Posted March 16, 2011

New, easy-to-use registration system debuts

A student takes SSB for a test drive

Temple junior Karen Blyton got a first-hand look at what students can expect from Self-Service Banner (SSB) when they register for classes this March.

Sampling Self-Service Banner, the replacement for OWLnet, I immediately noticed an improvement. SSB made it easier to see a spread of classes that fit my busy schedule. As a full-time student with a part-time job, this is important to me. Self Service Banner’s searchability feature eliminated the two-step process of searching the course schedule and then registering in OWLnet.

I was able to look up multiple classes in various departments simultaneously, restricting results by days of the week as well as by start- and end-time. For example, when I searched for classes that would fulfill my Race and Diversity Gen-Ed requirement, SSB allowed me in only two clicks to find all the classes across the university that met this requirement.

SSB also gave me the option to look up classes by criteria, such as professor and class name. This was helpful because I really enjoyed my “Intro to TV Production” class last semester and using SSB, I found another class taught by the same professor that I can take next fall.

Overall, I found the interface intuitive. SSB employs language similar to OWLnet, such as “Add/Drop Classes,” “Weekly Class Schedule” and “Class Roster,” making it easy for me to adapt to the change.

When registration begins for summer classes at 7 a.m. this Monday, March 21, Temple students will be using a new, state-of-the-art system — Self-Service Banner (SSB).

SSB will give students, faculty, advisors and staff better access to student data in a timely manner. The new system is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day without the scheduled daily and weekly service disruptions of its predecessor, OWLnet.

“The ease of use and the integrated nature — the way it puts together financial aid, academic records and registration — support student success,” said Karen Sofranko, the leader of the advising team for Banner implementation.

Sofranko believes student users will find SSB intuitive, which she hopes will ease the transition from OWLnet.

“We’ve had various groups of students test the system, and they say that if you can use OWLnet, you can use SSB,” said Sofranko.

Students who tested SSB were happiest about the ability to search for courses by day, time and instructor, as well as by GenEd requirement (see sidebar, at right). They also liked the worksheet feature, which enables students to save course reference numbers during the registration process.

SSB has already proved to be a success in attracting, recruiting and admitting new students.

“Prospective students can track their application through the portal,” said William Black, senior vice provost for enrollment management.

“The information they receive is tailored according to their status," Black said. "It changes as they progress from prospect to applicant to accepted student with a deposit. At that point students integrate seamlessly into SSB.”

The future points to even greater convenience. According to Associate Vice President of Computer Services Barbara Dolhansky, SSB is paving the way for service extension to mobile devices.

“In the next six months to a year, students will be able to search classes and look up grades on their mobile devices," she said. "With the old technology, this wouldn’t have been possible.”

SSB is accessible through the TUportal. For specific registration dates based on credit hours, students can go to www.temple.edu/registrar. Training videos are available via the TUportal.

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