Austin Community College District (ACC) has officially resumed its Student Information System (SIS) Modernization Project, now designated as Project Banner. The College had previously paused the modernization initiative to evaluate its requirements for a platform capable of supporting long-term student success.

Following a comprehensive review and approval process by College stakeholders, ACC has selected Ellucian Banner as its new vendor. The system will replace the Ellucian Colleague system, which the College has utilized for the past 25 years. The new, cloud-based platform is intended to streamline ACC’s SIS ecosystem and align technical infrastructure with the institution’s North Star Goal and Theory of Change.

The project is being led by IT partners Amanda Patton and Lionel Lin, who are collaborating with the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) and the Chancellor’s Office to align technical implementation with employee and student needs.

What Students Can Expect

At the heart of the modernization effort is a commitment to improving the student experience by creating a more seamless, responsive, and student-centered environment. Under the new system, students can expect:

  • Simplified Processes: Streamlined admissions, registration, financial aid, advising, and degree planning processes that reduce confusion and unnecessary steps.
  • Better Access to Information: Real-time updates on schedules, financial aid status, academic progress, and important deadlines.
  • Improved Academic Planning: Enhanced degree planning and scheduling tools that help students stay on track to completion.
  • Stronger Advising Support: Integrated advising and CRM tools that enable more proactive outreach, case management, and personalized guidance.
  • Modern, Mobile-Friendly Experience: A unified user experience across desktop and mobile platforms.
  • Enhanced Communication: Expanded use of chat, SMS, and engagement tools to connect students with resources when they need them.
  • Improved Data & Reporting: More accurate, timely information to support student success initiatives and institutional decision-making.

What Employees Can Expect

Project Banner will integrate core institutional functions—including student records, financial aid, student accounting, admissions, academic planning, advising, scheduling, reporting, and enterprise data management—into a single, unified system.

Because this transformation will impact business processes, workflows, and system interfaces across departments, employees can anticipate:

  • Updated processes and workflows in key functional areas
  • Enhanced reporting and analytics capabilities
  • Improved data governance and system integrations
  • Modern, mobile-friendly user experiences
  • Training and support resources to prepare for go-live

Current Status and Next Steps

Project Banner is well underway. Following the formal kickoff in May, the team dove into the work of this transformation and is in the midst of alignment sessions with the vendor and across all key ACC stakeholders. In the current phase, they are mapping the current way of doing things to the future of ACC on Banner. 

While no immediate actions are required from staff, a finalized project timeline will be shared with the College community in the coming months. More ACC employees will be asked to contribute as the team moves through the project plan.

Call for Staff Input and Prior Experience

To leverage existing institutional knowledge, the project team is asking any ACC employees or students who have prior experience using Ellucian Banner at other institutions to share their background by completing a brief Google Form.

For continuous updates and project developments, employees can visit the ACC SIS Implementation website. 

Questions, feedback, or immediate concerns regarding the transition can be directed to the project team at [email protected].