Online registration? Yes, please
Wyatt Duncan, Staff Writer
jenzabar.com gives more information on the Jenzabar software.
For North Greenville University students, it is incredibly easy to focus on what can be seen taking place on campus, and miss the deep and multi-faceted aspects and functions of the college that take place behind the scenes. All over campus, rumors of the possibility of online registration in the near future have spread, but because of the limited information given to students at this point, rumors are all that’s provided. Behind the scenes, though, there is a plan to enhance the student experience at NGU starting with a software called Jenzabar.
The first and most obvious question raised is, simply, what is Jenzabar? Paul Garrett, IT Director, explained that “Jenzabar is a software system that is sometimes referred to as an ERP.” ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, and in NGU’s case, Garrett said that Jenzabar will act as “a student information system.” More specifically, this software will marry the functionality of the university into one foundational software. Garrett included payroll, human resources and general ledger, as well as registration and transcripts. “It also supports the business functionality of the college…,” Garrett added.
Jenzabar will not only aid communication between the students and the university, but also between the faculty and the university. They will use Jenzabar for their own course information, as well as grades, attendance, and other aspects of faculty responsibility.
Student-to-faculty communication concerning specific course content will remain on Blackboard. Garrett commented that the university is not replacing Blackboard because it is essentially superior to Jenzabar’s learning management module. “Blackboard is the eight-hundred-pound gorilla in the industry,” Garrett said.
Garrett noted that online registration will not come to campus immediately with the implementation of Jenzabar. “Right now, we believe that the first-time students are going to [be able to] register themselves online will be right after spring break in 2019, for the summer and fall sessions of 2019,” he said.
This system will bring convergence and unity to the functions of the university, and allow ease for students when it comes to registration and communication with the university. Jenzabar, however, is only the beginning.
“If you were building a house, and you wanted to talk to everybody about your foundation and how great your foundation was going to be, and what the foundation was going to do for you, and forget [to talk] about your house, you miss the whole point.” Garrett stated.
Miss the whole point, indeed. “Jenzabar is the foundation.” Garrett said. It is the baseline to the entire Student Experience Initiative, of which, Paul Garrett is the Project Manager. This initiative will change registration, but it will also change how students share information with the school. In fact, it will change the entire DNA of the university.
This project will bring unity and convergence within the faculty and staff of the university, allowing for smoother business and preventing issues with communication between the administration. Garrett was adamant that these cultural changes within the administration will make for a simpler student experience. “If we have discontinuity in the way we do our work and the way we present our services, then that has a negative impact on you as a student, and unfortunately, you see that, and you’ll be impacted by that. So, if we can work all that out so that you’re not impacted by that, then you’ll have a better experience,” he explained.
“It’ll help us recruit new students, and retain the students that we have. It’ll help us improve the delivery of academics and so when you leave here you will have had a better education. You’ll have been able to focus on your studies. Ultimately, it will create a stronger tie with the university as you go out into you career and that will impact the financial support we get from our alumni, back to sustain programs. So, [ultimately] it has an impact on the entire life cycle of students across the entire institution., Garrett said.
