After six months of review, Banner software is being installed. "A set of Oracle-run integrated software, Banner is like a giant filing cabinet through which everything from paychecks to grades will be done, but more than that, it will redefine and improve how we live our lives at Deerfield," said Director of Administrative Computing Kimberly Butz.

Starting in April, course sign-ups will no longer be filled out on paper; rather, students will huddle with their advisors around a computer, as it will all be run on Banner.

Next year, students will no longer find AP slips in their mailboxes; instead, the notices will be sent through e-mail. Students will also be able to find their grades online by checking into DAnet and then logging on to Banner.

The new pro-gram will allow teachers and advisors to have online-access to student information (attendance, schedules, activities, grades), and coache8 will be able to update rosters and stats through Banner.

Banner will include specific modules to manage processing in most of the offices on campus. These include the offices of admission and financial aid, dean of students, academic dean, athletics, college advising, business, and alumni/development.

The system is intended to be of particular help in the business office, where it will control everything from payroll to bills, and it is also possible that Banner could become a credit/debit card system. In the admissions office, Banner will hold all of the information regarding applicants and financial aid information. The Student Activities Committee will rely on Banner to post announcements. The alumni department will use the technology to create a portfolio of each student and track their lives in and beyond Deerfield.

There are several reasons why Deerfield needs Banner. The most basic impetus for change, said Ms. Butz, "is to provide students and faculty alike with more access to all sorts of information. One of the problems with our current system is that it is titteen non-integrated systems. The advantage of Banner is that it will replace those fifteen non-integrated systems into one gigantic one that will make life more efficient."

Another motive is that much of our current system is over twenty years old. In the course of the past two decades, another corporation bought the company that installed and supports the software. As a result, the current system is outdated and is no longer being supported.

Banner will cost significantly less than our current software due to the fact that what were various segmented parts can now be monitored as a whole. The Banner price tag is comprised of four components. A total of four servers will have to be installed, as well as hardware and software. Banner will be run through Oracle, which will result in a faster and more reliable network. It will facilitate repair and maintenance difficulties.

In mid-December, faculty had instructional sessions for Banner. Aside from producing a more computer-lit-erate staff, Peggy Scarborough, who works in the dean of students office, said, "The training is great! I am not a technical person but the sessions make it more straightforward and easy."

The final section is in modification fees. "Banner is actually designed for colleges. Therefore, Banner will need to be redesigned to better suit our needs and circumstances, but this should be a quick and easy process' said Ms. Butz.

There have been a few concerns about Banner. Running the school on a single system makes it more susceptible to disaster. If there were a repeat of a NIMDA-like virus, the school could be paralyzed for days.

Olivier Garaud '04 said, "The recurrence of an all-encompassing virus such as NIMDA would have heinous implications upon the operation and functioning of this institution." But Ms. Butz replied, "Oracle, greater reliability, a more secure network and a 24-hour support system will make Banner much more resilient and virus-resistant."