First part of new student information system goes live

Tena Cook, CSC director of admissions, said NeSIS has a number of new dynamic self-service features that are making it easier for students to complete the admissions process.

“The new online application is very exciting and offers a high level of convenience and service to the student applicant,” she said.

The new system also is being implemented at the two other colleges of the Nebraska State College System and the institutions of the University of Nebraska system. One of the new system’s features, the TrueYou identity management system, allows students to conduct most of their business and academic affairs with a single user ID and password at all seven NeSIS campuses. To attain that objective, CSC students were prompted to obtain a new ID card with a unique number at the beginning of the semester.

Another benefit to the new system is the expanded search and reporting functions for college staff.

Cook said the implementation has gone smoothly for the most part.

“As with any new product or service, details are being tweaked and staff product knowledge continues daily,” Cook said.

The Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions application was chosen by the Nebraska State College System and the University of Nebraska in September 2008. The NSCS and the university opted to implement a new student information system in 2007 after they were advised the systems in place would not be supported after 2011.

The estimated cost of implementing the new system for all seven institutions is $29.8 million over three years, with ongoing costs estimated at $2.5 million annually. More than a half-dozen employees from Chadron have attended training for several months in Lincoln and Omaha during the past year.

“This project represents a tremendous investment of time, energy and other resources,” Cook said. “The travel time to and from Lincoln and Omaha was probably the most obvious draw on our resources and away from our regular responsibilities.”

She said the task of making the admissions component live couldn’t have been completed without other members of the CSC staff “filling in the gaps.” She also praised the guidance from technical leads on the CSC campus and in Lincoln.

Three other components to the system are scheduled to be implemented next year. The parts that involve the financial aid and registrar’s offices are projected to go live in February and April, respectively. The billing component will start up next summer and the entire system is scheduled to be operating by fall 2010.

More information about the NeSIS system is available at the project’s Web site, accessible by clicking on the NeSIS logo at CSC’s homepage, www.csc.edu.