Oracle South Africa has announced the launch of the Oracle Student System, designed to provide greater management and control over all aspects of student affairs in universities and technikons.
SA will be among the first five countries globally to market the system, following investigation over a period of two years at a number of leading universities, and an in-depth evaluation at the University of Port Elizabeth conducted by the University of San Diego.
Currently in use or under implementation in 16 higher education institutions in the US and UK, the Oracle Student System is designed to manage the full lifecycle of the higher education environment.
It enables higher education institutions to maximise limited resources while providing students and service providers with convenient, integrated access to information and processes appropriate for each individual.
The application helps streamline processes in the areas of student recruitment and admission, financial aid, enrolment, academic records, academic assessment, progression, research, graduation and student finance.
The Oracle Student System is based on the concept of using one database and one student record, allowing student data to be available across all administrative functions, subject to institution-controlled security.
The Oracle Student System features an open Internet architecture that is designed to eliminate the time and cost associated with client software installation and maintenance, provide more functionality and flexibility to all end-users, and lower operations and maintenance costs due to its browser-based technology.
The solution also features more than 100 new self-service screens to support processing for admissions, registration, grading, transcripts and student finance. Importantly, the Oracle Student System supports the legislative requirements for tertiary institution report, such as HEMIS and SAPSE.
According to Kelvin Reynolds, director of Public Services at Oracle SA, the need for a more integrated approach to student management is becoming urgent, as South African tertiary institutions are becoming more business-oriented in their approach.
"Our universities are becoming more competitive not only locally, but in the global market, as their high standard of education and the rand`s weakness area attracting a larger number of foreign students," says Reynolds.
"Imperatives such as cost control, business efficiencies and marketing are leading tertiary institutions to look for a more integrated and robust management system for students."
Share
Editorial contacts