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Pennant Release 2 Support Provided by LSPs

On March 14, the Next Generation Student Systems (NGSS) project will go-live with the second release of Pennant Records and Pennant Aid. The purpose of this communication is to prepare you for the questions you will receive and to outline the role you will play in the Pennant hypercare support model. It closely resembles the support model of Release 1 in Fall 2021. For a quick snapshot of this communication, refer to this visual guide. 

Pre-Go-Live System Outage 

Prior to go-live, there will be a University-wide system outage during Spring Break (March 3-13) to enable project deployment activities. Please refer to the NGSS website for the list of applications affected by the outage. 

Background 

Pennant Records Release 2 includes person and student management, academic history, registration, fee assessment, and degree planning and audit. New advising/registration experiences and enhanced interfaces, called Advising@Penn and Path@Penn, will replace Advisor InTouch and Penn InTouch. Pennant Aid Release 2 includes disbursement, loans, customer service, return to Title IV, and self-service. The financial aid conversion takes place in early April. 

While March 14 is the main Release 2 go-live, NGSS will be executing a rolling deployment that will continue through the Summer term. Please refer to the supplementary material to view deployment timeline. 

The March 14 go-live will mainly impact academic advisors, registrars, staff involved in scheduling and managing courses, and students. Instructors will be impacted in the Summer. 

Through the end of the 2022 academic year, students and advisors will use both Advisor InTouch and Penn InTouch and their replacement systems. Guidance for students and academic advisors is on the NGSS website. 

Topics of Interest 

We anticipate questions will focus on the system outage and accessing and navigating the new systems, outlined below.  

  • System Outage during Spring Break, March 3-13  
  • Advising@Penn, replacement of Advisor InTouch 
  • Path@Penn, replacement of Penn InTouch 
  • Transition period through the end of June during which advisors and students will use both InTouch and @Penn systems 
  • Pennant, replacement of SRS, to perform administrative and registration activities  
  • Courses@Penn, replacement of Courses InTouch (Coming Summer 2022) 

LSP Role & Hypercare Support Model 

The LSP scope of responsibilities will be to serve as a point of contact in the Tier 1 and Tier 2 portions of the overall hypercare model.  We ask that you leverage your relationships to help your clients become successful in using Pennant.  

The NGSS project team has assembled resources to start your journey in becoming comfortable with Pennant. The primary resource is the dedicated Pennant Resource page on the SRFS website, which will be evolving and growing as the project continues its deployment into the Summer.  

We ask that you please prepare by doing the following: 

  • Familiarize yourself with self-service reference material available on the Pennant Resources page prior to go-live and periodically revisit the website to review any updates 
  • Direct users to self-service resources on Pennant Resources page 
  • Instruct users on how to access real-time support on the Pennant Resources page 
  • As needed, collaborate with the NGSS team to mutually communicate any common problems or frequently asked questions  

Below is the overall hypercare support model with the resources that will guide your school or center staff. LSP involvement will primarily be contained to Tier 1 and Tier 2. 

 

Pennant Hypercare Support Model - Release 2 for Pennant Accounts, Pennant Records, and Pennant Aid 

Tier 1: Self-Service  

The LSP may be the initial point of contact.  

  • Refer users to self-help resources designed troubleshoot issues on their own 
  • Provide connections to next level of support 

Resources 

 

Tier 2: Real-Time Support 

The LSP facilitates escalation.  

  • Provide support after user has accessed self-help materials and is unable to perform task 
  • Step 1: Direct users to submit Freshdesk tickets as first step of escalation, especially for system access/log-in issues  
  • Step 2: Direct users to attend scheduled workshops and office hours 
  • Step 3: Direct users to contact general support emails  

Resources 

Tier 3: Operational Support 

The LSP may provide a nominal role. 

  • Once user has submitted Freshdesk ticket, NGSS team will escalate cases related to system defects, configuration & data integration issues, implementation & testing of system updates, etc. 

The University is embarking on the next phase of this technology journey, which has tremendous impact on our students, faculty, and staff. Your support and care of Pennant users are deeply appreciated. Please email ngsscomms@isc.upenn.edu with any questions. 

NGSS Executive Owners 

Jeanne Curtis, Executive Director of Application and Information Services, Information Systems and Computing  

Dave Ishmael, Executive Director, Financial Systems & Training Leadership, Division of Finance 

Rob Nelson, Executive Director for Academic Technology & Planning, Office of the Provost  

Matt Sessa, Executive Director, Student Registration and Financial Services, Division of Finance