Implementation Problems at Universities

ERP systems are attractive to universities for the same reasons that they are attractive to business organizations: control, accurate information, and centralized systems, all in real time. However, implementing ERP systems at universities has posed some unique problems. By nature, universities are not integrated organizations. Each department operates separately and autonomously, so trying to tie everyone together is difficult enough. Furthermore, university IT personnel are not as experienced as those in large companies, implementations are often rushed, and testing and training often have been inadequate. Universities have been attracted to ERP systems since the mid-1990s, when their legacy systems were unable to keep up with increasing technology demands. There were too many legacy systems to maintain, and new systems couldn’t be developed in-house because of a lack of staff and experience; ERP seemed like a good alternative. PeopleSoft aggressively marketed to universities and by the end of 2004 had 730 installations in colleges and universities. Some universities have had a particularly difficult time with implementation. Stanford University began its PeopleSoft implementation in 2001. Stanford users complain that completing tasks takes longer than it did prior to the ERP system installation, while the university’s IT department complains that the new system is more expensive to support than the prior system. Users at Stanford have been hesitant to adopt the new system, and many of those who are using it are requesting further customization. Lacking widespread use at this stage, the installation of this multimillion dollar system cannot be considered a complete success. Most of the problems related to the PeopleSoft installation are people problems; as with many corporate ERP implementations, the university and its IT department are coping with a tight budget and, consequently, providing little training. Although training was offered to the users, few participated. The University of Massachusetts’s PeopleSoft system was down for four days during the critical drop/add period in 2004, leaving 24,000 students in the lurch. The glitch was traced to a lack of testing. Cleveland State sued PeopleSoft because the college’s software was “unusable” and the university had to install an alternative software package to process accounts receivables. In February 2005, Oracle, which now owns PeopleSoft, settled the suit for $4.25 million. The University of Delaware has taken a slow approach to its PeopleSoft implementation. The first department to use the software was HR, for payroll. The university chose HR because the department is small. The next phase for the implementation was the university-wide financials. The last phase, and the largest phase, has been the student records. There have been a few hiccups, as in all implementations, but in general, it has gone smoothly.

Question:

1. Research the PeopleSoft corporation, and explain why its software is an attractive ERP package for higher education.