Students can look forward to secure online registration and access to all their student information from one single portal in Fall 2007.

Students familiar with the Pipeline system can expect the same type of easy access from Banner because both were developed by SCT.

The difference is prospective students will be able to apply to the college and for financial aid.

Also, current students will be able to register, view transcripts, access campus e-mail and review their degree status using the Degree Audit Reporting System.

Currently, students must visit a variety of sites to access this information.

The primary advantage of Banner is that it will be a single portal from which students can access information regularly found through student services.

Unlike the system that was being developed with Oracle, “the college decided to select an existing product that is already being used successfully at Community Colleges in California and throughout the nation,” said Dr. Jack Friedlander, executive vice president of educational programs.

After spending $8 million for a system through Oracle, the college terminated the contract.

“The college reached the conclusion that it could no longer wait for Oracle to complete the Student Information System that it was developing,” added Friedlander.

The two-year wait for the SCT system launch is needed to give the Finance and Human Resource department’s time to prepare their databases.

Their work is expected to yield a unified system that streamlines access to information from administrators down to students.

The college purchased the Banner system for $1 million from SunGard/SCT.

The estimated cost for installation and maintenance is between $2 million and $4 million over the next five years, said college administrators.

The majority of the cost will come from this year’s budget. After joining the system, City College will be a part of the California user group made up of 18 other Community Colleges in the state.

The user group will meet virtually to discuss concerns, needs and desires for the Banner program. Wherever possible, SCT will make modifications addressing the needs that colleges identify to them.

The name of the website that will act as the portal for students to access has yet to be decided by the college.

The two proposed names for the site are “The Spot” and “SBCC Online.” Project Director Daniel Watkins is trying to obtain feedback from students to reach a final conclusion.

The Banner system is expected to evolve with students needs making enhancements where necessary to better serve City College faculty and students.