Beginning this fall, SIS was updated to allow faculty access to student pictures, effective for the Fall Semester of 2004. Any faculty member is now able to access the Rensselaer ID picture of any student in his class via SIS. The student picture software was added to SIS by Integrated Administrative Computing Solutions, a department under DotCIO, in order to augment the standard Banner System made by SunGuard, according to Registrar Sharon Kunkel.
The student pictures are implemented as a clickable link on a student’s name. Though a composite class picture was desired, there were technical problems associated with that implementation, according to Kunkel. Despite the many requests for composite class pictures, “I’ve gotten lots of positive feedback from the faculty,” said Kunkel. “Some even printed out the pictures and took them into class on the first day.” In addition to the faculty, all advisors have access to pictures of their advisees.
The student picture system underwent a testing period during summer 2004, with extensive testing being done by Professors Bill Foley, Randolph Franklin, and Jeff Miner, among others. Miner is also part of the development team of Integrated Administrative Computing Solutions, and, according to Kunkel, was integral in developing the software’s functionality to the faculty’s desired specifications.
David Nichols, advisor for the STSS Department, spoke of the system’s ability to improve student relations, saying “I tend to remember faces more than names … I see a name and don’t remember them, so I click on their name and see a photo.” He continued, “Though there is more information than I need.”
Though privacy concerns have been expressed by some, sophomore Chris Kehoe said, “I’m neutral on it. If they want to make an effort to know faces and names, it makes it easier for them.” However, “if it’s available outside the system, that’s a problem.”
On Kunkel’s wish list for improvements to SIS, is the desire for an online degree application status check for graduating seniors to keep updated on their current condition. In addition, an online class transfer check, to determine which classes have previously been accepted for transfer credit, “would be nice,” said Kunkel. “We’re trying to automate as many processes as possible, in order to lower the manual labor.”
The registrar has already been able to transform the unofficial transcript process into an automated process, allowing for more customized transcripts. In addition, advisors were given similar access to e-mail lists, in order to facilitate communication between advisee and advisor via SIS.
Kunkel encourages anyone with comments or suggestions for the SIS system to contact her in the Registrar’s Office.
