Updates: Dashboard, Banner Progress & Town Hall

June 12, 2017

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in our IT groups working toward consolidation. All of the OWGs have been pressing away on their recommendations and I know that many of you have been hard at work not only assisting with these tasks but also keeping up with the influx of work associated with year end, a compressed Summer semester, and preparing for Fall 2017 classes and athletic events. Below are a few highlights I wanted to make you aware of:

Updated Dashboard

In my last post, I announced that we’ve launched an ITS Consolidation Dashboard. We’ve made the first update to the dashboard, so you’ll be able to see a visual representation of the progress that the OWGs are making with regard to their recommendations. I hope you’ll check back often and let us know if you have any questions.

Banner Team Progress

The Banner OWG kicked off the week with its first site visit from the USG Banner Consolidation consultant, Rusty Wissert. Mr. Wissert is something of a legend with regard to Banner, which is why you may also hear us refer to him as Rusty “Wizard.”

The Banner OWG kicked off the first of four working sessions with the USG Banner consolidation consultant this week.

The Banner team, our biggest OWG with a total of 79 members, includes representatives from Georgia Southern, Armstrong, Kennesaw State, and the USG. These representatives are IT staff as well as functional users.

This week, the Banner group will meet for three all-day sessions where they will work through the validation and specification issues necessary to consolidate the Banner systems for both institutions. This group continues to make incredible progress, moving ahead of schedule for many of its tasks.

Town Hall This Friday

The University continues to progress in defining its organizational structure. As you saw in the Human Resources announcement, the HR department has been working to develop a process for outlining the organizational structure in each Division within the new, consolidated University. This Friday, I’d like to meet with you as a Division to discuss our organizational structure preliminary plan.

During the town hall, I will give an overview of what my direct-report structure will look like. While this phase of the plan is approved, all future plans for our organizational structure will also require the review and approval of various levels of leadership within the University. It is my hope that our meeting will give you an idea of what the Division of IT Services might look like in the new University, as well as an opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns you might have.

The town hall will take place on Friday morning at 9:00am in the IT Building, room 1004. Please look for a calendar invite confirming this soon. I hope you will come to the meeting and bring any questions or comments you may have to share with the group.

I’m proud of the work you’re all doing and the progress we’re making as a Division. I look forward to seeing you on Friday.

Ron