The Land Grant University for the 21st Century
Washington State University - Agency 365
2010 Supplemental Operating
Budget Request
Student Information Systems
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Updated Nov 2, 2009
Agency
Recommendation Summary:
Washington State University is seeking $15 million in one-time funding for
urgent replacement of its crippled core Student Information Systems (SIS) that
serve all its campuses and distance degree programs. Many of these systems are
30-40 years old. These computer systems are antiquated and failing, putting in
jeopardy university functions for students including admissions, registration,
financial aid, advising, transcripts and collection of tuition. WSU has been
working with the Department of Information Services and the Information Services
Board on this issue for more than 18 months. On October 17, 2008 (more than one
year ago) the Office of Financial Management approved the financial components
of the new student information system.
But recent developments this fall indicate the problem is even more
severe than identified 18 months ago and cast serious doubt whether this system
can adequately perform essential university functions until a new system is
brought online. WSU believes it has a responsibility to begin building a new
system this year so that a replacement system will be fully operational in 18 to
24 months.
Fiscal Details:
The following fiscal details are WSU estimates for purchase
and implementation of the student system in this current national financial
climate. Actual costs may vary based on the results from the formal request for
proposal process:
Narrative Justification and Impact Statement:
The concern over replacement of the Core Student Information Systems is
heightened and verified by these recent developments:
·
Last August, 2009 – The web programs that provide student functions such as
registration, class schedules and financial aid failed and were unavailable for
four days during the busiest time of the year. This was the week before classes
when both parents and students were on campus preparing for the current fall
semester. The downtime caused major chaos and confusion for students and parents
since many of them were forced to stand in line and wait for hours to get their
information. Since the student systems are centralized in Pullman and provide
support to all WSU campuses, the failure also impacted students and their
families at WSU Spokane, WSU Tri-Cities and WSU Vancouver. The current system is
running on a “patch” with many of its services turned off in order to prepare
for the spring and fall of 2010.
·
2008 – There were 248 errors and 87 web failures that created problems
throughout the year and impacted many critical student services.
·
Fall
2006 – A system crash in the fall of 2006 prevented processing of tuition
payments and prevented faculty from communicating class assignments.
The crippled student information system is a substantial risk to the entire WSU
community. Students and parents depend on its applications to access all of
their student teaching and learning functions, and the University requires these
same systems to enroll students and receive tuition payment.
Without a stable, reliable and robust system WSU will have to return to
old, archaic, tedious, manual methods of standing to process transactions and
services. Future failures of this system will likely prevent student access to
essential services 24 hours per day, every day. It will require students and/or
parents to be physically present during certain hours at campus offices and wait
in long lines to complete registration, financial aid, etc.
The risk to the university was documented and verified by the Northwest
Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). This year the commission did
its 10-year review of WSU and reaffirmed its accreditation. But the commission
named core computing systems as one of only three serious areas of concern and
“in need of improvement.”
The
commission indicated they will revisit the issue in 2010.
Current core student systems are based on 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 “off-the-shelf” systems available through vendors who specialize in these
services. While old, the core student systems are complex and essential to the
university’s basic operation. WSU has over fifty external systems, most of which
have been developed in-house and which are linked to these core student systems.
These systems require considerable maintenance of software interfaces 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. WSU
hired a nationally-recognized professional consultant to evaluate the system and
the report indicates:
·
80% of WSU’s core student services applications may be may need to be fully
replaced or undergo substantial change as they do not provide full support for
the identified requirements and are built on obsolete technology.
Examples include recruitment,
admissions, student financials, and student advising.
·
Fewer than 10% of the applications may be candidates for functional enhancement
as they are built on flexible, scalable technologies. Examples include Oracle
document imaging, and management of international student information.
·
More than 70% of the applications indicate limited ability to meet future
requirements and demonstrate lack of adaptability and scalability due to the old
technology they are based on.
New core systems are a combination of new enterprise computing software and
business practices working together to perform these vital 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 positively impact virtually everyone associated with the
University: students, their families, faculty, and staff supporting students.
The new system 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. It
will make the university more accountable to state government, families, and the
public as it will be easier to glean specific types of data from the system.
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.
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
·
Catalog course
management and class scheduling
·
Student accounts ( tied to registration, admissions, and financial aid)
·
Work study and student employment management
·
Health and Safety
The benefits of installing the
new system WSU is proposing 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
recruitment to admission to learning to graduation through integration of
applications regardless
of location
·
Modern, integrated student systems
software will be more easily integrated with the State’s definition of common
systems for payroll and human resources
·
Secure
online personal computer access to information 24 hours per day, seven days per
week
·
Easy management of course
information, rosters, and grading
·
Streamlined administrative processes,
reduced paperwork and increased staff productivity
·
Ensured compliance with requirements
from outside agencies, including those focused on international scholars
Funding Requests:
WSU requests $15M to implement
the student information system, of which $6M is for equipment (initial servers,
hardware equipment and software) that could be appropriated as capital funds, as
necessary.
Alternatives:
The University considered
alternative approaches to replacing core student systems
including:
·
converting old code to a new language
·
building new systems in-house
·
outsourcing or hosting
·
a hybrid approach combining in-house
development and purchasing components
·
taking no action
None of these alternatives are
viable; pursuing any of the alternatives perpetuates the existing problems.
Other types of core
administrative systems, such as those that handle payroll and finance, may be
shared among different agencies and institutions within the state. WSU is
exploring those options and is willing to be part of a shared solution. But as
student systems tend to be unique to each higher education institution, they
should be tailored to meet each institution’s needs.
Calculations:
$6M
of equipment for the initial servers, hardware equipment and software could be
appropriated as capital funds, as necessary.
For more information, contact Larry Ganders, Assistant to
the WSU President,
Olympia, at 360-534-2333
