ISIS moves through construction phase
As the university’s new student information system becomes further stabilized, university officials are asking faculty and staff for continued assistance.
In a memo to the campus community, Provost John Wiley and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Paul W. Barrows ask deans, directors, supervisors and department heads to provide as much support as they can to employees as they make their way through this “construction phase” of the Integrated Student Information System.
“We know that this situation will ease with time and ask for your continued patience for the time being,” they write.
The administrators note the skill and dedication of employees in bringing up ISIS, which is replacing the previous student records system. While saying it is impossible to avoid the challenges of implementing a new system, Wiley and Barrows say UW–Madison’s position as the first university to “go-live” with ISIS is to the campus’ benefit. That’s because the university will be able to tailor the software to meet its needs and receive concentrated support from PeopleSoft, they add.
“With hard work, some delays and creative work-arounds, the campus, through ISIS, has been able to admit our incoming freshmen class, prepare a timetable, register returning students, issue grades, process financial aid and issue bills for tuition and fee payment,” they write.
Now that the initial implementation is complete, work will focus on tuning the new system to improve performance. Some new functions may also be added. The officials ask employees to provide feedback on the new computer system to their ISIS representative in their school or college (a list of those representatives is available at the ISIS web site). Employees can also call or write ISIS Project Manager Ron Niendorf, 262-0130; ron.niendorf@ccmail.adp.wisc.edu.