CME x USJ - A Next-Gen Student Information System

The Background

Dany Mezher, the Advisor to the Rector of Saint Joseph University (USJ) for IT Affairs, knows the challenges of keeping IT systems up to date all too well. For the past 20 years, he has watched technology change a wide variety of industries, while education has lagged behind.  

In 2019, Mezher, recognizing the shortcomings of existing solutions on the market, was on the lookout to build a comprehensive, future-proof, and cost-effective student information system based on the university’s specific needs. For that, he turned to CME. 

The Challenge 

CME’s engineering hub jumped into action, setting up a meeting with USJ in early 2020 to fully grasp the requirements that the new student information system should fulfill.  

According to Mezher, addressing the needs of the younger generation was essential. “Users are not happy with a tool that is not efficient – they constantly seek flawless experiences. They need to stay connected with cutting-edge devices and applications.”  

Administration and instructor concerns also had to be taken into consideration. “In education, the product is the person, and one must cater to their needs,” Mezher continued. “It was therefore essential that the product should be fully customizable, enforce consistency and track variation with time, as well as for there to be a multilingual interface. So, flexibility is key.” 

With the necessary information gathered, CME’s developers formed a team with selected academic business experts at USJ. The cross-disciplinary team combined business knowledge with technical expertise, and was the foundation for what was to become a prolific collaboration.  

The Solution 

With vast quantities of data to manage, CME’s team had to be sure that each and every issue was addressed thoroughly. The team then defined the stages of an incremental project management process: planning, design, deployment, testing, parallel runs (while deploying new features), and going live. By ensuring that everything was properly in sync across the board before moving from one stage to the next, the team made the transition from the old to a new system a breeze.  

In addition to building an innovative, highly adaptive and scalable system from the ground up, the team managed the smooth migration of data. Simultaneously, weekly meetings were being held to stay on top of the progress being made and align with USJ personnel.  

Integration challenges were meanwhile eliminated by enabling users to operate on both the old and new systems at the same time during the parallel-run phase. As a result, there was no delay in delivery nor any issue that could cause operational interruption. 

In usual CME fashion, customer experience was front and center during the development phase ensuring seamless journeys for all targeted personas. 

USJ’s institutions coordinated and trained with the CME team on a weekly basis to get acquainted with the features of the new SIS. With time, administrative staff and faculty members were eventually brought up to speed. 

Testimonials 

“The old system we had was heavy and slow. When we started on the new SIS, I was surprised at how it was practical and easy to use,” Nadine Meouchi, Administrative Support for Academic Affairs at USJ, said. “The format is clear and simple to navigate, and it really manages everything for us.” 

This sentiment was echoed by Suzan Khankan, Project Manager at CME. “The model itself is a problem solver – the SIS is easily customizable and scalable. The user experience is key, and throughout the process, we became partners with USJ in the co-creation model and the roadmap.” 

When asked about the future at USJ, Dany Mezher said, “Moving forward, I can’t imagine university governors making non-data-driven decisions. It is extremely important to keep up with the evolution of the technology revolution. You need the proper transformation in change management, and our partnership with CME has provided us with exactly what we require.” 

Conclusion 

The collaboration with USJ has opened the door for ambitious advancements in education and technology and reaffirmed CME’s stance on improving people’s lives through innovative solutions.

About USJ

Saint-Joseph University of Beirut (USJ) is a private Lebanese university founded in 1875. Currently, USJ has 13 Faculties and 18 Schools across different campuses providing a broad-based curriculum. It has been present in the UAE since 2008 as Saint Joseph University Dubai where it hosts one of the most prestigious Bachelor of Law programs in the region. To date, USJ has graduated over 100,000 students and is now home to 2,000 highly qualified teachers and instructors. With a wide variety of majors and state-of-the-art research facilities, USJ is regarded among the top and most reputable academic institutions in Lebanon and the Middle East.