As many of you know, The Citadel has recently begun taking steps to replace our legacy administrative computer systems (SCT Plus). Like many other colleges, we are moving toward a unified digital campus that will transform teaching and learning and the way many of us do business here at The Citadel. Along the way, we will be completing the development of the cadet accountability and information system and  introducing new tools that will improve our campus community in ways that will help us blend high academic standards with strong principled leadership for all students, as well as faculty and staff. These new tools will foster a collaborative community that reaches beyond the geographical limitations of our campus with around the clock access.

Over the next two years, Plus (our current enterprise information system that includes SIS, FRS, HRS, and Fin Aid) will gradually be replaced by Banner. The Banner system provides a much higher level of functionality and flexibility than the older Plus system. It will help us run all aspects of our day-to-day operations and will provide accurate information in real time so we can all make more informed decisions.

We will also be introducing Lesesne Gateway, our new web portal. As our older systems are converted to Banner, Lesesne Gateway will be the entry point to all information systems of the College. (Thanks to Col. John Moore for submitting the winning entry in our “name the portal” contest. We also thank all the students, faculty, and staff who submitted nearly 100 names for consideration.)

Why Lesesne Gateway?  Lesesne Gate, the main access to The Citadel campus, was named for Thomas Petigru Lesesne, class of 1901, who was instrumental in the move of The Citadel from its original site on Marion Square to its present location.  Like the gate for which it is being named, Lesesne Gateway will be the central point of entry for The Citadel’s virtual campus.

Other powerful new tools that will be introduced include an Operational Data Store (ODS) which will integrate data from multiple sources to make analysis and reporting easier and an Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) which will contain historical data. In the coming months you'll also be learning about Cognos, a powerful new report writer, and Workflow, a tool which will drive business processes within our new web portal.  Blackboard, another tool many of you are already familiar with, will also be seamlessly integrated into the portal. Efforts are also underway to rework our cadet systems so they integrate with Lesesne Gateway, Cognos, the ODS, and the EDW.

Plans are being developed to provide appropriate training for faculty, staff, and students. You will receive training as the systems you rely on are integrated into Banner.

The impact of participation in the Bulldog Central Project is being felt in offices campus-wide, and as you can imagine, the staffs of the various offices involved are experiencing heavy workload conditions.  Please be both patient and mindful of financial and staff resources. From time to time, entire departments will be developing these new systems or in training and may not be able to respond to requests as quickly as they customarily do.

Here are anticipated go-live dates along with their implementation team coordinators:

Finance (Sue Reynolds)                    7/1/2009
Portal (Debbie Fisher)                    7/1/2009
ODS/EDW (Tara McNealy/Lisa Pace)              Goes live in conjunction with each module.
Cognos (Tara McNealy/Lisa Pace)           Goes live in conjunction with each module.
Student Admissions (Hank Fuller)          10/31/2009
Financial Aid (Josh Haugh)                3/1/2010
Student Registration (Hank Fuller)         4/1/2010
Student Accounts Receivable (Hank Fuller)  4/1/2010
Human Resources (Kristi Cowart)           4/1/2010

The anticipated go-live dates reflect the bulk of the features that will be available, but other features will be phased in over the next two years. If you have concerns or specific questions, please contact the team coordinator listed above; Gene Creson, our overall project manager; or Spike Metts, Executive Director of the Bulldog Central Project.

Thanks in advance for your patience and cooperation as we move forward with the Bulldog Central Project. Please be on the lookout for additional announcements from our various implementation teams.

Spike Metts, Executive Director, Bulldog Central Project