News and Events

What is the R3 Project up to? Here’s an updated description of the project phases.

Posted on Tuesday, January 21st, 2025

The R3 Project Timeline with 6 phases. 1. Discovery - Learning about the new SIS capabilities. Thesis learns about AC. Also called Familiarize phase. 2. A 'Here' marker is displayed on the Design and Develop phase - Configure the SIS for AC. Redesign business processes. Also called Personalize Phase. 3. Technical Testing - Team tests that the new SIS works as required. Business process sharing begins. Feedback collected and analyzed. Also called Integrated System Testing. 4. User Testing - Users test final version of new SIS. Also called User Acceptance Testing. 5. Deploy - Deployment of new SIS begins. Also called Deploy. 6. Close - Close. Also called Project Close.

The R3 Project officially started back in 2019, and since then, a lot has changed. As the largest project Algonquin College has ever seen, there’s no surprise that the project has evolved over the years based on what we’ve learned and accomplished.

To put things into perspective, let’s take some time to review the R3 Project Phases—we’ve also incorporated a simple construction analogy! Plus, we’ll highlight what’s been accomplished, what’s ahead, and why each phase matters.

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Want to know the latest R3 Project updates? Watch the December 2024 R3 Showcase!

Posted on Thursday, December 12th, 2024

December’s Showcase event was a recap of some of our biggest highlights and key messages in 2024. The event was hosted by Claude Brulé, Algonquin College President and CEO, and Krista Pearson, Vice President of Student Services and R3 Project’s Executive Sponsor, who welcomed more than 240 participants.

Jason Taker, Manager, SIS Implementation and Digital Transformation, provided an overview of Domestic on Demand (DoD), a new integration provided by the Ontario College Application Service (OCAS), and listed the forecasted benefits for applicants, the Admissions team, and Algonquin College.

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Meet Krista Pearson, the new Executive Sponsor of the R3 Project

Posted on Thursday, December 5th, 2024

Headshot of Krista Pearson

Krista Pearson, Algonquin College’s Vice President, Student Services, discusses her new role as the R3 Project’s Executive Sponsor.

 

 

Krista Pearson is a higher-education executive leader with three decades of experience in colleges and universities across Canada. She joined Algonquin College in 2015 as Registrar and, following a national search process, assumed the role of Vice President, Student Services in August 2024.

As Registrar, Krista was one of the R3 Project’s Co-Business Leads. Now, in her new role, Krista serves as the Executive Sponsor of the R3 Project, which she describes as a transformative initiative “unlike any other project that the College has undertaken.”

We recently met with Krista in Nawapon to talk about her experience, her goals, and the impact of the R3 Project.

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Special interview: The fun of testing with Bert Pitre and Marie Potvin

Posted on Friday, November 29th, 2024

Two young men are sitting at a desk. The first one is facing a computer screen while he holds a mouse and rests his left hand on the keyboard. The second one is beside him, leaning forward and pointing at something on the screen.

The Testing Team is essential to ensuring that Algonquin College’s new Student Information System (SIS), Thesis SM, works as smoothly as possible. Their primary responsibilities involve identifying, assessing, and reporting bugs, i.e., imperfections in computer software.

This process is hard work, but Bert Pitre, Senior Testing Lead on the R3 Project, says it’s also great fun. Igor Coelho A. S. Marques recently chatted with Bert and Marie Potvin, Testing Administrator, to learn more about testing, cultivating team spirit, and the importance of legacy.

Algonquin College employees: Read the interview with Bert Pitre and Marie Potvin.

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What did you think of this interview? Let us know by sending us a message! If you enjoy this kind of content, check out our other interviews on our News and Events page. And before you go, make sure to sign up for the next R3 Showcase Event to learn more about the R3 Project!

Play a Thesis SM game and see how quickly you can update a Person Record

Posted on Thursday, November 7th, 2024

A man and a woman are smiling and sitting at a table at the Ishkodewan courtyard while the man holds a tablet.

The R3 Project is developing Thesis SM, a new cloud-based Student Information System (SIS), for Algonquin College. We’ve been sharing demos of Thesis SM with the College community for several years, so now it’s your turn to try it out! We’ve created an interactive demo of Thesis SM for you to practice a simple task: updating a person’s address.

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