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.

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