R3 Project

Contains all requirements needed to complete a particular Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Degree. This term replaces Program of Study in GeneSIS.

Are individuals across the College who help share and shape the training and communications for the R3 Project.

Share Project communication materials with their home departments and provide feedback to R3 on content and gaps. 

Participate in early training, provide feedback to R3, and identify additional resources. 

They work closely with SIS General Users. 

The Implementation Committee makes suggestions on business processes and key system configuration values, as well as operational suggestions related to the project. They also work closely with Subject Matter Experts and SIS Core Users.

Academic Periods are what we know as Terms today. Academic Periods refer to the specific start and end dates of the term which support scheduling, timetabling and course availability.

• Applied Museum Studies
• Accounting
• Practical Nursing

Admissions Periods refer to the time during which we accept applications to programs belonging to a master Period, such as Fall, Winter or Spring.​
The Admissions Period begins prior to the academic term dates, when students submit their applications for an upcoming program intake.

The Admissions Stage shows the specific status of the application. This feature is used to communicate with applicants in the Thesis Student Portal. 

An applicant can only be at one Admissions Stage at a time. 

The Admissions Status shows the overall status of the applicant. It will only be visible in Thesis SM; not in the Thesis Student Portal. Each Status is categorized and houses relevant Admissions Stages. 
 
The Admissions Status will mostly be used to generate reports. 

Billing Periods refer to the time during which we collect fees for studies belonging to a master Period, such as Fall, Winter or Spring.​
Similar to Admissions Period, the Billing Period begins prior to the academic term dates, when students pay or defer their fees to secure their seats.

Course(s) that must be completed concurrently. 
 
For example, in the Community and Justice program, the Introduction to Sociology course (COR1928) is a co-requisite of the Introduction to Psychology course (COR1756) and a student must be enrolled in both courses simultaneously. 

The people connected to a student.
Examples:

• Support Staff
• Deans & Chairs
• Tutors
• Faculty
• Course Facilitators
• Faculty Advisors
• Student Services
• Support Staff

The information record for courses delivered at Algonquin College. 

Examples of information in a Course Master include:  

• Course ID
• Description
• Credit hours
• Requisites

A single class provided in an academic period with a specific start date and end date. 

Examples of information in a Course Offering include a unique: 

• Class of students 
• Professor 
• Time/date/term 

An outline containing general information that is standard for a course section, these templates streamline the creation of Course Offerings.

Represents a school or faculty associated with an Academic Program.

Examples:

• School of Advanced Technology
• School of Business
• School of Hospitality and Tourism
• Faculty of Arts, Media and Design

Academic credentials offered by an institution.

Examples of Educational Goals include:

• Ontario College Certificate
• Ontario College Diploma
• Ontario College Advanced Diploma
• Ontario College Graduate Certificate
• Baccalaureate Degree
• Honours Baccalaureate Degree

• Program Fees
• OSAP Funding Deposit
• Credit Transfer Fees

Period refers to any time period tracked in the SIS, similar to what we know as Terms today. Within each Period, the system can create unique Admissions, Billing, Academic, Financial Aid and Facilities Periods, each with their own start and end dates.​

Software operations that complete common repeated tasks and processes independently and without user commands or instructions.

For example, when a student applies for an Award, instead of a staff member having to manually send an email, the student will automatically receive a confirmation email from Thesis SM indicating receipt of their application.

Software simulation is a key element of the R3 Project training approach; it provides an interactive demo for users to practice with through a simulated Student Information System (SIS) environment to work through a business process workflow, practice the completion a specific task or demonstrate knowledge of a process.  

The focus on software simulation is from an adult learning and Universal Design perspective for employees. It puts users at the center of the training approach, provides them with flexibility as to how and when they complete training. Employees will be able to complete training when they are ready, when they have the time, when the need arises, or when it is convenient for them, a little at a time.

The academic information for a specific student in a specific program. Students can have more than one Student Academic Record if they have been enrolled in multiple programs.

A Student Academic Record includes:

• Educational goal
• Program
• Enrolment status
• Academic progress

A business process is a procedure that has a sequence of steps to get from a Start to an End. For each specific Start (e.g. Program Application) there are different possible Ends (e.g. Offer of Admission or No Offer).

A transformation project that will introduce a new Student Information System (SIS) and Enterprise Portal to Algonquin College. As we implement a new SIS, we have the opportunity to rethink how we work, redesign our processes, and reimagine how we serve and interact with our learners.

The R3 Project includes multiple phases. These Phases allow Algonquin College’s R3 Project team and Thesis to plan and coordinate project milestones within targeted end dates.

The Project Phases are:

• Discovery
• Design and Develop
• Technical Testing
• User Testing
• Go-Live

The Discovery Phase is understanding what the vendor, Thesis, can do for Algonquin College and visioning what is possible for the new Student Information System (SIS). This is also called the SIS Familiarize phase.

The Design and Develop Phase involves configuring Thesis SM (the new Student Information System) to meet the needs of Algonquin College, as well as designing and developing new business processes. This is also called the Personalize phase.

 Throughout this phase, technical work is also occurring including the Student Portal, data migration, integrations, and security (i.e. Identity and Access Management).

The Technical Testing Phase includes testing the new SIS and new Algonquin business processes. This is also called the Integrated System Testing phase. Additionally, integrations with other applications, such as Brightspace are tested. The R3 Project team will then collect and analyze feedback while also identifying and resolving technical issues that come up during the testing. During this phase, training development is completed.

The User Testing Phase starts with training on the new Student Information System (Thesis SM).  Representatives from across the College are invited to test Thesis SM, the Student Portal, and the Algonquin business processes. Testers could identify problems that may need to be resolved. This is also called the User Acceptance Testing phase.

During the Go-Live Phase, the new Student Information System and Student Portal will be implemented. This is also called the Deploy phase. Integrations with other applications (e.g., Brightspace) are also implemented.

Are individuals across the College who: 
Learn, and perform, complex Business Processes (E.g. SWF, Student Finance)

• Create new data (E.g. courses)
• Create new reports 

Example Core User Departments:

• Registrar’s Office
• Financial Aid and Student Awards
• ITS

Are individuals across the College who:

• Perform specific tasks (E.g. Look up Course Offering, look up Program Curriculum) 
• Review reports are written by others (E.g. Degree/Credential audit) 
• Look up student information to assist or advise

Example General SIS User departments/roles:

• Program Coordinators
• Student Success Specialists
• Recruitment Office

Est. 900 General SIS Users

Subject Matter Experts (SME) are individuals across the college who have experience and knowledge to help provide feedback on, as well as guide and support, recommendations when it comes to implementing the new Student Information System and redesigning business processes. They work closely with the R3 Implementation Committee.

A centralized summary of a student's Financial Aid information and an access point to more detailed data.

Each student has one personal Financial Aid Record.

The criteria for how a course is graded. Enrolment Modes specific to AC business are configured and will be part of the Course Master set up.

A category of document. The Document Type feature helps organize and manage the documentation in a Student's Document Repository. 

Examples of Document Types include: 

• SIN Change 
• Transcripts 
• Legal Name Change 

• SIN Number Change
• Legal Name Change

Users are College employees and students who interact with Thesis SM or the Thesis Student Portal.  

Each User has a personal account to access the system(s) assigned to them. The access level for each account is tailored to what they require for their System Role(s). 

System Roles are tailored to specific tasks that a User needs to complete within Thesis SM or the Thesis Student Portal. Users can be given one or more System Role(s) related to their work. 

Note: A System Role is separate from your job title/position at the College.