The Web-based system, based on Oracle Corp.'s PeopleSoft Enterprise 8 software, is known as ConnectND and handles academic tasks such as grant and contracts management, as well as payroll and human resources functions.
The effort to date has been "a train wreck," said Gerald Groenewold, director of the University of North Dakota 's Energy and Environmental Research Center, which develops energy-efficient and environmental technologies. The nonprofit group, based on the Grand Forks campus, relies on ConnectND for its operations.
"The old systems had Band-Aids, but they worked," Groenewold said. "Just give me something that works. [ConnectND] has cost our organization a phenomenal amount of money to try and implement."
The financials software is at times unable to quickly provide account balances to customers, said Groenewold -- a task that once took minutes now can take weeks. So far, the installation has cost his organization about US$500,000 and still costs about $15,000 a month. "To say I'm frustrated would be a significant understatement," he said.
Unique application
University officials noted that the full ConnectND application is unique because its core ERP applications are also used by North Dakota state agencies. The ConnectND financial and human resources applications are housed in the state government data center in Bismarck, and the student management applications are hosted in facilities on the university system's Grand Forks campus.
ConnectND has cost the state an estimated $49 million -- $14 million more than originally projected -- and the implementation remains incomplete. Officials did not break out the cost of the university system's portion of the project but blamed problems with that piece for the cost overruns and delays.
State Rep. Bob Skarphol, a member of the state legislature's IT committee, said the ConnectND system was first projected to cost about $35 million, and the rollout was originally slated for completion two years ago. "Obviously, we probably underestimated the costs," said Skarphol, who noted that he had expected a smoother rollout from an IT operation at an academic body.
He added that the state government's rollout of the PeopleSoft software has been mostly smooth.
The academic software modules, particularly a grants and contracts management application, also did not perform as expected and have required extensive customization, said Laura Glatt, vice chancellor of administrative affairs at the Bismarck-based university system. "Things are not working as intended, but much of that is due to the fact we tried to implement too aggressively with too little resources," Glatt said.
The ConnectND project was launched in 2001, when PeopleSoft was selected to supply the ERP and academic software. The academic applications, many of which were Web-based, were to replace a set of legacy applications that included internally developed and mainframe-based packaged software, Glatt said. The systemwide rollout of the PeopleSoft academic applications was started in April 2003, she said.
Glatt said she anticipates that the full rollout will be completed within 18 months. She noted that an academic progress application still needs refinement, the portal requires enhancement, and query and reporting capabilities must be expanded.
Glatt said university officials now cite the lack of an executive to oversee the project full time as a key reason for the implementation problems. "The major mistake from Day One was not to have a full-time project manager," she said. The first full-time overseer of the project starts work this month along with a new systemwide CIO.
Meanwhile, state government users are pleased with the system, said Mike Ressler, deputy CIO for North Dakota. "This is a first time state government and academic institution shared the implementation of one system, and we've gotten huge benefits from that," he said. "It's substantially cheaper than if we had bought them individually."
In an e-mail, Jim McGlothlin, Oracle vice president for higher eduction applications sales, said, "The project faced some complexity in an effort to meet [the] customized computing needs of the university. Oracle has not been the primary implementer of the project [but is] committed to working hand in hand with [the university system] to help them realize benefits in their technology investments."