Graduate Records Management (GRM) Project Update

Purdue IT is in the process of building a Graduate Records Management (GRM) system in Salesforce. As a reminder, GRM will replace the GradDB, which is used by the College of Engineering and some areas in the College of Science. It will also replace the Graduate Student Database (GSDB) which is used by all graduate programs within the Purdue system. The GSDB houses plans of study, exam forms and other central graduate student processes.

Benefits include:

  • Creation of an enterprise-wide system replacing redundant and inefficient graduate student record keeping processes 
  • Certainty regarding the on-going support model for GradDB which will provide leaders with better information set priorities and allocate resources for developing additional features. 
  • Improved information flows from central systems to provide graduate coordinators with more accurate graduate student appointment funding information. 

PROJECT STATUS

Phase 1A – Completed December 2024

  • Initial user interface for the GradDB components of the system have been built in Salesforce
  • Initial data integration from Slate, Banner, Grad Student Database, and Grad DB have been completed
  • An assessment of the user interface to improve end user experience in the system has been completed.

Phase 1B – In Progress

  • Develop and execute a GradDB data conversion strategy and implement the defined requirements from the Phase 1 assessment.
  • Required features of GradDB developed, including finalized user interface, reporting, ongoing import processes, data validation, and system refinement.
  • Training for end users to transition from GradDB to GRM
  • Timeline for Phase 1B should have initial data ready for validation by late summer. The GradDB portion of the project could be rolled out to users in the College of Engineering and College of Science by late fall.

Phase 2 – Initial Planning Underway

  • Develop and execute the Graduate Student Database conversion strategy
  • Initial requirements gathering has been complete; advisory committee has been formed
  • Advisory committee meetings will begin in July of 2025
  • Timeline for Phase 2 has the Graduate Student Database portion of the project development work beginning this fall, with a system roll out to all users system-wide tentatively scheduled for end of calendar year 2026.

For additional information updates, visit the GRM Database Project Website: https://www.purdue.edu/academics/ogsps/research/thesis/database-project.html