Every major technology implementation will reach a point in time when responsibility begins to shift from the vendor implementation team to the institution. That pivotal moment is typically characterized as "go-live." Users have completed their training. Key documentation has been delivered. Project teams celebrate the completion of months, sometimes years, of work. Consultants move on to their next engagements, and institutions settle in for the long haul with their new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
For many technology vendors, go-live marks the successful conclusion of a specific project. But for customer institutions, the story is just beginning. The months following go-live are telling; not only do we find out if the implementation produced a fully functional system, but we find out if the ERP training resulted in capable end-users and confident technical staff.
Ultimately, the definition of success lies with an institution and the ability of its personnel to learn what they need to know, adapt nimbly to changes, and optimize their use of the system long after the implementation team has departed. The client definition of success is the reason Ellucian is experimenting with training deliverables that extend beyond go-live; in fact, these deliverables are designed to assist institutions in building the capacity to advance their own in-house training programs, so that learning is not a one-time event but an ongoing professional development reality.
Building Institutional Capacity at Indian River State College
Our opportunity to rethink the role of ERP system training emerged through a partnership with Indian River State College, a Florida institution implementing Ellucian Student powered by Banner. Like many colleges and universities undertaking a major technology transition, Indian River faced the challenge of preparing employees for go-live. Unlike many colleges and universities, however, Indian River wanted a mechanism and methodology that could deliver Ellucian Student training:
- with the flexibility and accountability it needed prior to go-live, and
- with the continuity needed for ongoing training in the years that followed.
Rather than viewing onsite training, online courses, technical documentation, and participant reporting as the final deliverables of the project, we treated them as the materials upon which the institution could build an Ellucian Student professional development program. Thus, the primary objective shifted from delivering training to building training capacity. That shift required a different measure of success. It was no longer enough for Indian River staff to attend training or complete an online course. We wondered if the College possessed the infrastructure and resources needed to sustain continuous staff learning. In other words, we asked: "Could training persist after the implementation team steps away?"
Professional Development and Course Stewardship
The clear answer was "Yes." Providing Indian River with fully online Banner SaaS courses that it could reuse and revise within the institution's learning management system (LMS) was an important first step in developing institutional training capacity. As the courses were installed, the Ellucian Project Manager and Indian River's Director of River Online collaborated to identify functional-area leaders at the College who would assume responsibility for continued professional development.
We call these leaders "course stewards" because they are the caretakers of the Banner SaaS learning resources. Their role is to make sure the courses remain relevant and useful to the employees in their functional areas. We identified course stewards for the five Banner courses that were developed and deployed:
- Banner Student: Registration & Enrollment
- Banner Student: Academic Records & Graduation
- Banner Financial Aid
- Banner Finance
- Banner Accounts Receivable
The stewards included Indian River's Registrar, Bursar, Director of Payroll Services, Director of Student Financials, Director of Curriculum Support Services, Director of Financial Aid, Director of Academic Advising, and AVP of Advising and Career Services.
Working in concert with the Director of River Online, the stewards are key drivers of a professional development model that pairs their functional expertise with the learning and technology expertise of River Online. Stewards understand the work performed within their areas and the competencies employees need to develop, while River Online provides the infrastructure and support necessary to sustain the courses. Together, they determine who needs training, how existing course materials should be used, and when those materials should be modified or repurposed.
During implementation, course stewards were given student- and instructor-level access to courses in the LMS, allowing them to experience the courses as staff members while also allowing them to monitor staff performance in the courses. Stewards are able to review staff assessment results as well as monitor participation and completion. After the initial wave of Banner training, stewardship entrenches with an eye toward sustaining the program. Stewards will work with River Online to enroll new employees, reset activities for returning learners, revise content, and repurpose materials for remediation or refresher training. To streamline this ongoing enrollment process, River Online has since implemented a service ticket system that allows functional leads and supervisors to request enrollment in any or all of the Banner SaaS training courses, as employees change roles or are newly hired. This gives stewards and supervisors a simple, direct channel for keeping staff current on the training relevant to their responsibilities – without waiting for a formal training cycle or project touchpoint. Because the courses are modular, departments may draw content from multiple Banner SaaS courses to create new learning experiences tailored to particular staff roles or operational needs.
Lasting Institutional Knowledge
Our experience with the project at Indian River suggests that ERP training at the time of implementation can provide the foundation for something more enduring at colleges and universities. In short, it presents a genuine opportunity to convert what are typically one-off training sessions into lasting institutional knowledge.
By making functional leaders responsible for the professional development of their teams and providing them with the learning resources, tools, and support needed to achieve their objectives, institutions are able to internalize and sustain learning long after implementation ends. Our training model can complement an institution’s existing professional development program, but it may have even greater value at institutions where opportunities for ongoing staff development are limited. In those environments, the resources, responsibilities, and partnerships established during implementation could become the foundation for a broader approach to staff learning.
When done so intentionally, the end of a new technology go-live event could be the beginning of a sustainable professional development program.
For more information about the Indian River deliverable and other training and online learning services, visit Ellucian Teaching & Learning Services. To discuss your institution's needs with an Ellucian representative, request a consultation any time.
