SAFARI Project - Central Academic Progress System Module Charter - May 22, 2003

Table of Contents

1. Student Administration System - A Critical Need
2. Module Background
3. Module Team Scope
4. Objectvies
   • Overall SA Project Objectives
   • Central Academic Progress System Objectives
5. Project Timeline
6. Organization and Staffing
   • SA Project Module Leads
   • Subject Matter Experts
   • Functional Analysis Specialists
   • Module Consultant
7. Key Risks
   • Risk: Inability to Get PS Training For The CAPS Project Lead

Student Administration System - A Critical Need

Implementation of the Student Administration system is a critical need required to support the University Strategic Plan and to replace out-dated technology. Specifically, the new Student Administration system helps CWU accomplish the following:

• Supports the goal of providing, "quality, integrated academic advising and career development support to all students from pre-admission to graduation," and, "easy access to accurate information," critical to this effort;
• Supports the goal of providing, "for an outstanding academic and student life at the university centers," by improving student record access regardless of physical location;
• Supports expanding, "Central Washington University's student base through recruiting and retention," by providing state-of-the art, Web-based application and registration access; and,
• Supports the goal to, "Expand sources of revenue to support university initiatives," through easier student registration statewide and elsewhere.
• Completes the conversion of the three, separate legacy administrative systems to a single platform with the same programming language and database;
• Efficiently leverages the existing technical staff knowledge of the PeopleSoft system;
• Maintains critical compliance with federal regulations, particularly Student Financial Aid requirements that (if not met), has potential to restrict our ability to disburse millions of dollars in aid; and,
• Expands ease of access to Central's application and enrollment processes, critical to attracting and retaining our students.

Module Background

The Central Academic Progress System (CAPS) processes transfer credit and creates degree audit reports for students of CWU. Currently this system is an interfaced combination of the SIS system and the DARS system. After much consideration and discussion the SAFARI Project Management has decided that dropping DARS and implementing PeopleSoft Academic Advising is the best way to support these processes at Central. To be sure, there are advantages in keeping DARS and interfacing with PeopleSoft Student Records to provide the functionality required by CWU. But given the long term costs and risks involved in maintaining two separate systems when one would do the job, it is our belief that making the switch now, when there are project resources available to apply to the effort, is the right decision.

Module Team Scope

The function of the Scope Statement is to act as a filter that allows appropriate work to be included in the project while excluding inappropriate work. This is a critical function if we are to bring the project in on time and within budget. The CAPS Module Project will provide processes and technology necessary to:

• Receive and articulate credits transferred from other colleges and universities.
• Audit and report student progress toward degrees
• Provide effective reporting solutions required for external regulatory purposes
• Provide effective reporting solutions for strategically critical purposes
• Provide data access and reporting tools to non-regulatory and non-strategic reporting users.

Objectives

These objectives specify what the Module Team will accomplish in this project.

Overall SA Project Objectives:

The following objectives were set out for the entire SA Implementation Project but that are particularly meaningful to the Module Teams.

• Adopt best practices where possible during the implementation process in order to minimize customizations.
• Provide ready access to current, accurate, and complete administrative information and the means to use it in an efficient manner.
• Develop cross module integration issue identification and definitions to guide overall implementation efforts...

Central Academic Progress System Objectives:

• Streamline the processes for transfer credit articulation and degree audit in order to reduce the labor required to provide these services.
• Provide the Degree Audit office staff with a thorough knowledge of the use and maintenance of the new CAPS technologies.
• Provide the automated capability to evaluate transcripts of transfer students and award CWU credit where appropriate. (This project will support this process for transcripts from the Washington community colleges and 4 year institutions. Additionally colleges and universities will be added as time allows.)
• Provide the automated capability to audit undergraduate students' records to determine their progress toward completion of a degree and identify the requirements remaining to be completed. (This project will support undeclared students, university requirements, and the top 30 Majors for 3 to 4 catalog years into the past. By building these requirements into the system over 80% of students will be served by the new PeopleSoft-based CAPS report and this figure is comparable to support provided by DARS.)
• Provide the capability for students to receive degree audit reports online.
• Provide the capability for faculty to receive student degree audit reports online.
• Investigate and report the capability of the new system to measure the average degree progress of students in their majors and provide this information to academic departments.
• Investigate and report the capability of the new system to identify courses which must be offered to support their students' efficient progress toward degrees.
• Provide the capability to record and process degree audit exceptions
• Provide the capability to store an image archive of incoming transcripts
• Provide the capability to track graduation checkout problems and communicate with students about these deficiencies (PeopleSoft 3Cs) through letters and e-mails.
• Begin sending official communications to students by e-mail. (Pending approval as a University policy.)
• Implement CWU formulas for GPA calculations (standard, Honors, and major-specific courses). [Note: this objective moved over from the SR Charter in July, 2003.]
• Provide on-line degree audit reports to students and staff, both actual and what-if scenarios. [Note: this objective moved over from the SR Charter in July, 2003.]

Project Timeline

Organization and Staffing

The Module Team will consist of a Module Lead, one or more Subject Matter Experts, a Module Consultant, and assistance from one or more Functional Analysis Specialists. The roles of these team members are described in this section.

SA Project Module Leads

Summary
The Student Administration System Module Lead (SAS) works to design and implement technology solutions to support CWU staff and departments, specifically for one of the SA modules. This is primarily accomplished through documentation and analysis of business process and reporting requirements and design and set up of the PeopleSoft Student Administration system and peripheral products.

Typical Work Activities
Assist developing, coordinating, and monitoring multiple aspects of a task or project plan. Principal resource for fit/gap analysis. Develop and review prototypes for respective module to determine current business processes and to test and demonstrate new business processes. Determine best practices for business processes for module. Coordinate definition, analysis and proposed resolution of issues. Identify and communicate to others tasks that have cross-system and/or module impacts. Coordinate closely with individuals responsible for other PeopleSoft systems and/or modules to maintain necessary integration and data quality. Participate in outreach activities to the campus community including written communications, meetings, and presentations as necessary. Coordinate subject matter work groups within and/or between campus units. Develop documentation and assist with training efforts. Primary contact to regular work unit to report progress, seek assistance and communicate project activities and impacts

Subject Matter Experts

Summary
The Subject Matter Experts will provide detailed descriptions of the services, work tasks, reporting, and other information requirements of the XYZ Department and assist the full-time Module Team members in configuring and testing the Student Administration System in a way that provides optimal support for CWU.

Typical Work Activities
Business process documentation; population of system set-up tables; fit/gap analysis; assist with performance of software testing; advise on end-user training requirements; communicate objectively with other XYZ Department staff about the pros and cons of PeopleSoft Student Administration system.

Functional Analysis Specialists

Summary
The Functional Application Specialist (FAS) works to design and implement technology solutions to support CWU staff and departments. This is primarily accomplished through documentation and analysis of business process and reporting requirements and design and set up of the PeopleSoft Student Administration system and peripheral products.

Typical Work Activities
Business process documentation; population of system set-up tables; fit/gap analysis; functional specifications for modifications, interfaces, reports, and security; assist with design and performance of software testing; assist in developing end-user training materials; advise the project team on general technical matters; applying approved project methods and processes

Module Consultant

Summary
The Module Consultant provides in-depth knowledge about the functions and capabilities of the PeopleSoft Module and advises the Module Team on optimal application of this software to support CWU processes and information users.

Typical Work Activities
Provide training, information, and mentoring necessary to support the Module Leads in becoming PeopleSoft experts, facilitate the team through implementation workshops and tasks; troubleshoot the software when it is not operating properly, research and find solutions to CWU-specific requirements for system set-up and/or modifications, and assist team members with the various activities of implementing the system (business process documentation; population of system set-up tables; fit/gap analysis; writing of functional specifications; design and performance of software testing; developing end-user training materials)

Key Risks

Any project of this scale will encounter problems along the way. Good project management includes periodic attempts to identify the potential problems, which are most likely to happen, and are the most potentially damaging to the project timeline or deliverables. XYZ Department Directors and Managers are encouraged to bring any such risks to the attention of the Module Lead so mitigation/contingency planning can be done, thereby protecting the project's success.

Risk: Inability to get PS Training for the CAPS Project Lead

Description
Lately there have been no Advising training courses offered by PeopleSoft and getting our Lead to all the prerequisites and the Advising training may prove impossible.

Mitigation/Contingency Plan(s)

• Training provided by project staff and consultants
• The Charter and Project Plan can include a training period with specific objectives and timelines