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Frequently Asked Questions


What is Banner?

Banner® Unified Digital Campus is the world’s most widely used collegiate administrative suite of student, financial aid, finance, human resources, enrollment management, and advancement systems. SFA will utilize the student, financial aid, finance, and human resources modules. This software is a tightly integrated suite of applications where all data resides in one Oracle database.

What is the Axcess Project?

The implementation of new administrative software named Banner began in the fall of 2007 and is set to be completed by January, 2011. This implementation involves the entire university. Axcess was chosen as the project name to represent both the enhanced accessibility of data enabled by the Banner software and the axe as the symbol of the University’s mascot, the Lumberjack.

How and why did SFA choose Banner?

Banner’s status as the standard Enterprise Resource Process (ERP) system for higher education, along with an aggressive pricing on licenses by SunGard Higher Education, provided incentive for the University to implement Banner. Also taken into consideration was the fact that SFASU already had an established relationship with SunGard Higher Education.

Why is SFA replacing the current administrative system?

SFA’s administrative systems are nearly fifteen years old and reaching the end of their life cycle. In addition, the SCT Plus systems do not support full integration of data. They each utilize their own unique files and often require duplicate data entry of the same information, often resulting in inconsistent data between systems. Batch updating cannot be done while the online transaction processing system is operational, requiring system downtime at night in order to perform the batch processing functions.

What are the benefits of Banner?

The newer technology utilized by the Banner software will enable SFA to take advantage of opportunities that are not available with our current Plus system. Some of these include:


When will I receive Banner training?

Banner training will be administered in phases and in a timely manner prior to the “go-live” date for each module.  You will be notified of the end-user training schedule when exact dates are set.  Please go to http://www.sfasu.edu/axcess/docs/end_user_trainingv1.pdf to view the End User Training Plan.  Actual timelines and milestones are documented in this document.

Will I still be able to use the old system with the new system?

Because the different modules of Banner will be implemented in phases, there will be a period of time when both systems will be in use. For example, starting in September 2009, Admissions will begin entering applications for Fall 2010 in Banner. However, applicants for Spring 2010 and Summer 2010 will still be entered in the Plus system. In addition, Fall 2010 registration will be done in the Banner system while Summer I and Summer II will still occur in Plus. Certain data will need to remain ‘synchronized’ in both systems during these transition periods.

When will the Axcess Project be complete?

The implementation phase of the Axcess Project will be completed by January, 2011 and at that time the evolution phase of the Banner systems will begin.

How will the conversion impact students?

Students should notice little or no impact on current services during the conversion.

What about areas that use different systems, such as Alumni, Housing, and Auxiliary Services, Athletics, and UPD?

Systems outside of Banner will be analyzed to determine if data needs to be exchanged between Banner and that system. If so, appropriate interfaces will be built that will ‘feed’ the necessary data between systems.

Will I get all the same reports from Banner that I currently receive from Plus?

A report development tool called WebFocus will be used to meet our reporting needs with Banner. As part of the implementation process, we will have an opportunity to review all of our existing reports and determine if they will still be needed with Banner. Programmers in Information Technology Services will be working with end-users to clearly define their needs with Banner. They will provide a reporting infrastructure that will support more friendly, user- driven reporting functionality. End-users will be able to easily select the information they wish to see on their reports using a web interface. Reports will be available in a variety of formats and there will be much more flexibility in our reporting capabilities.

Will I be able to develop my own reports or will I have to rely on programmers in ITS?

Initially, you will work with the programmers to help them understand your reporting requirements. They will design a view of the data that you need to report from and provide the interface that will provide you with the options you will select your data and execute your report. It will be important to determine the most critical reports that you will need at the time we ‘go-live’ with each module. Report development will be an ongoing activity during and after implementation.

How will I be sure that I have access to all the information I need in Banner?

During the implementation, we will review the current ‘security access’ that has been given to you in order to do your job duties with the Plus system. We will be setting up security classifications for the Banner system that will correspond, for the most part, to your current security access. As we get closer to ‘go-live’ for each of the modules, there will be end-user training sessions that will test these security classifications to be sure that you are able to access all necessary information for your job.

Will all the data from our current system be migrated to Banner?

Most of the data from the current Plus system will be imported into the Banner system. Academic records for students who have ever been enrolled at SFA and are in our current system will be available in Banner. All employee data will be moved to Banner. Data that is necessary for federal and state reporting purposes will be available in Banner. Certain types of data may not be moved into Banner but will be kept in a separate ‘repository’ that will be accessible to those who need it. Data will also remain accessible from the Plus system for a period of time after our ‘go-live’ dates.

What is meant by INB (Internet Native Banner) and SSB (Self-Service Banner) and how are they different?
There are two user interfaces to access the data within Banner referred to as INB and SSB.  
INB (Internet Native Banner) is the web-based interface used primarily by administrative staff.  INB is not used by students and instructors.
SSB (Self-Service Banner) is the counterpart to what we now have in ‘mySFA’ under ‘myservices’.  SSB will be used by students, faculty, and staff for personal and class information and will also provide a Finance self-service option, which we do not currently have.

What is meant by the term “data standards”?
Data standards are guidelines that provide recommendations for establishing measures for the protection, access, and use of Stephen F. Austin State University data that is electronically maintained in Banner.  As part of end user training, each user will be required to read, understand, and agree to abide by the stipulations in the data standards document.  This document can be found on the Axcess website at http://www.sfasu.edu/axcess/docs/Data_Standards_DS_v2.0_20090804.pdf

Will we still be able to see a student’s holds and comments in Banner and to place privacy restrictions on comments?
All holds placed on a student’s record as of January 1, 2003 will be migrated to Banner, except for cleared holds and any comments on holds.  In Banner, comments and holds are maintained on separate forms.  Holds will go into the Banner form known as SOAHOLD and comments will go into the Banner form known as SPACMTN.  There is a confidentiality flag that can be set on SPACMNT; however, it will still be viewable by all users with access to form.  Also, Information not migrated will be archived and made available to departments.

Will the chart of accounts structure change?
The new chart of accounts structure will be known as FOAP in Banner.  The letters designate the following:

F = fund for the source of funding (Ex. - E & G, Designated Tuition, HEF, Grants, etc.). 

O = organization which would be the department.

A = account which is currently the object code.

P = program which will designate the functional purpose (Ex. – Instruction, Scholarships, Research, etc.).

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