Banner Web allows students grade access

By Louis Barberena
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Every semester students go home with one critical thought in mind: grades.

One Norwich student makes the best of a heavy snowfall and a break from school work last weekend by sledding down the hill behind Hawkins Hall (Plourde photo)

Norwich University's Banner Web allows students to have administrative information at their fingertips, according to a computer analyst.

"Banner Web has been part of a plan for a couple of years. It all started with the campus pipeline, which allowed for attachments such as the banner web to be added," said Phil Susmann, vice president for technology and strategic partnerships of Norwich University.

This summer the Web server was made available to students, allowing them to view administrative information and eliminating the hassle of going directly to administrative offices, Susmann said.

"This was part of a bigger plan of connected learning communities (CLiC), for the students to be able to view information, and as we go on we are going to add stuff to that which will allow students to interact with the system," Susmann said.

Banner Web was expected to be in place last spring, Susmann said, "but the programs back then weren't working properly until we got into this new Banner 5 program."

"I think it's a good thing to have. You don't have to worry about going to the registrar's office; you can get your schedule, your transcript, your midterm grades," said Matthew Offiler, 20, a senior criminal justice major from Hyannis, Mass.

"Banner web is there to provide a service to the students, to provide an ability for the students to have some sort of administrative information system at their fingertips," said Perley Dexter, programming analyst.

It allows students to check their grades anytime without having to wait in line or at the registrar's office.

"It just gives you more tools to be able to help yourself," Dexter said.

"I wish that they had this service the whole time that I've been at Norwich," said David Thompson, 21, a senior computer science major from Port Hueneme, Calif. This is a helpful tool because it allows students to know their academic standing and plan around it, Thompson said.

"The only thing that is scary is whether other people get access to that," Thompson said. "They can't really do anything with it, but just that ability to see what you've taken,"

The webpage is built dynamically for [the student], and parental access is not allowed, Susmann said. The only other people who can gain access to grades are advisors.

"We are very concerned about security," Susmann said, adding that Banner Web "runs on a secure socket layer, so we are pretty sure that it is okay, but we are going to watch it closely."

There are other programs that are currently being looked at, and one of them is used for online registration, which should available next spring, Susmann said.

"Some other possible programs on the horizon will allow professors access to administrative components, whether it be something as simple as the ability to print a class list or be able to download a class list into Excel for grading and other such activities," Susmann said.

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, Northfield, VT 056632. www.norwich.edu/guidon. If you have any questions or comments about the paper, please contact Professor Ken Bush at kbush@norwich.edu.