03-05-2012, 10:44 AM
STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT PROJECT
Project Charter.doc (Size: 830 KB / Downloads: 42)
Executive Summary
The purpose of this document is to provide information to University decision makers regarding the need for a project to select and implement a system to replace the University of Colorado’s Student Information System (SIS). The executive summary provides historical information on SIS, describes why a replacement is needed, and defines the high-level need, objectives and scope for a possible replacement project.
The sections following the executive summary outline proposed project governance, project management strategies and controls that CU can use in the course of a phased replacement project.
Introduction
The Student Information System (SIS) has served the University of Colorado’s needs since 1988. SIS is the authoritative system of record for core student data including, but not limited to Admissions, Advising, Student Records, Student Billing and Receivables and Financial Aid. Over 4,000 administrators, faculty and staff from all CU campuses use SIS (or SIS data through other downstream systems) to support their academic and administrative needs; and more than 60,000 students have direct web-based access to SIS, using self-service applications to assist them with their student administrative needs. The Student Information System is one of the most mission-critical systems for the University of Colorado.
The University of Colorado is one of 22 institutions of higher education that implemented a version of SIS that runs on the Computer Associates Integrated Data Management System (CA IDMS) platform. This data management system, or database system, was designed to run on IBM mainframe computers, and the combination was a strong choice in the mid 1980s, when this version of SIS was selected and implemented at CU.
Both technology and the needs of higher education have changed considerably in 20 years. Recognizing that CU’s needs were outstripping the capabilities of SIS, University Management Systems (UMS), in consultation with current SIS users at CU, undertook a project to extend the life and functionality of SIS in 1998. This project had the support of SCT (the vendor for SIS), and achieved significant success. However, even then it was apparent that this solution was not a viable long-term strategy.
By 2002-2003, vendors for the SIS application, and for the core technical infrastructure it relies were moving away from supporting this type of application. Specifically,
• Computer Associates (CA, the database vendor) was “deemphasizing” support for IDMS in favor of newer technologies, and
• SCT (the vendor of the SIS application) had plans to discontinue support of SIS in favor of newer product lines.
• Other software support tools critical to the operation of SIS on the mainframe are ending their lifecycle and will become less reliable or expensive to replace.
During 2004, CU system and campus academic staff conducted preliminary interviews and research to determine the need for, and feasibility of, a SIS replacement. This effort developed greater urgency in June of 2004, when SCT announced that they would discontinue support for this version of SIS in 2009. Further, the retirement of core technical staff presents CU with even a more significant risk than loss of SCT support because CU relies more heavily on the expertise in UMS than on SCT support. Because of core SIS technologies are no longer mainstream, there is no pool of qualified people from which to recruit, nor are there any training classes to train new staff.
These interviews also made clear the fact that SIS is not keeping up with the needs of its users, or the broader demands of higher education in the internet age. SIS is a “back office, batch driven, expert user” system that requires training and experience to use, and in which the data used to make decisions can be days or weeks old. Today’s students (and other users) expect 24 hour a day, 7 day a week access to information, and they expect to see near real-time data. Current off- the-shelf systems offer near-real time, 24x7 access, and allow a much broader audience including back office administrative staff, faculty and students to all have access to the information they need through intuitive web-based pages.
SIS has provided CU good service over 20 years, and the University has extended SIS’s operational lifetime through several internal initiatives, such as the 1998 project mentioned above. However, the system’s operational lifetime is nearing its end, with a known cutoff of support in 2009. Any project involving a system this complex, and with this many functions and users will require several years to define, plan and implement. CU must begin considering replacements now.
SIS Replacement Options
The SIS Governance group considered options for a potential SIS replacement, which include:
Continue to use the existing application after vendor support is discontinued. CU staff would maintain and extend the application, as they have done in past. However, as noted above, the application, database and operating system technologies are all becoming outdated, and will not be updated or improved by their respective vendors. Further, the pool of technical staff with skills in these technologies is shrinking, and there are no courses offered by vendors to train new staff. SIS is an enterprise system at CU, and the risk of a significant system failure is simply too high to consider this option.