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At the University of Minnesota, the new Web-based system for the delivery of student services makes the student number one! As with most university systems, legacy information systems at the University of Minnesota were designed and organized for departmental efficiencies. Although the university staff was productive, in some cases, it meant the students had to visit many campus locations and stand in multiple lines in order to accomplish relatively simple tasks.

Institution: University of Minnesota
Location: Four campuses across the State of Minnesota
Industry: Higher Education
URL: http://www.umn.edu


A student’s life is not organized by campus department; basic student tasks touch many departments at once. The process of getting enrolled every semester touches the registrar’s office, the cashier’s office, the bookstore, and so on. In order to be able to attract top notch students, the University of Minnesota decided to reengineer the way it delivered services to its students.

Leveraging Existing Investments
Reenginnering all back end systems was cost prohibitive and due to time constraints, was not an effective means to achieve true automation. Instead, the University of Minnesota looked to utilize Web technology, Java, and the internet to revolutionize the delivery of information and services to its students.

The University created an excellent e-business solution that integrated Java and various Web technologies into an existing MVS infrastructure. The new end user interface paradigm is browser-based with Java applets for convenience and ease of use. Students are encouraged to use applets that compute GPAs, weekly budgets, schedules, and so forth, as tools. "We love Java," says Michael Handberg, Director of Web Development, "The Java applets always get the biggest applause when we demonstrate the new system."

The student weekly planning tool is the most frequently used Java applet. This graphical applet allows students to dynamically build their schedule allocating time slots for classes, work, studying, practice time, and some time for social events. The planning tool is integrated with the class registration process for the convenience of the registering student. This process demonstrates the University’s commitment to being student-focused. In addition to allowing a student to register for courses with a few simple clicks of the mouse, they can get a live camera view of the book store check-out lines where they will need to purchase books and other materials for classes.

It’s “Cool”
The response to this effort has simply been amazing. According to Michael Handberg, "When we demonstrate the new system at parent orientations, we get standing ovations." One of the members of the Web development team overheard a student describing the new web-based registration system as "really cool." Said Handberg, "When’s the last time you heard a student say registering for classes was ‘cool’?"

Partnering with IBM
In December, 1997, IBM and the University of Minnesota announced a far-reaching agreement to extend the student services capabilities that have been piloted at the University of Minnesota to other colleges and universities. Under the agreement, IBM and the University of Minnesota will jointly develop the technology that allows all colleges and universities to easily adopt the self-service model developed at the University. A cross-functional team with IBM and University of Minnesota representatives will collaborate on adding more functions and ease of use to the current Web-enabled processes. The system will be based on Java and other common Internet technologies and will be able to be used from any computer. Once the University of Minnesota model has been developed to its fullest capabilities, IBM will customize the offering for other colleges and universities.

The University of Minnesota is a state land-grant university and a major research institution with four campuses in Twin Cities, Duluth, Morris, and Crookston. Students earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in over 250 fields of study. Total enrollment including continuing education and extension is 68,000. The University is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.umn.edu



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