From ISIS to uSis

The big date is 4 March: the student monitoring and registration systems ISIS and uTwist will be shut down to make way on 3 May for uSis, the local Leiden name for the Campus Solutions system. The new system offers a wider range of options.

Not a coherent system

ISIS was an edifice that was continually being extended to meet the needs of the different users; it also had an extension in the form of uTwist. It was no longer a coherent system and no longer met the needs of the present day. This led to the decision some years ago to move to a new system.

Collaboration

Leiden is not the only university facing this problem. Tilburg University, the Radboud University, the University of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences were all facing the need to replace their systems. These institutions therefore decided to work together on this project, under the Dutch acronym of SaNS: Collaboration on New Student Information System. Setting up such a partnership may involve more time in the preliminary stages, but will will be more economical later in the project.

uSis

After receiving a number of tenders from European companies, the decision was made in favour of Peoplesoft Campus Solutions, an Oracle system, like SAP one of the biggest software suppliers in the world. In Leiden Campus Solutions has been dubbed iuSis, a shortened form of the University Student Information System. This is the name under which it will be implemented.

More transparent study progress

With uSis, students will find it easier to track their study progress on line. They will be able to see clearly how many study points they have earned in the year and how many they still need to obtain.  Correspondence on the Binding Study Recommendation will be placed in their account, and they will be able to enrol for courses and examinations and update address information, just as they could previously with uTwist.

Intelligent system

Many departments set specific requirements on how their curriculum is composed, including in the context of the binding study recommendation. These requirements have also been implemented. It makes it easier for students to prepare a study plan: the system gives feedback on feasibiity, admission criteria, the correct sequence for subjects, work placements and practical sessions.

Access levels

The system has several different levels of access: student level and lecturer level, for example.  Lecturers can access the results of the students who are following their courses, but only for that specific subject. The study adviser has broader access; he or she can view the study progress of all the students under his or her supervision and can also add comments.  The central Student Administration can also access data relevant for the activities of the central administration.

Custom-work

Once the system had been chosen, it was time for the real work tobegin: adapting the software and making it ready for use by the institutions concerned, which was true custom-work. An implementation partner was engaged to advise on this stage: Oracle/Atos. The partners in this project - now reduced to four institutions as Radboud University has since withdrawn - have set up an expertise centre in Utrecht.

In one go live

The institutions were able to decide individually when they wanted to go live. Tilburg University and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences already started last year with the enrolment side, the University of Amsterdam will start in April. 'We opted to go live  in one go with the whole system in April,' says Willem te Beest, Vice-President of Leiden University, of SaNS. 'The system may go live a week earlier for staff than for students; we're still considering whether or not this is a sensible step.'

Promoting study success

‘The fact that we are making this big step in one go,' Te Beest continues, 'is because it is a better match with our strategic policy on study success. We want our students to graduate in the time allocated; three years for a bachelor's programme and one or two years for the master's. This means it's important for students to make a study plan per year - or for a shorter period. We want to support our students by offering them insight into their study progress via uSis, and help them to draw up a sensible and achievable study plan. And not only that, uSis provides more data than ISIS, which means the analysis can be useful for improving the structure of our teaching programmes.'

Implementation team on standby

‘There will undoubtedly be teething troubles; that's unavoidable with these kinds of complex implementations. But the implementation team will be on standby to resolve any issues as speedily as possible.'  

(2 March 2010/CH)