Woodring Information System
Details
Project Status
On Target
Last Reported
Estimated Start Date
Project Manager
Project Sponsor
Veronica Velez, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Woodring College
Description
Project Statement
This project will review current functionality of the Woodring Information System (WIS), and Woodring’s “Field Experience Log” in Web4U (FLOG) and identify dependencies on Banner and other systems, particularly as it pertains to Banner security tables/objects, which are likely to be deprecated on same schedule as Banner 8 Self Service Banner. We will research solution options and make recommendations as to how to move forward to retain essential functionality. After receiving approval, the project will implement the solution.
Background
The Woodring Information System (WIS) is a Java web application originally written in 2003 to address insufficiencies in Banner. It has since co-evolved, sharing the same Oracle database instance as Banner and utilizing both baseline and custom/local database objects including security objects. That dependency upon Banner and the fact that it has not kept pace with Java releases suggest that it is overdue for a comprehensive evaluation.
Another area of dependency upon Banner for Woodring is their use of a custom Web4U/B8 SSB application, their “Field Experience Log” (FLOG), used by students to record hours worked at internships and practicums, requirements of certification. Ellucian has given 09/30/2025 as end of maintenance support for Banner 8 Self Service Banner and 01/01/2026 as end of life, so alternative technologies must be found.
Data from both WIS and FLOG are used in fulfilling state reporting requirements and internally for performance and progress tracking, so care must be taken to avoid disruptions to that stream or an orderly cutover to alternative planned.
We are requesting the formation of a project team including Woodring stakeholders and subject matter experts (SME) to review these applications and formulate options for addressing the business needs of the Woodring College of Education . There is significant risk that the end-of-life of Banner 8 Self Service Banner (9/30/2025) causes breaking changes to these applications. We need to be intentional about exploring these unknowns in order to allow us as much time as possible to develop alternatives.
Status Summary
The project team became aware of a software program used on campus that might be able to meet the Woodring Information System requirements. The technical team met with representatives from Admissions and learned in more detail what the Slate program is capable of. Slate is used by Admissions to support their admissions and communication functions for the university. Upon review of the software and a technical demonstration the technical team was very impressed with the software and its capabilities. They were able to review each of the Woodring requirements and see how they could be met with the Slate product. The technical team recommended the use of Slate rather than building a solution in-house. They made their recommendation to our project leadership. Our project leadership has worked to find the funding to support the shift in plans. The project team is currently working with Procurement to add an addendum to the current Slate contract to include a student success instance to our Western subscription with Slate.
Best practice is for Slate, when used to support for multiple student populations, is to have one instance dedicated to the recruitment and prospective student population and a separate instance focused on the currently enrolled population. This project will establish Western's first currently enrolled population instance, which Slate refers to as the student success instance. The project will be focused on configuring Slate for Woodring's use and keeping in mind the larger context of broader use by campus in the future.
The project team has met with our colleagues in Enrollment Management to coordinate and share the vision of how the student success instance will be used across campus in the future.
The project team is aware that the change plans has impacted our available time. The first priority is to configure Slate to support the Field Log Experience process as that functionality is directly tied to our expiring Banner 8 functionality in October 2025. The project team will focus next on the admissions process and follow the data life cycle.