As we reach the end of the Winter semester, we hope that you are staying safe and healthy. While the COVID-19 pandemic has created great uncertainty for Fall 2020, we want to assure you that we are continuously working to advance the Student Information Systems Refresh initiative.

In light of COVID-19, we have reprioritized a few of our active projects, and we have taken on new projects that aim to further support students and staff that have been impacted by the pandemic. We are committed to minimizing the disruption caused by COVID-19 and are working tirelessly to support students and staff during this unprecedented time.

For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 and how the University is responding, please visit U of G's COVID-19 FAQ page [1].

Priority Projects for Winter and Summer 2020:

Winter 2020 Final Grading Options:

• The University implemented a revised grading structure for Winter 2020 to provide more options given the disruption to courses. Students had the choice of keeping the final numeric grade they were awarded, assigning a pass/fail designation (for undergraduate and diploma students) or satisfactory/unsatisfactory designation (for graduate students), or dropping the course. To allow students to make these selections, the project team worked incredibly fast to create a new form on WebAdvisor. 

Banking Information Project:

• Due to the high volume of housing refunds and emergency bursaries received as a result of COVID-19, giving students the ability to submit their banking information online for direct deposit purposes was a high priority. The Banking Information form went live on WebAdvisor in mid-April and has made the refund process easier for both students and staff. It has eliminated the need for manual processing by staff and the storage of hard-copy documentation. Read more about the Banking Information project [2].

New Delivery System for Entrance Award Offers:

• The current process for offering entrance awards to prospective University of Guelph undergraduate students involves the manual production of thousands of letters that are mailed to students. While staff are able to access campus for essential tasks, we are moving these processes online in order to promote physical distancing.  The SIS Refresh team is working with the Student Awards office to create an automated process for emailing students their award offers. This initiative is predicated on supporting staff during these unprecedented times. Moving forward, these improvements will continue to provide long-term benefits as the Student Awards office can increase processing efficiencies for staff and students alike.

If you have questions, contact the SIS Refresh Team using the contact form [3].