The move will integrate all disparate systems and departments within the university into an environment in which teachers, administrative staff and students interact seamlessly to strengthen performance.

The entire university will operate within its own firewall and allow free crossflow of information, reducing the need for multiple passwords and access points for users. The system will bring to the university Web-based efficiency that will yield considerable improvements in the areas of constituent services, accountability, teaching and learning.

Professor Osama S. Tayyeb, KAU’s rector, who signed the agreement with SunGard at KAU on Sunday, said that as one of the largest universities in the Middle East, information technology is fundamental to its strategy. To sustain that technology, the university is, he said, engaging leading technology solution providers such as SunGard Higher Education and ITS.

“This project is a testament to our long-term commitment to create a global center of excellence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and thus prepare graduates to cope with the changing needs of the knowledge economy in the region.”

ITS is a leading provider of integrated information technology solutions and software services and will lead the implementation project in close consultation with SunGard Higher Education.

KAU will deploy solutions from SunGard’s proprietary Banner Digital Campus including Banner Student, Banner Financial Aid, Banner Advancement, Banner Workflow, Banner Operational Data Store and the Luminis Platform from SunGard Higher Education. These solutions will help KAU create a digital campus with collaborative communities and virtual research portals for students, researchers and faculty. Furthermore, the digital campus will help administrators work more efficiently as they connect with other campus systems and resources. It will also support business processes needed for knowledge sharing, awarding financial aid and communication with alumni.

KAU will, as it develops and brings the program into operation, play a central role in defining the Saudi Banner User Group, bringing the user community together and leading an initiative to create a standard Saudi version of Banner Student. This would allow all Saudi universities using SunGard Higher Education’s Banner Student solution to use the same localized version of the software and continue to enhance Banner to support emerging university needs.

“KAU has taken on an important role in championing the region’s mission for improved quality of and access to higher education,” said Mathew Boice, vice president, EMEA and India, SunGard Higher Education. “This project is not only helping improve the educational experience for Saudi students, it is also the first step toward building a standardized version of the Banner Digital Campus administrative system for higher education in the Kingdom.”