and contributing, resulting in high turnover and loss of continuity in system management.
At the same time, leadership across the institution wants the latest features and applications to meet increasing demands from students, faculty, and staff. That comes at a cost to IT; if they address the demands, they come up short in managing the technology the institutions rely on every day; if they focus on management, transformation and satisfaction suffer.
SIS Management Concerns Facing Institutional Leaders
Skills Leakage
Solutions that were designed by a small team (or a team of one) can no longer be supported when someone retires.
Band-Aid Fixes
Often the quickest path to get through the semester is taken, rather than modernizing and planning for the future.
Service Demands
Institutions are constantly faced with increasing pressure to improve the level of service for students, faculty, and staff.
Data Visibility
Leadership asks for more and better data visibility so that they can make strategic, data-driven decisions.
Operational Efficiency
Students, faculty, and staff expect Amazon- and Uber-level platforms to make their learning experience as efficient as possible.
SOLUTIONS FEATURES
Managed Enterprise Student Application Services
The OculusIT-managed enterprise student application services provide functional and technical analysts, administrators, and leadership to support, maintain, and enhance your school’s SIS/ERP environment. From tactical support to full platform management, our team of more than 300 professionals is solely focused on helping colleges and universities manage and transform their technology. We understand the complexities of your environment and the unique challenges you face. Our team is trained in a wide range of platforms and modules, and our strategic technology partnerships ensure we have the right people with the right skills to meet your needs.
Flexible Delivery
From point-specific support with a platform, all the way through a fully managed service, we meet you where your need is the greatest.
ERP System Maintenance
Analysts maintain your Student Information Systems such as Banner, Jenzabar, Colleague, and Workday by installing patches and upgrades.
Process Enhancements
We support process optimization through improving system configurations and people processes.
Information System Security
Following the principle of least privilege, our team secures your ERP by limiting access based on role and necessity.
Systems Translation
Our team is fluent in software systems and higher education processes, enabling them to maximize your investment in platforms like Jenzabar, Colleague, Workday, and Banner.
Process Automation
Our developers can take repetitive manual processes and automate them to meet your institutional requirements.
Software Integration
Senior Integration Specialists have large skill bases and can integrate any non-closed systems to ensure data flows as needed.
Database Security
Our Database Analysts (DBAs) ensure student databases and auxiliary databases are secured by following a zero-trust security model.
Reporting Services
Our team can create reports on demand, assist with the production of regulatory reports, or schedule reports to be delivered to your inbox.
Strategic Dashboards
We can create, maintain, or update strategic dashboards with key data, such as enrollment numbers.
Frequently asked questions
I have a staffing gap. Can OculusIT fill it?
OculusIT has a comprehensive talent roster to fill any staffing gaps across multiple roles and platforms. We can meet any gap on a temporary, part-time, or full-time basis. Our team supports platforms including Banner, Colleague, Jenzabar One (J1), Jenzabar SONIS, PeopleSoft, Oracle Cloud, Workday, Anthology SIS, Slate, Salesforce, Element451, Degreeworks, Argos, Power BI, Tableau, Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace, PowerFAIDS, CampusLogic, Anthology Financial Aid, and Jenzabar Financial Aid.
Does OculusIT have specialized ERP experience?
Yes! Our team administers dozens of platforms including Banner, Colleague, Jenzabar One (J1), Jenzabar SONIS, PeopleSoft, Oracle Cloud, Workday, Anthology SIS, Slate, Salesforce, Element451, Degreeworks, Argos, Power BI, Tableau, Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace, PowerFAIDS, CampusLogic, Anthology Financial Aid, and Jenzabar Financial Aid.
Does OculusIT provide staff augmentation services, for example, financial aid processing during the busy season or registrar’s office support during peak add/drop weeks?
OculusIT can provide staff augmentation to meet your institution's needs. We can augment your staff and follow your institution’s policies and processes for any system, including a comprehensive talent roster to fill staffing gaps across multiple roles and platforms. Supported platforms include PowerFAIDS, CampusLogic, Anthology Financial Aid, and Jenzabar Financial Aid, Banner, Colleague, Jenzabar One (J1), Jenzabar SONIS, PeopleSoft, Oracle Cloud, Workday, Anthology SIS, Slate, Salesforce, Element451, Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, and D2L Brightspace.
What sort of functional support does OculusIT provide?
OculusIT provides experienced analysts and administrators trained in functional support to assist with configuration and support for a variety of platforms including Banner, Colleague, Jenzabar One (J1), Jenzabar SONIS, PeopleSoft, Oracle Cloud, Workday, Anthology SIS, Slate, Salesforce, Element451, Degreeworks, Argos, Power BI, Tableau, Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace, PowerFAIDS, CampusLogic, Anthology Financial Aid, and Jenzabar Financial Aid. Functional support includes module configuration and insight into student information processing.
What sort of technical support does OculusIT provide?
OculusIT provides experienced technical analysts and database administrators trained in technical support for a variety of platforms, including Banner, Colleague, Jenzabar One (J1), Jenzabar SONIS, PeopleSoft, Oracle Cloud, Workday, Anthology SIS, Slate, Salesforce, Element451, Degreeworks, Argos, Power BI, Tableau, Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace, PowerFAIDS, CampusLogic, Anthology Financial Aid, and Jenzabar Financial Aid. Technical support includes database maintenance, reporting, and data hygiene projects.
Can OculusIT build an Executive Dashboard with live data from my student information system?
OculusIT has experienced business intelligence analysts who can create data visualizations and dashboards from data in your student information system. We will work with you to identify your business requirements, locate the relevant data in your database, and present it to you in a meaningful visualization. Our business intelligence dashboards can provide status updates and strategic insights for executive decision-making.
Can OculusIT help integrate [System A] with [System B]?
OculusIT integration developers have decades of experience integrating hundreds of systems with student information systems. We use several different integration tools, including middleware/iPaaS such as Constituo, Boomi, Informatica, and Jenzabar Unity. We can also use other methods, such as APIs, ETL processes, and secure data exchange. If it’s out there, we can integrate it.
Can you build a custom application? I want our professors and instructors to be able to automatically send grades from our LMS to the SIS, without requiring training or manual entry in the LMS.
OculusIT can create custom applications to meet your institution's needs. We have built custom applications that transfer data between systems, with error handling, logging, and optional review and edit functionality before submission. Bring us your questions and ideas, and we can create a custom application tailored to fulfill your business requirements.
How does OculusIT assist with ERP/SIS upgrades and patches?
We will create an upgrade roadmap and project plan for major student information system upgrades. We provide testing guides and assistance for (intra)departmental testing and cross-functional student lifecycle testing. While ERP vendors typically have a single QA environment for testing and may miss test cases unique to your institution and environment, we can help you configure your test environment to prepare for any upgrade, reducing the risk of issues with your next system patch or upgrade.
I’m concerned that my institution is not utilizing our SIS/ERP to its full potential. Can OculusIT help me optimize the system and utilize our platform to the fullest to get the most out of our investment?
OculusIT offers services for student information system environment discovery and ERP operational health assessment. We can help identify and document your environment and application stack. We will meet with your key stakeholders and business leaders to understand your processes. We can conduct a deep-dive assessment of your utilization of the student information system, evaluate risks and opportunities, and present you with a list of findings and prioritized recommendations. These recommendations can lead to significant system optimizations and business process improvements.
We have a backlog of cleanup and system implementation projects. Can you help us complete our project backlog?
OculusIT has experienced analysts, administrators, developers, and project managers who can help create and execute project plans for any project, software, system, or module implementation. We can assist with new or existing systems, including modernization and cleanup of technical debt from aging solutions.
Can OculusIT create documentation of systems, integrations, and SIS business processes?
OculusIT can map a system or process, document the current state of your environment, and assist you in planning a roadmap to reach your desired future state. We have experience with business process documentation, swim lanes, and flowcharts. We can create a comprehensive set of runbooks for key business processes such as configuring a new financial aid award year, scheduling a new term of courses, or planning student registration.