September 25, 2024

Minutes

Attendance

New Discussions, Projects, or Initiatives

• Banner
  • Kirsten mentioned that someone had recently posed the question “Who owns Banner?” A discussion followed about how no one area owns Banner – IT supports Banner, and different departments/area owners are responsible for the data that is entered into Banner, the processes related to the data, and for training staff on how to use Banner.
  • There was a Banner Users Group (BUG) that used to be a space to discuss upgrades or issues. After time, attendance from areas other than IT waned.
  • Danny, Joan, and KB discussed how knowledge gaps have become prevalent as people have left or retired. There is a need for documentation that outlines both current and historical processes.
  • Everyone agreed that a college-wide initiative to document business practices was needed. There should be guidelines so documents are created in a consistent way and then stored in designated locations where access can be managed.
  • IT and MIS will start the conversation about how to achieve this and Data Governance will support.

Standing Updates

• ZogoTech Outstanding Ticket/Enhancement Cleanup + HEIRS Data Element Additions   
  • None.

• IT Update
  • IT Directory Cleanup
    • In progress.
  • SoftDocs Implementation
    • The implementation is complete. There is a pilot form being used this fall as part of the new NUP evaluation pilot. IT is currently receiving feedback on the process of using the form.
    • There have been some minor bumps in the road related to pulling data from Banner, and some formatting issues.
    • Currently, users won’t be able to create or edit their own forms. The forms require C++ programming, so IT will have to work with users.
    • IT is hoping to roll out more forms soon with the hopes of replacing Wufoo and other third-party software. Any software not managed by the college poses data security risks.
    • Stella mentioned how the new Survey Protocol supports using the NECC sanctioned tools.
  • Cybersecurity Training
    • The state recently audited how schools were performing with their cybersecurity training completion and NECC had the lowest completion rate, with only 30% of employees completing the training. This training is required for all state IT Department employees and NECC needs to align with the best practices set by the state.
    • Historically this training used to be held in March which may have not been a good time for faculty. This year, the hope was to schedule it for the first week of October. IT is pushing that date back because they want to be able to track completion by employee type.
    • It is working with the CPD to bring CISA in on 10/17 for a training. They will also be launching regular cybersecurity awareness videos.

• Financial Value Transparency & Gainful Employment Act (FVT GE Act)
  • Heather let the group know that the reporting deadline had been extended to January.
  • The FVT GE reporting team still aims to have reporting done by mid-December before the holiday break.

• LLL EE (Formerly Destiny One)/Noncredit Update
  • There will be a series of informational trainings occurring, but no dates and times have been sent.

Ad-Hoc Group Updates

• HR Data Cleanup 
  • The departmental match has been completed. Patty let the group know that there is no automatic upload from HRCMS to Banner. It is still a manual process.
  • Many changes have been made, but there are still some things to be done. Finance has been a big help as the state only lets one person request a change at a time.

• Pre-requisite Cleanup
  • Tom mentioned how there are about 600 courses needing pre-requisite clean up. However, some of these courses would still apply to continuing/legacy students so they can not be removed as pre-requisites entirely.

• Secure Data Sharing and Transfer Practices/Policy
  • Next steps is getting more formal insight into how this moves forward. Ideas such as sharing with VPs or Executive Committee of All College Assembly (ACA) were two options that were mentioned.
  • It may be able to be offered as part of the cybersecurity training.

• Survey Protocol
  • This project is complete.

• Texting Communication Protocol/Best Practices for Faculty and Staff reaching out to students
  • This project is complete and the protocol has been shared on the Navigate training page.

• Texting Regulations and Policies related to multiple systems and opt-outs
  • Heather discussed how we have the problem of multiple systems that allow texting. How to manage opt outs with multiple platforms? There likely needs to be a policy. The college needs to choose single platform.

• Veteran Affairs Data Cleanup
  • Angela said that the office is trying to get more efficient and track all veteran students, not just those from the VA.

Miscellaneous

• Update on Third-Party Servicer (TPS) Rule
  • None.