Central IT Systems for the 334 Academic Reform

The central IT systems for the “3+3+4” academic reform consists of 3 main parts – IT infrastructure, e-learning and Student Information System.  

IT Infrastructure 

In line with the development work for 2012/13, viz. new building, more classrooms, increase in number of students and faculty members, new application systems for the 4-year degree structure, etc., there is also expansion in the IT infrastructure and IT support. Preparation is in progress, including 

• Wireless LAN – the coverage has been expanded and the service will be set up in new buildings. Recently the wireless LAN has been upgraded to support IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n. 

• Internet bandwidth – the CSC is working with other UGC-funded institutions to increase the bandwidth for learning and research by students and staff. 

• System capacity – new servers are expected to be installed to support application systems and other initiatives. Planning for capacity, operational support, disastrous recovery, etc. is required.   

• Terminal room – the existing terminal rooms will be re-located to the new academic buildings. 

• Service design – the service and support model will be reviewed to cope with the challenge of multiple academic buildings, offices in different locations in Hong Kong, and the increase in number of users. “Go Green” is one of the considerations in the design. 

E-Learning 

Health check and capacity assessment on the e-learning system are performed on an annual basis starting every March to project the system requirements for the next year. The projected student number increase in 2012/13 will be taken into account in the assessment exercise 2011/2012. Appropriate action will be undertaken to ensure the system is sufficient to handle the demand in 2012/13, should the result indicate such need. 

Student  Information System (SIS) 

The new 4-year degree curriculum to be launched in 2012 will bring about many changes in the student management processes.  A lot of system developments and modifications are required to accommodate these changes. Below are some highlights: 

Fundamentals 

The new 4-year degree curriculum has a different structure from the current 3-year programme. The current programme coding scheme is no longer applicable and a different scheme will be adopted.  In future, students in different disciplines will be identified by their degree and major.  For first-year students entering the University without a major, an “Undeclared” major will be assigned to them. 

Access to student information and the right of updating student data by different stakeholders has to be redefined. The existing functions of the SIS have to be modified accordingly. One of the major functions - Student enquiry on AIMS - will be revamped to support different groups of users retrieving the information of their relevant student groups. 

Admissions 

Our Admissions System is also undergoing significant system changes, including

• Modifications for working with the new JUPAS system 
• Applying different rules for calculating JUPAS scores 
• Automating the screening process 
• Enhancing selection process and JUPAS interview arrangement 

Records 

Under the new 4-year degree structure, students will benefit from a broadened curriculum. Yet compared with the students in the 3-year degree structure, they will need to make a far greater number of choices regarding courses, electives, majors, and minors, etc. A new initiative by OCIO and Associate Provost together with ARRO was made to introduce academic advising. With the University’s approval, DegreeWorks, an application system supporting student planning, academic advising and degree audit, was acquired and installed. The system is to be implemented by 3 phases. Phase 1 implementation will be in December 2010, applying to the 7 programmes which are piloting the 4-year curriculum in 2010/11. The 2nd phase will include the 30 programmes adopting the 4-year degree structure and be launched in Semester A 2011/12, while full implementation of all 4-year programmes be at the start of 2012/13. 

The existing course management system, i-CMS, is to be re-developed to match the 4-year degree structure and the policies related to awarding classification and other processes, and at the same time be able to serve other non-4-year degree courses and programmes, e.g. postgraduate level. The new system is targeted to be launched in 2011/12 to allow contingency and time for further improvement. 

New processes are required to be in place for declaration of major and minor. A process for students to declare minor was defined and IT functions were also deployed in August 2010. Work for declaring major is planned to start in early 2011. In addition, there is need to develop system functions to support other new processes like application for graduation, credit transfer or exemption, etc. 

There are also many processes to be re-visited for ensuring their adequacy to support the new programme structure and the increase in student population. Examples are time tabling and course registration. Expected are also changes to reports like academic transcripts and graduation certificate.  

Project Management and Contingency Plan 

A management team comprising CIO, directors of ADMO, ARRO and ESU is in place to plan, steer the development, and monitor the progress of the Student Information System for the 4-year curriculum. Project plans have been laid down. The team meets every other month. Any slipping tasks can easily be identified and remedial action taken promptly. The existing plan is to implement the systems in phases, piloting for a few programmes and processes in 2010/11 and extending its operation for about half of the programmes covering all disciplines in 2011/12. The management team will also review the implementation stages to ensure a fully operational system to be in place for 2012/13.