We are excited to share that the Slate Implementation for undergraduate admissions is underway. In October 2023, a dedicated full time project team was established to begin work on the project. The team is comprised of staff from the Registrar’s Office, Information Systems & Technology, and the Project Management Office.
In addition to the Waterloo resources, an external implementation partner, RHB, has been hired and began work with Waterloo this January. RHB handled the implementation of McMaster’s Slate instance and the project is harnessing lessons learned from their depth of experience.
With the goal of understanding the capabilities of Slate and how Waterloo can build an efficient and transparent system experience, the project team has completed the Slate-Technolutions comprehensive training. During the early months of the project, staff also worked to define project scope and relevant business processes. Team members reached out to partners across campus to better understand how undergraduate admissions processes affect other units and how to meet the needs of all stakeholders, applicants, and staff alike.
As we work with our implementation partner RHB to build the Slate system for Waterloo, decisions will be informed not only by a data-first approach, but with a focus on the experience of our applicants and staff, leveraging feedback captured from upcoming user acceptance testing and training initiatives.
Background
Currently, the Quest student information system (SIS), delivered using Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and several attendant applicants, includes functionality for applicant and document management. A complimentary arm of the Future Undergraduate Admissions project is to address the future needs of the SIS tool with the goal of providing best-in-class solutions across the applicant/student lifecycle.
Implementation of Technolutions' Slate Admissions & Enrollment platform will deliver an integrated recruiting/admissions system for undergraduate applications, providing a tailored solution that will further enable optimization for future needs.
Objectives of this work
- Improved user experience, enhanced productivity, and transparency for the following user groups:
- Applicants engaged in the application processes,
- The Undergraduate Admissions administrative staff in the Registrar’s Office who manage the document and data processing in support of the applications and admissions processes, and
- Faculty and staff in academic units who support the offer decision processes.
- Plan for future prospect management and communications for targeting and recruiting top-tier applicants.
- Improved administrative model for management of applicant data.
- Improved ability to adapt system configuration based on current business needs and the possible new/changing needs that may come out of the other projects.
Project teams
| Committee role | Name | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Project co-sponsor | Catherine Newell Kelly | Registrar’s Office |
| Project co-sponsor | Gregory Smith | Information Systems & Technology |
| Co-Project Owner | André Jardin | Registrar’s Office |
| Co-Project Owner | Stacey Mahoney | Registrar’s Office |
| Product Owner | Jessica Parris | Registrar’s Office |
| Director, Information Systems | Mike Gaspic | Information Systems & Technology |
| Committee role | Name | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Product Owner and Committee chair | Jessica Parris | Registrar’s Office Systems |
| Assistant Registrar, Admissions Operations | Tatum Bizony | Registrar’s Office Admissions |
| Assistant Registrar, Admissions | Amelia Burton | Registrar’s Office Admissions< |
| Director, Marketing & Communications | Kari Pasick Stewart | Applicant communications |
| Director, Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing | Ian VanderBurgh | Faculty Admissions |
| Director of Admissions, Engineering | Bill Bishop | Faculty Admissions |
| Financial Aid Functional Lead | Tina Obediah | Student Awards and Financial Aid |
| Director of Admissions & Undergraduate Affairs School of Pharmacy | Kaitlin Bynkoski | Professional School Admissions |
| Project Manager | Pamela Braza Pitman | Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism (EDI-R) |
| Manager, Undergraduate Awards | Brenda Denomme | Student Awards and Financial Aid |
| Manager, Marketing and Digital Engagement | Jasmin English | Applicant communications |
| Director, Indigenous Relations | Melissa Ireland | Indigenous Relations |
| Role | Name | Department |
|---|---|---|
|
Product Owner |
Jessica Parris | Registrar’s Office Systems |
| Business Systems Analyst | Jennifer Mackie | Registrar’s Office Systems |
| Business Systems Analyst | Sherry Kihut | Registrar’s Office Systems |
| Admissions Officer | Louise Walker | Registrar’s Office Admissions |
| Information Systems Analyst | John Rogerson | Information Systems & Technology |
| Information Systems Analyst | Taysseer El Samman Kaakaji | Information Systems & Technology |
| Project Manager | Wendy Hague | Project Management Office |