by Jessica Railey
The recent update to the SABRE system this
past March will not be a noticeable change for students
at Buffalo State College. It was aimed at the difficulties
faced by teachers and the Registrar’s Office, especially
during registration time.
“There’s not really going to be any new obvious
advantages or new features for students with this particular
version,” said Don Erin, SABRE project manager at
Buffalo State.
From bugs to interfacing with the old student information
system (STARS, made specifically for Buffalo State), faculty
and staff dealt with problems that took many steps to fix.
But with this update, the bugs are eliminated and the vendor,
Oracle Corporation, will be able to mitigate problems with
more ease.
“This update is laying down the foundation for what
is to come,” Erwin said.
What is to come? Presently, SABRE deals with two major areas:
enrollment (registering for classes) and grading. The problem
facing the Registrar’s Office was making sure information
was accurate as it passed from the new system (SABRE) back
to the old student information system (STARS).
“The two systems work in conjunction with each other,”
Erwin said. “These updates will enable us to slowly
phase out STARS.”
Professors, before the update, were dealing with a bug in
the way they were able to post grades through SABRE.
“Instead of a one-step process, teachers
would have to flip-flop between two pages. This update eliminates
the multi-step process, making it easier,” Erwin said.
The SABRE project team is planning on introducing new modules
onto the system as soon as Oct. 2. These include components
for:
• financial aid, to be integrated with the present
system
• admissions, where in the future, prospective students
can check the status of their application
• student accounts, where eventually, though not in
the short term, students will be able to pay tuition bills
and view their charges
“There are two periods in every year we have to make
updates, and this is the time before registration starts,”
Erwin said.
“We spend most of our time testing,
so if the updates are not ready, these changes may not be
up until spring of next year.
“Large software innovations are never finished, and
there’s always more updates.”
Plans are already being made for another update at the end
of 2005.
Support sessions for faculty and students are being held
during the beginning weeks of registration (April 6 through
April 28).
Faculty and staff may make reservations to
attend the sessions by contacting Kari D’Amico at
SABRE support (ext. 3434), or by e-mail (sabresupport@buffalostate.edu).
No reservations are necessary for student sessions.
“Confusion always accompanies change, but we’re
trying our best to prepare for all these changes with the
sessions,” Erwin said.
The only noticeable change for students with this update
will be the way in which they view their current class schedule.
The two sessions held for students (on April 7 and April
11), will show students how to use this new view, “as
well as a refresher for people who either have not used
SABRE or who don’t remember,” Erwin said.
The SABRE project team includes faculty and staff from five
different offices on campus:
• Admissions Office: Paul Bink and Gwen Veira
• Student Accounts Office: Lesley Dixie-Smith and
Pat Black
• Registrar’s Office: Colleen Sullivan
• Financial Aid Office: Margaret Loops and Connie
Cooke
• Graduate Affairs Office: Mary Lou Hartnett
There is no cost exactly for updates. Buffalo State pays
an annual license fee for the entire SABRE system, and part
of this fee is taken in by SUNY.
Bill Hildebrandt, a graduate of Buffalo State, thinks the
SABRE system would have been helpful to him as a student:
“Everything was such a process, from applying to the
college right through graduation. All the waiting around
for papers to come in the mail, when now almost everything
can be accessed online- it’s a great tool.”
Links:SABRE
Oracle Corporation
Jessica Railey can be contacted at Railjl11@buffalostate.edu
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