Thank you for your understanding.

UPDATE FEB. 1, 2013:

Downgrading to Java 6 is only an option for PC users.  Mac users must be on the most recent version of Java.   Mac users will not be able to print with WebNow.

Friday 2/18/2011 9:00 PM – Sunday 2/20/2011 4:00 AM

The move is scheduled for 02/01/2011 8:00PM – 02/02/2011 5:00AM.

During this move all users will be unable to login or use the system.

The new award-winning “green” datacenter will help us reduce our environmental impact and result in long-term cost savings as well as increased uptime for our IT systems.

A quick note to all of you to let you know about the progress we are making with the ImageNow implementation. 

As indicate earlier we have made a copy of the Test System configuration and  have loaded it into an instance of ImageNow in the Production Environment.  Earlier today we have been given access to that instance and Barbara and I are in the process of testing.  As such, please continue to ignore any emails you get until we give the OK to begin using the system in Live production.

 If all of the testing goes as well as we expect it to, we should be ready to provide you access to the system by Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.  What does this mean?

As the Pilot GPDs (Program Coordinators) and Committee members, you will be the first to use the system for Spring 2011 Applications.  Given that you have already begun to process Spring 2011 Applications under the existing process, Grad Admissions, upon signing off on the testing, will push those “already processed” applications through the system ‘beginning to end” so that you do not have to revisit these applications and will then turn the system over to you to begin processing Applications.  As I said, we are hoping to do this Monday or Tuesday of next week.

At that point, you will be asked to check your ready for Review folders each morning (or how ever often you have decided to do so) and annotate and sign (GPD) the Profile Sheets and then forward them back to Grad Admissions.  These will then be processed and letters sent to the applicants accordingly.  THESE WILL BE OFFICAL DECISSIONS.

Barb and I will reach out again at the beginning of next week to let you know how testing has gone and when you should begin processing application via ImageNow.

As ever, please do not hesitate to call should you have any questions.  We are at ext. 4227.

Again, I and Grad Admissions would like to thank you all for your time and helping us to make this Document Imaging implementation a successful one.

Dan is a certified project management professional (PMP) and has extensive experience working on software implementations.   Furthermore, he has a background working with systems that utilize document imaging and workflow which will add immediate value to the ongoing UMass Document Imaging project.   Dan’s outgoing personality and can-do attitude will be a terrific addition to the Information Technology department and our Administrative Systems Integration team.

Dan’s office will be located in Olsen Hall, Room 100 and he can be reached at Daniel_Bedard@uml.edu .  

Welcome aboard Dan!

Regards,

Richard Conley, Director
Administrative Systems Integration (ASI)

The plan is to have the new system operational for the start of September so the Graduate Admissions office.   They will then scan in all application materials for prospective students applying for Spring 2011 term or later.     By October 1st, we expect to rollout access to all Gradatue Program Coordinators as this will be the new method by which they receive and review all applications and related materials for graduate admission processing.

While this has been desired for a long time, it was just last September when there was a real commitment to have this occur. (i.e. dollars were budgeted; in fact this is a stimulus funded project for UMass Lowell).  In the short time since then, we have worked with our colleagues across UMass and partnered with Boston, Dartmouth, and the President's Office to select, acquire, and implement a new document imaging system.

During the investigation stage of the project, we talked with a number of colleges including UMass Amherst, UMaine, and the University of Missouri to understand their imaging solutions.  The software we selected is from Perceptive Software and is called ImageNow. They offer simple integration with PeopleSoft and are heavily used throughout higher education.   By collaborating with other campuses we were able to use our collective buying power to purchase the software at a lower cost than if we purchased it alone.   

To further control short and long term costs, we are utilizing a shared services structure to have the software hosted and supported by the President's Office.   They manage all servers; multiple instances of the application for development, testing, and production; disaster recovery; data backup; security; and provide system administration for all campuses. 

On campus, we will have an Information Technology Project Manager assigned to work exclusively on the Document Imaging application for the next few years.   In this role, they will perform many functions including providing local campus administration and work with counterparts from UITS and other UMass campuses; they will support end users;  they will manage the project of adding offices and business functions into DI; and they will coordinate the scanning of historical records (e.g. student academic records); and work with the Lowell campus community to build awareness of the benefits DI can offer.

The first business process that will be utilizing DI will be the graduate admissions application review.  This is a process that was previously using basic scanning and email functionality to manage the distribution of admissions materials, hence they were an ideal candidate to be first out of the gate for the campus.   Change is never easy, but we are eager to roll this out and learn more from all users to understand the benefits, challenges, and issues.

If there are any questions about the project please contact Richard Conley at x4794.