Administrative applications changing for next generation
As Vanderbilt puts in place the strategic tools that it will need for
the 21st century, these must include the core information resources that
will allow the University to effectively and efficiently deliver information-based
services to its various constituencies. While the University has automated
a wide range of processes over the years, there has not been any overall
system that brings much common Vanderbilt data together into one integrated
approach to managing institutional information. Over the past several months,
the University has taken several steps to begin to create this integrated
institutional information resource.
The University has begun an overarching activity whose goal is to understand
how the University community uses data and to discern the interdependence
of processes that depend on this data. The outcome will be a logical view
of the basic elements of information at the University, their mutual relationships,
and how they are and can be used. This will provide the framework for all
future information systems implementations.
Concurrent with creating this framework, the University has made plans
to acquire a suite of new administrative applications from PeopleSoft Inc.
These applications include a new Human Resource System, a Financial Information
System and a Student Information System. There are a number of compelling
reasons for acquiring these systems at the present time. While the University's
current systems have served it well over the years, they were generally
designed to support central users of information in functional areas such
as financial reporting, student administration and human resources. The
new systems will support the community at large and are designed to allow
members of the community to access appropriate information directly without
having to rely on someone in an intermediate office finding and delivering
it to them. Thus a student will be able to check on the status of his or
her personal financial aid without having to contact the Financial Aid Office.
Additionally, a faculty member and student will be able to call up the student's
transcript and degree program during an advising session. Similarly, employee
benefit information will be available electronically and we will be able
to to conduct open enrollment online. Finally, prinicipal investigators
will have much better online financial information that will assist them
in managing their grants more efficiently.
Another component of the decision process is the Year 2000 problem. Simply
described, many computer programs and equipment were developed using a two
digit "year." Think of the many forms that one fills out with
mm/dd/yy format. In 2000, the yy will become 00 and computer programs will
consider that to be 1900 and subsequent calculations will be incorrect.
All businesses must deal with this issue and some will invest substantial
funds in updating older systems just to solve this problem while maintaining
current functionality. Alternatively, they can buy new systems, which are
designed not to have the Year 2000 problem and also offer new capabilities
such as those above. Vanderbilt has chosen to take this opportunity to buy
new systems designed for the '90s and beyond, as have many of our peer institutions.
Implementing these systems will require a careful investigation of processes
at Vanderbilt. This will give the University community the opportunity to
examine how various activities take place and there will be an opportunity
to make them occur more efficiently using these new information management
tools if appropriate. Some of this investigation has already taken place
with student processes, and human resource processes are now being studied.
It will take up to three years to initially install and adapt these systems
to meet Vanderbilt's needs. Continued enhancements will occur over time.
The Human Resource System should be the first in operation. Thereafter,
the Financial Information System and the Student Information System will
become available for use.
p;Donald Spicer, associate provost for information technology
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This document created May 22, 1997
HTML Translation by Billy Kingsley