New Business Ideas

Thinking about a nice new business idea. It is about creating tools and resources for universities and their data. Now there are plenty of companies out there that do this. I want to do a very personal job. I want to help take what they have and what they are used to using and push it as far as it can go. In many cases these teams in a university have several separate databases that would benefit from being tied together. They may have legacy systems that are completely paper based and rely on people transcribing that content into a database.

Specifically this is about the KUALI system that is used to organize and manage the certificate and degree information. This system takes and organizes the information about individual classes, their requirements, their titles, and ties it to the degree programs that are made up of those individual classes. There is another system called TargetX that is about student information and managing them through the application process, into the advisement, class registration, and all the way through the student’s graduation. Related to these two system is the Banner system that is the old school main system that ties together the class information, the class location, the instructor name, the financial block system, the advisement block system that keeps students from enrolling in classes that have prerequisites. These systems should be able to be integrated. They all claim that they can be integrated with each other. It seems that the teams that are hired to integrate the systems take forever to actually do it.

This leads to problems in the enrollment process where classes are listed with hard to read names because the database is limiting the name of the class to 30 letters or less. The time system for listing class time is done in military time, which is difficult for students to understand. Building locations are listed in acronyms. Days of the weeks are listed in a single letter code that makes it difficult to differentiate Tuesday and Thursday or Saturday and Sunday. While there are “notes” about a class, the class description is not included in the listing, The instructor name is listed, but the contact information for the instructor is not listed. Part of the reason for this difficult presentation for class information is because the class descriptions and the degree program information is separate from the class offering database, which is separate from the staff information database.

1. Business Model and Value Proposition

• Personalized Integration Services: Offer tailored integration services that focus on making the most of the existing systems (like KUALI, TargetX, and Banner) by connecting and streamlining their operations. Emphasize a consultative approach that deeply understands the university’s specific needs.
• Efficiency and Usability Improvements: Address common pain points like inconsistent data entry, confusing class listings, and outdated user interfaces. Offer solutions that enhance usability, such as converting military time to standard time, providing full class descriptions, and creating more intuitive naming conventions for class locations.
• Legacy System Optimization: Help universities transition from paper-based systems to digital, ensuring that legacy data is effectively integrated into current systems without disrupting operations.
• Training and Support: Offer training for university staff to ensure they can effectively use and maintain these systems after integration. Provide ongoing support to ensure that the systems continue to meet the university’s needs.

2. Target Market

• Mid-sized and Large Universities: These institutions likely have the resources and need for such services but might struggle with the inefficiencies you’ve identified.
• Community Colleges and Smaller Institutions: These schools might benefit from more affordable, scalable solutions tailored to their needs, especially if they are still reliant on paper-based or partially digitized systems.
• Specialized Institutions: Schools with unique requirements (e.g., arts colleges, technical institutes) may benefit from highly customized solutions that larger, more generalized companies might overlook.

3. Implementation Strategy

• Assessment and Audit: Start with a detailed audit of the university’s existing systems, identifying pain points, inefficiencies, and integration opportunities.
• Custom Development: Develop middleware or connectors that can integrate various systems (e.g., KUALI, TargetX, Banner) and make sure they communicate effectively.
• User Interface Improvements: Create user-friendly interfaces that present the necessary information in a clear, accessible manner. This might include improving class listings, making instructor contact information more visible, and simplifying registration processes.
• Data Normalization and Cleanup: Standardize data across systems, ensuring consistency in things like class names, times, and locations.
• Pilot Program: Implement the new system or improvements in a single department or program first to iron out any issues before a full rollout.

4. Challenges and Solutions

• Resistance to Change: University staff may be hesitant to adopt new systems. Mitigate this by involving them early in the design process, offering extensive training, and providing ongoing support.
• Data Privacy and Security: Ensure that your solutions comply with all relevant data protection regulations, like FERPA, to maintain student and institutional privacy.
• Integration Complexity: Universities often have deeply entrenched legacy systems. Your team should include experts in these older systems who can manage the complexity of integrating them with newer technologies.

5. Marketing and Growth

• Case Studies and Testimonials: Build a portfolio of success stories that demonstrate your ability to improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance user experience.
• Partnerships: Establish partnerships with the companies that produce the systems you’re integrating, like KUALI, TargetX, and Ellucian (Banner), to gain insights and possibly early access to new features or APIs.
• Industry Presence: Attend and speak at higher education technology conferences to build credibility and make connections with potential clients.

6. Scalability

• Modular Solutions: Develop your tools and services to be modular, so they can be adapted to the specific needs and scale of each institution.
• Recurring Revenue Streams: Consider offering subscription-based services for ongoing maintenance, updates, and support, ensuring a steady income stream.

The Business

The main idea is to see how far I can get with our own UNM-Taos data systems. This means working with Microsoft’s PowerApp system to see how I can integrate these items.

1. Identify Key Integration Points

• Data Exchange: Determine the specific data that needs to be shared between KUALI, TargetX, and Banner. For example, class information from Banner might need to be linked with program requirements in KUALI.
• Trigger Events: Identify events that should trigger data exchange or updates, such as a new class being added in Banner, a student being accepted in TargetX, or a new degree requirement being updated in KUALI.
• User Interaction Points: Decide where users will interact with these systems through Power Apps, such as viewing consolidated class information, updating program requirements, or managing student data.

2. Data Flow and Integration Design

• Map Data Relationships: Create a visual map of how data flows between KUALI, TargetX, and Banner. Identify the primary keys and relationships that link records across these systems.
• API Availability: Check if these systems have APIs that can be called from Power Automate. This is crucial for enabling data exchange.
• Custom Connectors: If the APIs are not readily available, you may need to create custom connectors in Power Automate to access and interact with the data in these systems.

3. Develop Power Automate Workflows

• Data Syncing: Create flows in Power Automate that automatically sync data between systems based on triggers. For example:
  • When a new course is created in Banner, trigger a flow to update KUALI with the course details.
  • Sync student application data from TargetX to Banner and KUALI once the application process is completed.
• Error Handling: Implement error handling in your flows to manage any data conflicts or integration issues.
• Notifications: Set up notification flows to alert users or administrators if there’s an issue with the data sync or if a manual review is required.

4. Develop Power Apps for User Interaction

• Unified Interface: Create a Power App that provides a unified interface for users to view and manage data across KUALI, TargetX, and Banner. The app could include:
  • A dashboard for administrators to monitor the status of integrations.
  • Forms for entering or updating data that automatically syncs across systems.
  • Views that combine data from multiple systems, like a class schedule that includes instructor contact information and course descriptions.
• Role-Based Access: Implement role-based access control in your Power App so that different users (e.g., administrators, advisors, faculty) see only the data relevant to their role.

5. Testing and Validation

• Test Flows and Apps: Thoroughly test each Power Automate flow and Power App to ensure they work correctly with the data from KUALI, TargetX, and Banner. Focus on data integrity, system performance, and user experience.
• Pilot Program: Consider rolling out the solution to a small department or program first to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments before a full deployment.

6. Deployment and Support

• Deploy: Once tested and validated, deploy the Power Automate flows and Power Apps to the broader university environment.
• Training: Offer training sessions for users to help them get familiar with the new tools.
• Ongoing Maintenance: Set up ongoing support and maintenance processes to handle updates, troubleshoot issues, and adapt to any changes in the university’s systems or requirements.

Example of a Power Automate Flow

Scenario: When a new course is added to Banner, update KUALI and TargetX.

1. Trigger: A new course is added to Banner.
2. Action 1: Call the API for KUALI to create a corresponding course entry with the relevant details.
3. Action 2: Call the API for TargetX to ensure the course is available for student advisement and registration.
4. Action 3: Send a notification to the academic department confirming the updates.