June 9, 2020
Story by Ellucian staff
Amid pandemic, Barton innovates to support students and staff, providing remote experiences in the cloud
June 9, 2020—RESTON, VA—Ellucian, the leading provider of software and services built to power higher education, today announced that Barton Community College (Barton), one of the leading community colleges in Kansas, has gone live with Ellucian Banner Cloud.
Ellucian Banner Cloud is a powerful Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution designed specifically for higher education. The innovative cloud-based offering empowers institutions to efficiently and effectively manage all human resources, finance, and student information processes in a modern digital environment.
“We are very thankful to our board for supporting previous modernization efforts that have allowed us to take this next step, and for enabling us to move forward with the cloud migration during this time of crisis,” said Barton Community College Chief Information Officer Michelle Kaiser. “With all of the challenges and confusion surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, we feel incredibly fortunate that are now able to support a newly remote workforce with secure access to our network with Banner Cloud. We have been very pleased with the ongoing support and partnership from Ellucian and are confident that we’ll continue to grow with its technology.”
“2020 marks Barton Community College’s 50th anniversary, and 25 years as an Ellucian customer. In that time, Barton has consistently demonstrated its commitment to digital transformation. Barton’s move to launch Banner Cloud during this turbulent time is truly indicative of the school’s agility, innovation, and pledge to creating the best possible experience for its students and staff,” said Ellucian Chief Customer Officer Chris Collins. “We are very proud of our long history with Barton and honored to support its students and staff through this significant step into the cloud.”
About Barton’s move to Banner Cloud
Banner has long been a critical element of Barton’s core functions, managing enrollment, payroll, financial aid and student data. In 2019, the school recognized that migrating towards a more agile, cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution would provide better long-term support for its constituents, and empower staff to drive further innovation on-campus.
Barton’s IT staff began laying the groundwork for a pathway to the cloud several years ago, and officially began the implementation process last year - working closely with the Ellucian team to maintain a steady cadence of progress towards completing the project. Though coronavirus restrictions were sweeping the nation in the lead up to the launch, Barton was able to proceed as planned and successfully went live with Ellucian Banner Cloud in March 2020.
During the first registration period with Banner Cloud, Barton experienced a heavy volume of students enrolling in online classes for the Summer 2020 semester. Throughout registration, neither the IT team nor the registrar encountered any reported issues or complaints from users. Barton is eager to propel further innovation on campus with Ellucian Ethos, creating a backbone for analytics and serving as the information broker for the institution’s IT infrastructure. Additionally, they plan to engage professional services to more effectively use all of the advanced capabilities of Banner and explore the potential to integrate other solutions that will support the overall goals of the institution.
COVID-19 Resources from Ellucian
As institutions, educators, students, and staff face great change and disruption during the coronavirus outbreak, those who serve higher education are working together to help continue the delivery of vital services and ongoing education to students everywhere.
In support of our customers, partners, and the higher education community, Ellucian is continually updating available resources, including:
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Webinar: Business continuity best practices in today’s environment
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Webinar: Business continuity best practices for the future of higher ed
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A discussion space for COVID-19 discussion within the Ellucian community
About Ellucian
Ellucian is the market leader charting the digital future of higher education with a portfolio of cloud-ready technology solutions and services. From student recruitment to workforce analytics; from fundraising opportunities to alumni engagement; Ellucian’s comprehensive suite of data-rich tools gives colleges and universities the information they need to lead with confidence.
Working with a community of more than 2,700 customers in over 50 countries, Ellucian keeps innovating as higher education keeps evolving. Drawing on its comprehensive higher education business acumen and suite of services, Ellucian guides its customers through manageable, sustainable digital transformation—so that every type of institution and student can thrive in today’s fast-changing landscape. To find out what’s next in higher education solutions and services, visit Ellucian at www.ellucian.com.