IT Services

Business applications are key to enabling the University to function and deliver educational, administrative and commercial benefits. Corporate Information Systems support and manage the Central Database where university data is held and a range of business applications enable this information to be delivered in a variety of ways; via Oracle web forms, Cognos web reports, Sussex Direct or proprietary/3rd party software.

The Database

The database is where the majority of data for the university is held. Information relevant to your business area or role is accessed for viewing, creating or editing via web forms that are designed and created to meet the requirements of your business area. Key service areas include:

• Student Administration/Admissions
• Human Resource/staff
• Finance
• Programmes and Courses
• People and Organisations

Web Reports (Cognos v7)

Web Reports provides management and operational information in the form of reports from the live databases with the main exceptions of Finance and HR Payroll.

Cognos 10 Reports (Cognos v10)

All Human Resources and Payroll reports and most Research reports (including the research profile dashboard) are provided on Cognos 10. Reports are written against the live databases as well as the data warehouse (which is refreshed overnight from the live databases). The number of business areas covered on Cognos 10 will increase as reports are migrated from Web Reports (Web v7) to this environment.

Room Bookings

The online room booking facility enables all staff, which includes professional services, academics, tutors and associate faculty, to book a room for adhoc meetings or lectures in the general teaching space during term time and vacations. This service gives priority to rooms required by the teaching timetable, which are pre-booked by The Student Systems Office.

Sussex Direct

Sussex Direct is a personalised web site for staff, students and associates at the University of Sussex, accessible from both on and off campus. The data is taken from the Oracle Database and the system offers a wide range of functions and features that includes business functions, personal information and student and staff administration. Students can view details of their study programme, syllabus, timetable, and assessment marks. Tutors use it to view their teaching timetable and to record marks and attendance.

Other services

The following services are generally limited to the specific business area.

Finance (Agresso)

Agresso is proprietary software provided by Unit 4 Business Software and supported by Finance. Please contact rt-finance-agresso@sussex.ac.uk from your university of Sussex email address for help with this service or check the Finance Division's help page.

Research Cost Pricing (Pfact)

Research and Enterprise utilise Pfact (a proprietary software package provided by Allocate Software) for the cost pricing of all research projects. The data from Pfact is integrated with the Database for Research Finance management. Please contact Research and Enterprise for help or information about this service.

Human Resources (AltaHR)

All staff records are entered into the AltaHR system (the Human Resources Database) and accessed by authorised staff for business purposes only. AltaHR integrates with the Oracle database. Access to this system is normally restricted to the HR professional service only. Please contact Human Resources Division about this Service.