By Avery McKinney
The new Academic Information System will grace route Y today, Sept. 30, with changes making the system more compatible and future upgrades easier. 'The technology that we used in the past was developed two decades ago,' said Rick Williams, product manager for the new AIM system. 'Since then, technology has advanced considerably. We couldn''t move forward in the old technology and make some of the changes that we wanted to make.'
Williams said changes made primarily involve the architecture of AIM.
'We changed the architecture so that we could more easily develop applications for the web-based environment,' Williams said. 'Now we can share information across different applications like Blackboard, University Student Information System, Scholarships and Financial Aid.'
The sharing of information is possible because of the new database called Oracle. This database is more compatible with other systems.
Williams said the changes will affect faculty members more than students.
'The primary changes have been far less in the student area, and are really focused on the administrative area,' Williams said. 'In the past, the faculty have used non-Web-based technology, while the students have been using Web-based technology for over five years.'
Williams said the upgrade to a new database makes future changes to AIM easier.
'We''ve had requests from students that were not possible with the old technology,' Williams said. 'While the changes are not there yet, this new system makes it possible for the changes to be there in the future.'
Some new features on AIM include a GPA calculator, course tracking, personalized final exam schedule, transfer evaluation and instructor''s course schedule.
'AIM ultimately touches everyone in the campus community from faculty to academic departments, alumni and the over 30,000-student body,' said Gary Kramer, associate dean of Student Academic Advisement Services. 'To ensure that the campus community is well represented, BYU has worked with people from all areas on campus, including user groups and engineers, to design the new system.'
Williams said although minor changes will be present, the AIM system will look and function in very much the same way.
'We didn''t want to make too many changes all at once,' he said.
AIM is scheduled to be available today, since being shut down Friday at 5 p.m.
'We''re checking the information out right now and making sure that all of the icons on the interchange page are working,' said Jeff Bailey, project manager for the office of IT. 'We''re expecting AIM to be available at the first of the morning.'