The Land Grant University for the 21st Century
Washington State University - Agency 365
2009-2011 Operating Budget
Request
Performance Level Decision Package
– Policy Level "CC"
Core Computing Systems- Phase 1,
Student Systems
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version
Updated
Aug. 25, 2008
Agency
Recommendation Summary:
This is a request to replace the core student computing systems that support
critical functions like admissions, financial aid, grades, learning systems,
transcripts, and bill payment for approximately 24,000 Washington State
University students at all campuses.
Current student systems are about 30 years old and not designed to provide the
services of a world-class research university. In fact, the systems were near
failure during the start of the 2006-2007 academic year. When the system went
down, WSU was unable to communicate class assignments or process tuition
payments.
These aging student systems need to be replaced to provide sustainable, robust
processes, data and tools necessary for the University to enhance
competitiveness in higher education and to provide the State of Washington with
outstanding service, agency reporting at all levels, and enhanced
accountability. WSU proposes a
replacement system that
“standards-based,”
meaning it is a system that will interoperate with other systems such as SAP,
Oracle, and Sunguard/Banner. Once complete, this will be a system that serves
the needs of students, WSU and state government for decades to come.
Other types of core administrative systems, such as those that handle payroll
and finance, may be shared among different agencies and institutions. WSU is
exploring those options and is willing to be part of a shared solution. But
student systems tend to be unique to higher education and should be tailored to
each institution’s needs.
Fiscal Details:
Narrative Justification and Impact Statement:
Current
student core systems as well as payroll, human resources, and financial systems,
are old 1970’s
technology and are no longer able to provide the level of service required to
serve students, faculty, staff, support personnel, the public, and the State of
Washington. These systems require an extraordinary amount of maintenance and
reprogramming compared to modern systems. For example, WSU has over fifty
external systems, most of which have been developed in-house and which are
linked to student systems. These systems
require considerable maintenance of software interfaces and to ensure accurate
and synchronized data transfers. The archaic nature of the core student systems
places them at risk for a prolonged period of shutdown in the event of an
emergency or a disaster.
New core
student systems will provide the following high level functions with the
necessary reliability, integration, reporting, and ease of use:
·
Recruitment and retention
·
Admissions
·
registration
(academic history and awards - transcripts, degree management)
·
Enrollment
Management
·
Financial
aid packaging and delivery
·
Advising
·
Loan
processing
·
Housing
and dining
·
Catalog course management and class scheduling
·
Student accounts (tied to registration, admissions,
and financial aid),
·
Recreation activities,
·
Work
study and students employment management
·
Health
and safety
·
Faculty
teaching load analysis,
·
Event
management,
·
Library
·
Learning
resources.
The benefits of installing a new system include:
·
More efficient, effective,
robust, and timely business processes and transactions
·
Accurate, consistent, and
readily available data for internal planning and reporting to the state and
other agencies
·
Ability
to drill down into data for targeted analysis
·
Improved controls for privacy and security purposes
·
Ability to leverage newer technology for redundancy and disaster recovery
·
Self service and personalized access to information
·
Ability to track graduation requirements
·
Better
student experience from admission to learning to graduation through integration
of applications regardless of location
·
Reduce software maintenance and development costs and economies of scale
·
Reduce reliance on in-house technical staff
·
Modern, integrated student software is more easily integrated with the State’s
definition of common systems for payroll and human resources
·
Faculty can easily manage
course information, rosters, and grading, and advise students
·
Streamlines administrative
processes, reduces paperwork and increases staff productivity
·
Keeps the institution in
compliance with requirements from outside agencies, including those focused on
international scholars
Funding
Requests:
This
$16M
operating budget request consists of $2.1M of on-going funding per year
and $11.8 M in one-time funds for the biennium.
Permanent
operating funds of $2.1 million per year are requested to provide staffing and
support for the student systems. This funding will also support hardware and
software maintenance and system upgrades.
One-time
operating funding of $11.8 million is requested for project consultation,
training, ten full-time equivalent project personnel and benefits, and temporary
staffing for data entry prior to system conversion.
In
addition to the $16M requested herein, WSU is also requesting one-time capital funds, via its capital budget request, of $8 million. These funds
will be used to purchase computer servers and other hardware and products to
integrate data and student functions integral to the system replacement.
Alternatives
not viable:
The
University considered alternative approaches to replacing core student systems.
Alternatives included converting old code to a new language, building new
systems in-house, outsourcing or hosting, a hybrid approach to do in-house
development and purchase some components, or do nothing. None of these
alternatives are viable; pursuing any of
the alternatives perpetuates existing problems.
New core systems
are a combination of new enterprise computing software and business practices
working together to perform university functions. These new core systems are a
software suite that contains products designed to integrate data and business
functions across campuses, colleges, departments and offices.
These systems will run off a single database so that departments can
easily share information and communicate more efficiently.
Once implemented, this suite will affect everyone associated with the
University and will make data management more accurate, convenient, and easier
to access.
The additional
functional and technical capabilities and increased efficiencies of new core
student systems will support WSU in its primary mission as a multi-campus public
institution serving the State of Washington and beyond. The new system will be
implemented with a strong
focus on business process improvement, organizational and cultural change
management, risk management, project and budget accountability, and the
efficient use of funds.
Calculations:
For more information, contact
Larry Ganders, Assistant to the WSU President, Olympia, at 360-534-2333
