President Vailas signs contract for Enterprise Applications System

Idaho State University President Arthur C. Vailas was in Twin Falls on Thursday, Aug. 9, to sign contracts with SunGard Higher Education for new enterprise applications software for ISU.

These contracts will provide both software and consulting services for the implementation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. This ERP system, which will take three years to fully implement, will coordinate all financial services, human resources/payroll, student information and financial aid for the university.

SunGard Higher Education’s Banner system is an industry-leading computer system in use at more than 800 colleges and universities around the country, including the University of Idaho.

“We are excited to be starting this important project,” stated David Alexander, ISU ERP Project Manager. “By integrating all services into a single system, we will be able to enhance services for students and improve efficiency for university operations.”

ERP reflects key developments that will be utilized by students.

“The implementation of the new ERP system represents an exciting and necessary technology change on our campus,” said Jennifer Brown, Associated Students of ISU president. “It will bring all student computing needs to one location making it faster, easier and more efficient to conduct business. I think the university has made a good selection and I’m excited to see the different modules come online.”

ISU has contracted with Sun Microsystems to provide new hardware for this system. This new system will replace the current system that has been developed over the years by ISU staff. While it has served the university very well, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain and enhance this system as demands for functionality become more complex.

“We have been working towards this day for several years,” reports Randy Gaines, chief information officer at ISU. “Our current software runs on an aging computer system and needs to be replaced to provide the services students expect from our university.”

More than 100 university staff will be involved in the implementation effort over the next three years, as information and internal business processes are migrated to the new system. Throughout the project, university operations will be maintained and moved to the new system in phases. The entire project will be guided by a 16-member leadership team of ISU faculty, staff and students, and by consultants from SunGard Higher Education.

“We are excited to get this project underway. Many challenges await us, but the opportunities for improved services are great. We can hardly wait to begin showing them to the ISU community,” Alexander said.

For additional information, contact Alexander at (208) 282-3882 or alexdavi@isu.edu. Additional information can also be found at the ERP Project Web site at http://www.isu.edu/erp.