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AIS maintains the administrative database system, running Datatel Colleague R18 and Benefactor 5.1. In addition to regular maintenance, ACS works to satisfy institutional needs through reporting support, custom programming, and process consulting for the various administrative departments.
Release 18 Migration & Conversion
Datatel requires its customers to move to the latest Colleague release (R18) by the end of 2007. To allow us to comply with federal regulatory rules, Allegheny College must be part of this migration. Administrative Information Services made the new system available at the start of business Tuesday, October 23, after intensive testing by all offices on Monday, October 22.
Major functionality of Colleague, Benefactor, WebAdvisor and Informer has been tested and works. If you find any additional issues, please report them to your AIS support person, or contact User Services at x-2755.
The second phase of this upgrade, already starting to take shape, is the conversion of the Benefactor database used by the Development office into the the new module of Colleague, known as Colleague Advancement. To manage the integration of shared data, a group of users and members of AIS has been formed (known as ShInDIG - Shared Institutional Data Integrity Group) to review data rules and departmental best practices in order to better codify and control use of the administrative system. Apart from the obvious benefits gained from all administrative departments refining processes and working together, this review will allow us to cleanly migrate Benefactor data into Colleague with a minimum disruption.
Our System Manager, Pete Gifford, has created a blog to record the status of migration. When users become more involved in testing, check here for news and updates related to R18.
WebAdvisor 3.0
In the winter of 2005-2006, Allegheny implemented WebAdvisor 3.0, the latest web interface for Colleague R17 and Benefactor 5.1. Students use this to schedule classes, check grades and financial aid information, report participation in student groups and vote in ASG (Student Government) elections. Faculty use it to check information on class rosters, advisees and senior projects and to report grades. Employees use it for budget tracking.
Informer Report Server
In the fall of 2006, Allegheny implemented the Informer Report solution to ease report creation and retrieval from the Datatel system. This web-based solution is currently available only on campus until off-campus security can be assured. However, the tools have become quite popular among departments with constantly changing reporting needs. It gives the end user greater control over the content, format, and output of their reports. (Supports XML, Excel, PDF and allows users to personalize their own view of their reports.)
Updates and Maintenance
AIS applies regular patches and maintentance as recommended by Datatel. This involves system and user testing on an ongoing basis.
Custom Programming
The Datatel system is not a "one size fits all" solution. College processes sometimes require that special code changes be applied to our system. Some customizations include
Datatel Community Participation
Allegheny College is an active member of the Datatel Users Group (DUG), as well as a charter member of the newly forming Pennsylvania Datatel Users Group (PADUG). Pete Gifford, AIS System Manager, has been a presenter, and Todd Fox, Director of Development Resources, is a widely acknowledged authority in the Benefactor community and a regular presenter at DUG and works with Datatel to organize Benefactor user-generated resources and structure client feedback in a constructive way.
