Dolt is working to consolidate the Banner operations as a system to allow it to work and use feature and services more efficiently.
The system provides a single sign-on access to everything from Banner, email, social media and Blackboard for students, faculty and staff.
The Shreveport campus’ students use the Moodle system rather than Blackboard like the Baton Rouge and New Orleans campuses, for its course management system.
The technology departments receive funding from grants through the National Science Foundation and student fees which are used to make upgrades to technology at SU.
“The SU System completed an assessment of the current technology services and found that moving from the traditional LMS System (Blackboard) to an Open-Source LMS (Moodle) would save cost and provide a uniform learning management platform across the system allowing the campuses to share resources and personnel,” said vice president for information and technology management, Tony Moore.
Thomas said some funds are used to upgrade SU’s fiber and wireless networks to handle the increased number of students and visitors that bring computer tablets and phones on campus. Changing with the new technology, the John B. Cade Library on the Baton Rouge campus introduced Kindle Fire tablets for student access. Students were able to check out a Kindle Fire just as they would a library book starting in the 2013 spring semester.
The Southern University System recently announced the debut of its mobile application suite ‘eNtourage’ for Southern University Baton Rouge (SUBR). Partnering with the use of smart phones, SUBR has launched a mobile application for all iPhones, Androids, and iPads, allowing students to register, find classes and pay fees without visiting the campus. The mobile application, SUBRmobile, went live April 9, 2013, and is available in the AppStore and the Android market.
The library started with ten tablets funded by Title III, to loan students and are working to get more added. Director of reference Jane Robinson said students have flocked to the idea of checking out the tablets. It has helped students when their own personal computers have failed. They were able to keep up with their work.
SUBR is leading the technology wave by being one of the first campuses in the U.S. and Canada to provide course add and drop, shopping cart registration, and student bill payment directly from students’ mobile devices. The new mobile app has a robust suite of applications covering the entire student pipeline management and provides SUBR students and staff with one stop access to the University’s information such as campus news, events, maps, and feedback. “In meeting the needs of today’s millennial student, the Southern University System sought a solution that would transform the student on-boarding experience for prospective students and further engage them throughout their matriculation on campus,” said Moore. Technology in the five-campus Southern University System is changing and those changes will redefine the communication delivery system among all the campuses. The technology departments receive funding from grants through the National Science Foundation and student fees which are used to make upgrades to technology at SU.
A mobile portal is in the future for the SUNO campus as well. It is looking to have a mobile portal within the next year because as director of technology at SUNO Edmond Cummings III said, “Students want everything at the tips of their fingers.” During the 2013 spring semester, myCampus7, a cloudbased software-as-a-service portal by CampusEAI Consortium, was introduced to the New Orleans campus.
Spring/Summer 2013
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Ovations