Students logged on to Salukinet during Thanksgiving break might have been surprised to see the Web site’s makeover.

The new page is one step in the staggered implementation of a new student information system called Banner and prompts students to log in using their network ID and password. Previously, students used their student ID, generally a student’s social security number, and university issued pin number to log in to the system.

Frank Scobby, interim director of Information Technology, said one of the original objectives of the Banner implication was to eliminate the use of social security numbers as student IDs. He said he hopes to completely transition students to network ID numbers this spring.

Gloria Hernandez, an undecided freshman from Des Plaines, said she never worried about identity theft while using her social security number on Salukinet because she felt the university would keep its students safe.

Banner will give students single sign-on access to a personalized portal, called Luminis, through which they may access their bursar bill, university e-mail account, financial aid, Blackboard and other student information.

Scott Bridges, assistant director of Information Technology, said using the network ID was the easiest way to accomplish single sign-on access.

“Using it for this system hides the need for the student to have to use their student ID,” he said.

The current system is based on mainframe technology and will no longer be supported by the vendor in 2009.

Kevin Bame, executive director of finance, said the new system, provided by SunGard, is based on client server technology to make it more accessible to faculty, staff and students.

One of the most advantageous aspects of the new system is that it will always be available, instead of limiting students to business hours if they need to add or drop a class or pay a bill online.

Students who click the My Tab option after logging in have immediate access to Facebook, Dictionary.com and Saluki Athletics’ top stories. Bridges said the Facebook option is called a channel, essentially a Web page within a Web page, and is nothing on SIU’s end but a link.

“We put it there just to give students an idea of what the possibilities are,” he said.

Molly George, a senior from Centralia studying psychology, said the Facebook link caused her some trouble.

“When I logged in last night, I didn’t log out on Salukinet, so when I tried to login on Facebook, it wouldn’t let me, so I had to go back in Salukinet and log out so I could log in on Facebook,” George said.

Scobby said students should not have trouble navigating the new page.

“Most of it will be intuitive,” he said. “It’ll be right there on the screen, and with today’s technology-savvy students, we shouldn’t have to worry too much about them having to know what to do with it.”

Bridges said the new system will eventually offer students a personalized calendar option. Hernandez said she thought such a convenient option would be popular.

“That would be the same as a planner,” Hernandez said. “It would just be easier because it uses the Internet, which everybody uses.”

Bridges said because of resources and down periods, a semester break was the best time to make this transition. Several of those working on switching the site over said they weren’t sure when the site changes would be completed.

“Christmas is not a good time because you run into end of the semester grades, the beginning of the year bursar payments – we didn’t want to do it at a heavy time,” Bridges said. “Plus we wanted to get it out to the students as soon as we could.”

Brandy Oxford can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 255 or [email protected].