NEWS 

Banner Upgrades

Preparations are under way to install the latest SunGuard HE Banner system upgrades to the Student Information Management System (SIMS).  Student 7.4, Financial Aid 7.8 and 7.8.1, and General 7.4.1 will be implemented Fall 2007.

The Center for Information Technology Services (CITS) is committed to providing the UMB campus with all the latest functionality the Banner Student system has to offer.  Banner 7.x is the very latest in the continuing evolution and refinement of the SunGard HE Banner product line.

New SIMS Functionality

There are several initiatives currently underway to expand and enhance the functionality of the SIMS.

• Web Admissions Credit Card Payments
  Several schools are working with the SIMS Implementation Team to permit students to pay admission application fees, on-line via SURFS, to speed up the admissions process.  The Graduate School has completed this implementation while the implementation scheduled for the other schools are on a school by school basis.

• Student Directory Information Tracking
  To ensure and protect the privacy of our student’s personal and academic information the SIMS Implementation Team, working with campus leaders, will implement a Student Directory Information Tracking system.  Students will be able to pick and choose what personal and/or academic information they want to be released to off-campus requestors.  Implementation is scheduled for Fall 2007.

• CAPP Module Development
  Working with the School of Nursing and the Law School as pilot schools the SIMS Implementation Team is developing Banner’s Curriculum, Advising and Program Planning module (CAPP).  The CAPP module is a Banner Student baseline product which allows students/advisors to easily and accurately assess a student’s progress toward their degree objectives and to file for degree completion without the need for paper and/or extensive advisor time.  The Implementation time frame is to be determined.

• Dynamic Catalog
  The Dynamic Catalog allows anyone to see course offerings for a catalog term and includes Long Title, Long Description and the Syllabus information.

• Dynamic Schedule
  The Dynamic Schedule functionality allows anyone to see course offerings within SURFS before registration starts and includes Long Text plus Long Title and the Syllabus information if and only if it is different from the catalog.

SIMS/Blackboard Integration

SIMS Implementation Team recently installed an automated process to automatically register students in Blackboard courses if they register for courses in Banner that are designated as Blackboard or partial Blackboard. 

SIMS User Training

Prospective SIMS users can self-enroll for the necessary Introduction to SIMS/Banner Navigation class at the ETG Training and Enrollment page.  If you have any questions contact Brook Botvin, Manager, Enterprise Applications Training.  Brook can be reached at 6-1581 or by email at bbotvin@umaryland.edu

Banner Remote Printing

Several schools and departments have requested remote printing capability for Banner reports within their school or office.  We have revised our minimum printer requirements to accommodate these requests.  See the updated SIMS Printer Setup Request Form in the Technical Section of this web page.

Please report any problems or questions to the SIMS Support team, via email to DL-CITS SIMS Support