Office of the CIO Annual Achievement Report

2007 Achievements

Student Information System Initiative
Part 1  Complete a detailed evaluation of processes and systems that support student administration functions. Recommend a plan for implementing an integrated student information system that is available to the user community 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year.
Part 2  Select and implement a student portal and content management system.

Since 2004

Completed fit gap sessions; established a budget and strategies for technical architecture, implementation, conversion, training and communication, designs and requirements, and new business process flow definitions; and finalized implementation plans for business drivers to remove Social Security Numbers as a primary identifier for students and for creating the Human Resources and student systems.

Since 2007

• Completed the design and began development of the Student Information System, based on PeopleSoft, which is on budget and on schedule to roll out in five "waves" beginning with the admissions functions in spring/summer 2008; created detailed plans and processes for the test phase beginning in January 2008; readied the quality assurance testing environment; and began development work on the single environment by merging Human Resources and OSU Medical Center databases into the combined HR/SIS system. The new SIS is to be fully implemented by autumn 2009.


• Made the following key project-related decisions: Human Resources and SIS systems will share a single database; Human Resources and the student systems databases will be merged beginning in June 2008; current and former employees retain their eight-digit ID number; new employees and students will receive a nine-digit ID; system access will rely on two-factor authentication to better protect data and centralize security administration; Buckeye Link will be redesigned in concert with the planned redesign of the university’s web pages and become the front end to student self service; and Talisma, third-party software, will be purchased to facilitate undergraduate recruiting.


• Upgraded the enterprise server supporting legacy mainframe applications, mainframe academic computing, and Linux to an IBM Z9, which provides resource overhead and a small savings in lease and maintenance costs; and subsequently upgraded the new server’s operating system to IBM z/OS 1.8 to position the mainframe to deliver supported, stable, and secure legacy system services through SIS implementation.