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Integration

Ellucian Banner + MentorAI Integration

Transform Banner student records into personalized AI mentoring experiences — owned by your institution, running on your infrastructure.

Ellucian Banner is the student information system of record for hundreds of higher education institutions worldwide. It holds the enrollment, academic history, and demographic data that defines each learner's journey.

MentorAI by ibl.ai connects directly to Banner to deploy purpose-built AI tutoring and mentoring agents that adapt in real time to each student's academic profile, course load, and performance trends.

Unlike generic AI chatbots, MentorAI agents are provisioned on your institution's own infrastructure. Your Banner data never leaves your environment, ensuring full FERPA compliance and zero dependency on third-party AI vendors.

Architecture

The integration uses a secure middleware layer that authenticates with Ellucian Banner via Banner APIs or direct database connectors. Student enrollment, course, and academic standing data is ingested into the MentorAI context engine, which dynamically personalizes agent behavior per learner session. All components run within the institution's cloud or on-premises environment.

Data Flows

Ellucian BannerMentorAI Context EngineStudent enrollment and course registration records (batch)
Ellucian BannerMentorAI Context EngineAcademic history, GPA, and standing (on-demand)
Ellucian BannerMentorAI Agent ProvisionerProgram of study and degree audit data (batch)
MentorAI Interaction LayerEllucian BannerEngagement events and tutoring session metadata (batch)
MentorAI Analytics EngineInstitution Data WarehouseLearning outcome signals and at-risk indicators (real-time)

Components

Banner API Connector

Authenticates and retrieves student, enrollment, and course data from Ellucian Banner via REST APIs or JDBC

Ellucian Banner APIs, JDBC, OAuth 2.0

MentorAI Context Engine

Ingests Banner data to build dynamic learner profiles that personalize AI agent responses and tutoring paths

ibl.ai Agentic OS, vector store, LLM orchestration

MentorAI Agent Provisioner

Deploys and manages purpose-built AI mentoring agents scoped to specific courses, programs, or student cohorts

ibl.ai Agentic OS, Docker, Kubernetes

Compliance and Audit Layer

Enforces FERPA data handling policies, logs all data access events, and ensures data residency within institutional boundaries

ibl.ai security framework, SOC 2 controls, institutional SSO

Setup Guide

1

Provision ibl.ai MentorAI on Institutional Infrastructure

1-2 days

Deploy the MentorAI platform on your institution's cloud environment or on-premises servers. ibl.ai provides infrastructure-as-code templates for AWS, Azure, and GCP to accelerate provisioning.

  • Cloud account or on-premises server meeting minimum compute specs
  • Institutional IT administrator access
  • ibl.ai license and deployment package
2

Configure Ellucian Banner API Credentials

2-4 hours

Create a dedicated Banner API service account with read permissions for student, enrollment, course, and academic standing resources. Generate OAuth 2.0 credentials for secure MentorAI authentication.

  • Ellucian Banner 9.x or higher with Banner APIs enabled
  • Banner system administrator privileges
  • OAuth 2.0 client credentials
3

Connect Banner Data to MentorAI Context Engine

2-4 hours

Enter Banner API endpoint URLs and credentials into the MentorAI admin console. Configure data sync schedules for enrollment and academic history feeds. Run a validation sync to confirm data integrity.

  • Banner API base URL and credentials from Step 2
  • MentorAI admin console access
  • Network connectivity between MentorAI and Banner environments
4

Define and Deploy AI Mentoring Agents

1-3 days

Use the MentorAI agent builder to configure purpose-built agents for target courses or programs. Map Banner course codes to agent scopes so each agent is grounded in the correct academic context.

  • Course catalog and program data from Banner
  • Subject matter input from faculty or instructional designers
  • MentorAI agent configuration access
5

Enable SSO and Student Access

4-8 hours

Integrate MentorAI with your institutional identity provider (SAML 2.0 or OIDC) so students authenticate using their existing Banner-linked credentials. Configure access rules by enrollment status or cohort.

  • Institutional SSO provider (e.g., Shibboleth, Azure AD, Okta)
  • SAML 2.0 or OIDC metadata
  • Banner enrollment status attributes passed via SSO
6

Monitor, Audit, and Iterate

Ongoing

Use the MentorAI analytics dashboard to track engagement, session quality, and at-risk signals. Review FERPA audit logs and refine agent behavior based on student interaction data and faculty feedback.

  • MentorAI analytics dashboard access
  • Designated institutional AI administrator
  • Defined review cadence (recommended: monthly)

Capabilities Unlocked

Enrollment-Aware Personalization

MentorAI reads live Banner enrollment records to tailor every tutoring interaction to the student's actual courses, credit load, and academic standing — no manual configuration required.

Academic History Context

Agents access Banner academic history to understand prerequisite gaps and prior performance, enabling smarter scaffolding and targeted remediation for each learner.

Program and Degree Pathway Guidance

MentorAI uses Banner degree audit and program-of-study data to help students understand how current coursework connects to graduation requirements and career pathways.

At-Risk Early Identification

By combining Banner academic standing data with MentorAI engagement signals, institutions can surface at-risk students earlier and trigger proactive advisor outreach.

FERPA-Compliant Data Handling

All Banner student data is processed within the institution's own infrastructure. No student PII is transmitted to external AI vendors, ensuring full FERPA compliance by design.

Institution-Owned AI Agents

Unlike SaaS AI tools, MentorAI agents are deployed on institutional infrastructure. The institution owns the code, data, and model configurations — with zero vendor lock-in.

Enabled Use Cases

24/7 AI Tutoring for High-Enrollment Courses

Academic Affairs

Deploy MentorAI agents for gateway courses like College Algebra or Intro to Biology. Banner enrollment data scopes each agent to the correct course, giving every student on-demand tutoring support at scale.

Proactive At-Risk Student Intervention

Student Success / Advising

Combine Banner academic standing flags with MentorAI session data to automatically identify disengaged or struggling students. Advisors receive prioritized outreach lists before students withdraw.

Personalized Degree Planning Assistance

Registrar / Advising

MentorAI agents use Banner degree audit data to answer student questions about remaining requirements, course sequencing, and transfer credit — reducing advisor caseload for routine inquiries.

New Student Onboarding and Orientation

Enrollment Management

Provision MentorAI agents that guide newly enrolled students — identified via Banner — through orientation resources, financial aid deadlines, and first-semester course expectations.

Faculty-Aligned Course Support Agents

Faculty / Instruction

Faculty can configure MentorAI agents aligned to their Banner course sections, uploading syllabi and learning objectives so agents reinforce course-specific content and policies.

Technical Requirements

Ellucian Banner Requirements

  • Ellucian Banner 9.x or higher
  • Banner APIs (Ethos API or Banner REST APIs) enabled and accessible
  • Dedicated Banner service account with read access to student, enrollment, course, and academic standing resources
  • OAuth 2.0 client credentials configured in Banner
  • Network firewall rules permitting outbound API calls from MentorAI environment to Banner API endpoints

ibl.ai MentorAI Infrastructure Requirements

  • Cloud environment (AWS, Azure, or GCP) or on-premises servers meeting ibl.ai minimum compute specifications
  • Kubernetes cluster (managed or self-hosted) for agent orchestration
  • Institutional SSO provider supporting SAML 2.0 or OIDC
  • TLS 1.2+ for all data in transit
  • Persistent storage for learner context and audit logs (minimum 500 GB recommended for mid-size institutions)
  • ibl.ai MentorAI license and deployment credentials

Compliance and Security Requirements

  • FERPA data handling policy review and sign-off by institutional compliance officer
  • Data residency confirmation — all Banner PII must remain within institutional infrastructure boundaries
  • Role-based access control (RBAC) configured for MentorAI admin, faculty, and student roles
  • Audit logging enabled for all Banner data access events within MentorAI
  • Annual security review aligned with SOC 2 Type II controls

Frequently Asked Questions

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