Jenzabar's Single-Source Web Integration Key for Florida Southern College

Jenzabar's Internet Campus Solution Provides Problem-Free Front-End/Back-End Interface

CAMBRIDGE, MA-August 30, 2002-As it says on Florida Southern College's "Hurricane Season Information" Web page, hurricane season lasts for six months of the year, from June 1st until November 30th. Situated in the middle of the state of Florida in Lakeland, the College has taken the necessary steps to provide information about hurricane watches and warnings. Nature's price for furnishing such a warm and beautiful place to live, hurricanes are an acknowledged part of life in sunny Florida.

While Florida Southern College can't control its weather (which is beautiful most of the time), it certainly can control its IT issues. For example, the interface between the College's front-end academic portal and course management software and back-end administrative system could have been a constant headache. But it's not ever. That's because Florida Southern uses Jenzabar products in both its front-end and back-end campus environment. "Software is constantly changing. If we used software from two different vendors, we would be responsible for maintaining the interface between our ERP system and the academic software," stated John Thomas, Director of Information Services for Florida Southern. "But, since both are controlled by Jenzabar, the interface changes are always made by Jenzabar-making that something we don't have to worry about."

Florida Southern had been maintaining two Academic/Course Management systems but could no longer afford to support two separate systems. The College chose to continue to support Jenzabar's product exclusively over the product from another well-known academic software vendor. "A key factor in our decision was the interface with our ERP system, Jenzabar TE," Thomas explained. Another factor, according to Thomas, is that Jenzabar's product is easier to use and has a much shorter learning curve, compared to the other Course Management software.

The College is also looking forward to using new features within the Jenzabar product. "The faculty is excited about the new Groups Management feature," Thomas commented. "For example, they can be teaching a class of 20 students, then separate the class into groups of five to work on a project. Using the Groups feature, they can send different handouts, links, and course information to the individual groups." The Groups feature controls what content is permitted for each group, and can be used to send content to groups outside of a class, such as the student government.

"We're also excited about using the new portlets feature to customize individual users home pages," Thomas stated. Jenzabar's portal uses portlets to push information useful to each individual user's Web page. For example, a student's home page will contain registration and billing information portlets, while the president's page will contain a portlet that shows the College's latest enrollment numbers, or other pertinent executive information.

About Florida Southern College

Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

About Jenzabar, Inc.

By improving the exchange of information through powerful business intelligence applications and services, Jenzabar's Internet enterprise software, e-learning solutions, and services deliver a competitive edge to higher education institutions. Dedicated to supporting and enhancing the educational community, Jenzabar's business units serve 700 higher education institutions worldwide, including students, professors, and administrators from private liberal arts, medical, law, state, and community colleges. Institutions employing Jenzabar solutions include The Claremont Colleges, Colby College, Daytona Beach Community College, William Mitchell College of Law, Governors State University, Bluffton College, Bay de Noc Community College, Berry College, and Harvard Medical School.

Jenzabar's offerings include Web-based enterprise software with student, institutional advancement, human resources, and financial applications; e-learning solutions; and a higher education enterprise information portal (EIP). Founded in 1998, Jenzabar is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts with regional offices across the United States.