One of the most important software systems at the University of Oregon is about to undergo its most significant upgrade in more than a decade.
Banner, the university's enterprise resource planning software, works behind the scenes to support the core academic and administrative functions at the university. Hundreds of UO faculty and staff members use Banner on a daily basis to perform such fundamental processes as scheduling classes, entering grades, creating invoices and issuing paychecks. Other members of the UO community rely on Banner services when they use DuckWeb.
Starting later this term, Information Services — the UO's central information technology unit — will begin upgrading portions of Banner from version 8 to version 9, giving it a new look and feel with new navigation tools and keyboard shortcuts. People will log in to Banner 9 using their Duck ID instead of a separate Banner account.
“It's a more modern interface and more intuitive for a brand-new user,” said Mark McCulloch, director of information systems for the Business Affairs Office and one of the campus partners who is working with Information Services on the upgrade.
The biggest transformation of all will be under the hood. Although the functions Banner provides generally will not change in version 9, much of the system must be re-engineered by programmers in Information Services due to a significant shift in the underlying technology.
“This is one of the biggest changes to Banner since we started using it in 1990,” said Noreen Hogan, associate chief information officer for applications and middleware in Information Services.
The coming change will allow users to run Banner 9 in a broader array of common web browsers than Banner 8, which no longer runs in Chrome or Firefox. The overhaul will also translate into other noticeable changes for Banner users.
“There is definitely going to be a learning curve,” McCulloch said. “Existing users are going to have to learn new keystrokes and where to mouse-click.”
To ease the transition to Banner 9 across campus, Information Services will implement the upgrade gradually over the course of 2018, working closely with the units that use Banner most heavily, including business affairs, human resources, admissions, the registrar and student financial aid.
The individual building blocks of Banner, known as forms, will be migrated to Banner 9 in groups based on their functionality. For example, all forms related to check printing will be upgraded at one time.
The first small step in the upgrade will involve moving a handful of business processes that are used only by staff in particular departments, giving Information Services and its campus partners an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the upgrade process before affecting more campus departments.
Those who've seen Banner 9 say users have several features to look forward to.
“Folks in departments may like it better because it's better organized and easier to understand,” McCulloch said. “Searching for objects is nice because you can type in descriptions, which is especially helpful for casual users. You don't have to memorize a form name. I also think logging in with a Duck ID is going to be great.”
The upgrade itself follows months of work by McCulloch and others to review some of the many customizations the university has made to Banner over the years and assess which ones should be brought forward into Banner 9.
“I really appreciate the opportunity for involvement and feedback and to make sure the timing is coordinated with our surge times to minimize the impacts on students and our campus partners,” said Morgan Ramsey Daniel, associate director for operations in student financial aid and scholarships.
Because of the gradual upgrade process, many Banner users will continue using Banner 8 for months to come, in some cases performing some processes in 8 and others in 9.
“With an upgrade of this scale, there are bound to be some challenges,” said Tony Saxman, a member of the project management team in Information Services. “We appreciate the patience of Banner users and the campus community as we work through those challenges.”
As the upgrade proceeds, Banner users can expect to receive additional information from staff in their respective units or from Information Services.
DuckWeb isn't part of the current upgrade, so students and employees who don't use Banner directly shouldn't notice any difference, other than the extra time administrative staff may need as they adapt to the new system.
More information is available on the Banner 9 upgrade project blog. Anyone with additional questions can contact the Information Services project team by leaving a comment on one of the blog updates.
—By Nancy Novitski, University Communications