Following the recent update of Binghamton University’s e-mail from the decade-old SquirrelMail to the Mirapoint system, BU’s student Web center will soon undergo another drastic change.

Next semester, the University will begin to phase out the current Binghamton University Student Information Web center and transition in the use of a new Web portal: the ‘BU-Brain.’

BUSI serves as the online facet of the University’s record-handling system and allows students to access their files from the BU Web site.

The change follows the administration’s decision to convert the system to Banner, a software developed by SunGard Higher Education and currently used by 40 out of the 64 SUNY campuses.

‘BUSI is the online piece for our current student system, but behind that is an enormous student record system that handles all of the admissions for students ‘ everything from grades to billing, course registration and academic history,’ Jennifer Schorr, Banner Project leader, explained. ‘There’s a lot of system and background around BUSI, and Banner will replace that.’

Though the system officially launches next month when applications from high school hopefuls begin to pour in, it’s likely current BU students won’t notice a difference in the system very soon.

The change will be evident when students go to register for their fall 2008 classes or view their 2008-2009 financial aid packages, both of which will be handled through the BU Brain portal.

Once the system is fully operational, however, students are likely to notice more significant updates. The new portal will be a customizable page and is slated to require only one user name and password for most of its features.

‘It will be customizable by each student,’ Schorr said. ‘They can arrange elements of the page and bring in Web links that they want to have easy access to.’

She explained the change of login information as an advantage of the new system, as many students dislike using their social security numbers out of fear of identity theft.

The upgrade from BUSI to a newer, more powerful software is a project that has been in the works since 1998.

‘This has been an effort that included a lot of people,’ Schorr said. ‘We had people from up to 20 offices working on the system and even more offices than that who had input.’

Schorr held two information sessions on the change this week and plans to send out more information, as well as organize training sessions for students and faculty. The sessions could include both classroom information run-downs and quick online tutorials, depending upon the demand.

The target semester for the launch of the new system is fall 2008 and Schorr remains confident the system will be ready in time.

‘We are going forward as if it will be fall 2008,’ Schorr explained. ‘And I fully expect it to be.’