Strategic Issue
Issue: Whether an interface with the Advance system is within the scope of the implementation
of a new Student Information System (SIS).
PRISM #: 004
Student System Project Contact (PRISM Issue Owner): Robert LeHeup
Scope Type:
Issue Priority:
General |
Critical |
School/Unit Issue |
High |
Medium |
Coordinating Project|
New Functionality
Low
Impact Statement:
 Best practice is to create an interface between the alumni and development records management system and the SIS; to manage
student data in a manner that is compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA); and to adhere to
FERPA-compliant University policy and practice.
 Currently, the Alumni Association, Development and Public Affairs, Student Affairs, and the schools’ alumni and development
offices use Advance, SunGuard BSR’s fundraising and donor relations solution, to store information on current students,
parents of current and graduated students, and graduated students. Advance has been heavily customized to meet the
University’s needs.
 The University has an interest in establishing relationships with current students and their parents, e.g., all parents of current
students now receive The University of Virginia Magazine, and in maintaining these relationships post-graduation.
Development and Public Affairs, for example, has developed a broad range of engagement activities and programs designed to
strengthen lifelong relationships between students, parents, and the University.
 Several departments and divisions, in keeping with the University’s interest in establishing relationships with students and
parents, are interested in reaching out to parents of newly enrolled students. These departments now obtain parent information
from the Admission shadow system, which captures richer parent information than ISIS. The Admission Office provides
parent information, which is loaded directly into Advance, to Development and Public Affairs. Newly enrolled students are
not made aware that information they provide on their application to the University is being stored and used downstream.
 Currently, information stored in Advance populates HoosOnline, a collection of networking services designed to facilitate
communication among members of the U.Va. community for personal or University-related purposes. A new SIS may store
the information required to populate HoosOnline and may require that the flow of information from an SIS to Advance and
HoosOnline—and whether students should be asked to opt-into rather than having to opt-out of such a service—be
reconsidered and reviewed.
 Articulation of biographic data elements related to current students, alumni, and parents that will be made available to an
alumni and development records management system must occur in the context of information that can be stored in PeopleSoft
Student and must be guided by appropriate privacy and security considerations.
Options and Implications:
1. An interface with Advance is outside the scope of the implementation of a new SIS. In this option, the University will lose a
valuable connection between the SIS and the system used by the Alumni Association, Development and Public Affairs, Student
Affairs, and the schools’ alumni and development offices.
2. An interface with Advance is within the scope of the implementation of a new SIS. In this option, the University will carefully
construct an interface that appropriately protects and makes available information on students, graduates, and parents. An
interface between the new student system and Advance will serve the entities that currently use Advance, as well as any future
use of alumni and development information.
Recommendation:
 Option 2: An interface with Advance is within the scope of the implementation of a new SIS.
Dependencies:
 The desire of the University to use the implementation of a new SIS as an opportunity to review institutional policy and
practice associated with the transfer and use of current student and parent information from the SIS to Advance.
 The desire of the University to centralize use of alumni and parent data in conjunction with the new student system.
 The desire of the University to respect the rights and responsibilities of students with regard to privacy and control over the use
of personal information.
 The scope of implementing an interface between the new student system and Advance depends upon the tools provided by
PeopleSoft.
 The Executive Committee’s desire to charge the appropriate University unit(s) with establishing policy on what information is
maintained in Advance, what uses of that information are allowed, and who has authority to allow use of such data.
Next Steps (if in scope):
 Create a working group to create policy on acceptable use of student, alumni, and parent data—one which takes into account
the rights and responsibilities of students with regard to privacy and ownership of personal information.
 Work with the working group to determine what data elements from the student system should be made available to Advance,
and when and how they should be collected and incorporated into the student system.
Deadline for Executive Committee:

Decision by Executive Committee: Option 2: An interface with Advance is within the scope of the implementation of a new
SIS.
Executive Committee Reviewer/Approver: Full Executive Committee
Signature of Reviewer: Gene Block
Date: April 18, 2006