What's New in 4.44?
Welcome to ebs 4.44, the first release of 2024, and culmination of over a year of work improving the quality of existing modules in ebs. As our colleges start to prioritise moving to cloud, we know that reducing the size of the installed client, and adding great accessible functionality in web, is the biggest step to support our institutions in their journey to cloud. You will start to see modules being moved from client to web, and improved based on your feedback, following our statutory funding returns release in July.
As with the previous release, users of ebs: central will be prompted to view the release notes post-upgrade. All changes are documented in the release notes, which we recommend all customers read; they contain key information on product updates and how you can make use of them. The release webinar will include a demonstration of the new functionality, and will be shared after the event on ebs Communities.
Changes in the database for this release include updates for the upcoming New Zealand statutory funding return, the SDR, as part of their Data Systems Refresh program. With the first institutions set to trial the return later this spring, we wish them all the best and welcome any feedback before the full roll-out. Many of our customers delivering UK HE provision have adopted the new UCAS xml-link integration for the 2024 cycle. 4.44 sees further enhancements of this integration, with the inclusion of background data for confirmed applicants.
As we move modules from client to web, we will update and improve functionality to make sure they continue to meet our customers’ needs. This work starts in earnest with the update of Support Fund manager from ebs 4.46 onwards, but you can see examples now, in the new Ontrack Correspondence Manager, now available for the Welsh IDP in Ontrack. We are also ensuring existing modules grow with you: the best example of this is the update to our Parent Hub, now becoming Contact Hub to enable you to share data securely with sponsors, employers, and sub-contractors as well as parents. You will also notice improvements to the Learner Hub homepage, improving performance and navigability in the base page.
ebs 4.44 includes a significant upgrade to Ontrack Markbook. During the discovery phase we heard from a number of sites that they were relying on old and desupported modules to fulfil their needs around grading. We have taken all your feedback and added useful functionality, as well as improving performance and accessibility with the new Angular grid component. This component is also available in Designer, so you can use it for your own grids.
Alongside the updates to Markbook, this release includes updates to Curriculum Planning and Curriculum Manager. New funding calculations for T-levels were key for the improvements to Curriculum Planning, but improvements to roll-on, roll-off funding calculations and AEB funding are also included. For Curriculum Manager, the ability to bulk edit staff at UIO level will make significant curriculum changes more manageable.
One of our longstanding priorities is improving authentication and moving away from ebs storing login credentials. We understand that this move needs to be managed carefully, to ensure that institutions of every size are still able to offer secure access to ebs. From ebs 4.44 we introduce Azure B2C, which allows external credentials for all users, and enables you to enforce multi-factor authentication for applicants. This work will be extended to include parents, employers, and anyone using our Contact Hub to view learner reports. The roadmap through 2024 focuses on building our success in Ontrack. This includes adding to our Absence Reporting module based on user feedback; increasing our payment provider integrations; building front-end enrolment screens that are accessible and mobile-responsive; and adding a case management overview for Ontrack Safeguarding. I invite you to submit feedback, feature requests, and questions, via our ebs Communities groups.
Gabi Walshaw, Product Manager for Vocational Learning and Engage