West Slope development - artist's impression
Whilst students have been busy settling into the new academic year, our projects dedicated to creating a better Sussex have been making great strides. With a new Student Information System provider confirmed, preparations for our West Slope development gathering pace, and work to better manage student data to drive improvements well underway, there is a lot of great work going on.
Highlights this month include:
- Student Information System (SIS): We have confirmed Ellucian as the provider for the new Student Information System. This has been a competitive process, and Ellucian already provides SIS solutions to over 1,200 institutions globally, and importantly, is one of the key software suppliers in the UK higher education system. Implementation planning and timelines are being agreed, with roll out of parts of the SIS expected to begin in September 2024. We are continuing to work with colleagues all across the institution to ensure that we can provide a robust and modern student information system.
- West Slope: Work is continuing across campus to prepare out utilities and services for the West Slope development. In the last month, a new temporary road opened which has allowed a new area of work to start at the bottom East Slope Road, washing machines have been installed in our new Swanborough Laundrette which will be ready to open very soon, and more work is underway along the Arts Path as we install new drainage and communications ducting across campus. You can find out more about the West Slope from a visual display in the Library, check for the latest updates on our campus development webpages and join our Viva Engage 'Better Campus' community via your Teams app.
- HESA Data Futures: Major changes are happening to the way we collect and share information about our students. Every year all UK universities send student data to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). This data is used for planning and analysis at a national and local level. From 2022/23 we will be required to capture a greater depth and breadth of information about who our students are, what they are doing and their interactions with the university, enabling better decision making at all levels. From 2024/25 we will be required to provide data more frequently - once during and once at the end of the academic year. This means that data quality is more important than ever, due to shorter turnaround times. The HESA Data Futures project team will contact and work with all areas that provide student data to understand how they currently collect and manage the data and to look at ways in which the new requirements can be met.
- Identity and Access Management System (Okta): Work continues to move further applications onto the Okta Single Sign on platform to improve your access and security. We’re developing a webpage that will keep you updated on what you can already access through the platform and what is to be added in the future. We also aim to provide all students with access to Okta by the end of this calendar year so that we can begin to make this improvement in IT services available to students as well.
- Telephony Modernisation (Unified Communications) project: The project team is currently working with local change champions to understand all the local requirements for telephony. This is an important part of the preparations as we move towards introducing MS Teams digital telephony during the middle of 2023, adding flexibility and accessibility to your suite of communication tools. Find out more about telephony modernisation.
To find out more about how we’re investing in a better Sussex, you can watch our introductory webinar, and our campus development webinar.
If you have any questions about any of the projects, initiatives and changes across the University, please speak with the Sussex Projects team, who are responsible for overseeing the delivery of all our programmes.