The system records and tracks and speeds up the submission and review of student applications; 'Banner' program to help the university in achieving its 'electronic university' vision

Saudi Arabia- July 4, 2007: King Faisal University, one of leading higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia, launched 'Banner' a new registration and admission system aimed at providing a competitive edge to the University's undergraduate and graduate recruitment efforts, and will enable students to register via the internet, and access their records and other student services.

The system was developed by International Turnkey Systems (ITS), a leading provider of cutting-edge integrated information technology solutions, utilizing SunGard's 'Banner' higher education administrative suite. 'Banner' is a tightly integrated suite of proven, scalable applications on a single database. The Unified Digital Campus combines a premier administrative solution with portal, integration, information access, content management, and academic solutions. Internet technologies allow for a personalized user experience and the architecture supports interoperability across disparate systems within the institution and beyond.

"Since the beginning of this academic year, King Faisal University is a different place. Thanks to the efforts of the university IT center and ITS, the university has launched a new registration and admission banner system that will make the university a more competitive institution," said Dr. Yusif Bin Mohammad Al-Gandan, President of the King Faisal University.

"We customized the 'Banner' system to suite the university's unique requirements. We took into consideration the characteristics of King Faisal University, which required Arabic language integration in addition to the English version," said Khalid Al-Said, general manager of International Turnkey Systems (ITS). "The system was developed to define Arabic as the 'major' language, while English was adopted as a secondary language. We also took into account the Hijri dates that are more widely used in Saudi Arabia."

The system was designed to make it easier for students and the university employees to move seamlessly around the system.  It can also be linked to other international systems with a high degree of security to preserve secure access to information and data.

"We were looking for an advanced system that could be developed to serve our university students and employees. We needed to streamline our previous systems to make them hassle free and efficient to meet our students' needs. We found this with the 'Banner' systems that was customized and integrated by ITS professionals in close cooperation with our internal technology department," said Dr. Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Shuaibi, director of the Information Technology Center at the university.

"The 'Banner' system integrated the admissions and registration processes that covers students in their Diploma, Bachelor and Masters programs. It also provides our decision makers at the university with the necessary information in real time to make their decision making process more accurate. With this system in place, we are one step closer to achieving our vision of an 'electronic university' in the Kingdom," added Al-Shuaibi.

Because 'Banner' is an integrated database, the university faculty, staff and students will have the power to improve performance and accountability. It also allows the university to determine the rules and regulations for financial aid.

The 'Banner' system also allows faculty members and academic counselors to perform administrative functions including access to registration lists, student grades and communicate with students via e-mail and other functions.

King Faisal University has currently more than 15 thousand students studying in 14 Colleges distributed in Alhsa, Dammam and Khobar.

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About ITS:
ITS was established in 1981 and is one of the leading companies in the Middle East in providing technology solutions to banking, telecommunications, higher education and other sectors.

With a pool of 750 highly qualified and skilled IT professionals spread across 21 major cities worldwide, the company acquires the largest market share (75%) in the Islamic banking sector.

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© Press Release 2007