Administrative Systems Upgrade
Iowa State University (ISU) has committed to a long range plan for improving and enhancing their administrative systems. In 2006, an assessment of the current state of the business processes for administrative systems was facilitated by consultants from the Exeter Group. The Exeter final report will influence ISU's strategic direction along with continual feedback from stakeholders from the campus community. The three core administrative systems are: financial management, human resource management, and student records. However, the upgrade may go beyond the core administrative systems, sometimes referred to as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
The first set of priorities include development of a university data warehouse, purchasing and implementing a customer relationship management system, enhancing the general ledger and chart of accounts capabilities, and enhancing the research administration systems capacity. Another significant aspect of the upgrade is moving to a contemporary technology platform. The plan is to use a Systems Oriented Architecture (SOA) and a Java development environment.
Roadmap
This high-level roadmap shows the major initiatives in the process of upgrading the administrative systems. The first set of priorities is identified in the solid box. The next phases will be evaluated as the first initiatives are completed and the environment is re-evaluated.
Benefits
- The roadmap supports the university's strategic direction of implementing the RMM of budgeting.
- Recruiting students is a top priority for the university in an increasingly competitive market.
- Implementing a General Ledger/Chart of Accounts is foundational for moving to a new ERP environment and is the least disruptive.
- Research administration supports the vital role of research for the university.
- A contemporary technology platform will bring new capabilities and reduce the risk for sustainability based on the skills of the emerging work force. SOA is the direction for new administrative systems.
Leadership
- Vice Provost for IT & CIO will coordinate the project planning and implementation process as directed by the Executive Vice President & Provost.
- Departments having the responsibility as data stewards and business process owners.
Investments
- In September 2006, the President's Budget Advisory Committee approved a proposal to move forward with a measured, steady commitment to improve our administrative systems over the next 15-20 years with an annual commitment of approximately $2M.
Key Links
- Kuali Foundation
- Service Oriented Architecture
- Administrative System Review (July 2007) [DOC]
- EDUCAUSE Midwest Regional Presentation [PPT]
Contact
Recent Accomplishments
- Iowa State University becomes a member of the Kuali Foundation.
- The Cognos BI tools were purchased for the data warehouse initiative.
