Banner for administrative staff (INB)

What is Banner?

Banner is an Oracle™ enterprise database used by McGill University to store all student, employee and financial data.

The three major administrative systems are:

• Financial Information System (FIS)
• Human Resources / Payroll Information System (HRIS)
• Student Information System (SIS)

One database — two interfaces

While the database itself is called Banner, there are two user interfaces to access that data.

INB

Internet Native Banner (INB), also referred to as simply "Banner", is a web-based interface used by administrative staff to perform the tasks for which they are responsible. It is not used by students or instructors (see Minerva below.)

This site provides key information on the Banner (INB) interface, including:

• Login procedures and requirements for authorization
• Contact information for training and support
• Troubleshooting, solutions to known issues
• Information resources for Banner users, including a link to Banner How-to documents
• Imaging software used in conjunction with Banner

Minerva

This is a web interface used by students, faculty, and administrative staff. It is used primarily for self-service purposes. For example, students use Minerva to register for courses; instructors can submit grades; all users can view or update personal information such as their home address; employees can view items such as pay stubs. Many administrative tasks can also be performed on Minerva.

For information on the Minerva interface functionality, see the IT Knowledge Base articles on Minerva for faculty and staff and Minerva for students.

Which interface to use?

Some administrative tasks can be done on either the Banner (INB) interface or the Minerva interface. Others are performed on just one.

The tables below (General, Finance, HR/Payroll, and Student systems) describe which interface is appropriate for each task.

Note: "+" means there is more functionality on this interface and "-" means minimal functionality.

General	Banner	Minerva
Create a person in the database (central ARRO and HR offices).
Update biographic information for students or employees.
Update citizenship and residency information.
Self-service for students or employees to view or update biographic information.
Self-service for employees to view pay stubs; history of earnings, deductions, jobs; salary confirmation letter.
View user's access to Banner (Security Officers).
Register for ICS courses (Banner, Office Tools, WebCT), view employee course history.
Change Minerva PIN and security question.
Create or change McGill password.

Finance Information System – FIS	Banner	Minerva
Create purchase requisitions.
View document status.
Create purchase orders, invoices, payments (Purchasing dept).
Budget queries.
Access reports generated on a regular basis. See also Reports from the data warehouse for ad-hoc reports.
Set up Banner validation tables, Minerva controls, etc. (Accounting central office)
Process deposits.
Process IDCs.
FOAPAL information
MOPS – Pcard reconciliation.
Travel advances.
Expense reports.
McGill MarketPlace - Make online purchases.
MOARDS - McGill online redeployment of used assets.

Human Resources Information System – HRIS	Banner	Minerva
Create and maintain positions.
Appointment process (e.g. hire, additional appointments, transfer, promotions, re-appointments, FOAPAL changes, etc.)
HR central office setup of Banner validation tables, Minerva controls, etc.
Look up biographic, employee, job and position information for employees within your org (department).
Reports generated on a regular basis. See also Reports from the data warehouse for ad-hoc reports.
Verify one-time casual payments and appointment forms (for academic students and course lecturers) submitted via POPS.
Delete one-time payments and appointment forms submitted via POPS.

Student Information System – SIS	Banner	Minerva
Review admissions applications and assign decisions.
View the course catalog.	-	+
Create the class schedule (create course sections, room bookings, assigned instructors, enrolment maximums, etc.)	+
View class lists and schedules.	-	+
View class photos.
View or update the general student record.
Update student course registration.
Assign permit-overrides.
View or update student fees.
View fee statements.
View tax forms and receipts.
View citizenship and Québec residency status.
Enter final grades.	-	+
Approve grades (roll them).
Change a student’s grade in academic history.
Assign Standing Decisions.
View Degree Evaluation.
View or update Faculty Transfer and Readmission applications.
View financial aid applications.
Query the Data Warehouse SRU_Academic to produce a web report or an Excel spreadsheet.
Advising options – degree evaluation, transcripts, graduation process.
Access reports generated on a regular basis. See also Reports from the data warehouse for ad-hoc reports.
Self-service for students – apply to McGill, view your student record, register for courses, view your fee statement, etc.
Self-service for instructors – view class lists, enter final grades, etc.