UQ selects new student administration system
After a nine-month evaluation process, the University of Queensland has selected a new student administration software package to be implemented over the next two years.
University Secretary and Registrar Douglas Porter said the University was negotiating contract details for the purchase of the PeopleSoft Student Administration System to replace the University's current Student Information System.
"It's a strategically important decision for the University and is intended to meet our student system needs well into the next millennium," he said.
"The PeopleSoft package came very close to meeting the University's functional requirements and system-wide needs and is already being implemented in a number of large research-intensive universities in Australia and North America."
The U.S. software package was selected from two Australian and two North American shortlisted contenders.
PeopleSoft Student Administration is being implemented by almost 200 universities worldwide, including Michigan, Cornell, the University of California and Vanderbilt University in North America and the University of New South Wales, Australian National University, and the University of Adelaide in Australia.
Student 2000 project manger Maureen Bowen said the system would underpin most major aspects of a student's relationships with the University, from recruitment, admissions and enrolments through to managing records, results and graduations.
"PeopleSoft will replace our current in-house system which is not flexible enough to accommodate an ever-changing higher education environment," she said.
"Our current system was developed in the late 1980s in the two-semester era before the introduction of multiple overlapping semesters and before the widespread use of the Internet for both academic and administrative purposes. Tertiary education, including the way courses are structured and delivered, has changed dramatically over the last decade and our core administrative systems need to cater for that change."
She said the new system, which had the flexibility to cope with such developments, would be ready for student enrolments in January 2001.
"Because we have already developed a World Wide Web front-end for our current system (SI-Net) students may not be aware initially that the underlying system has changed," Mrs Bowen said.
University community in a number of key areas, including the tracking of students' academic progress against award rules, improved workflow facilities, and better reporting capabilities.
Vice President of PeopleSoft Asia Pacific Murray Creighton said the company had invested significantly in designing a student administration system that met the specific needs of Australian universities. This included working with business partner Andersen Consulting, and also liaising with Australian universities.
"Providing universities like UQ with a totally integrated business and administrative system that meets government reporting requirements for HECS and the University Admissions Centre will deliver reduced costs and improved information management," he said.
Mrs Bowen said the University had acknowledged the strategic importance of this project by allocating funding to buy and implement the new system. The entire project is expected to cost between $5 and $7 million over the next two years.
The University has engaged Andersen Consulting to assist with the first phase of implementation, an intensive planning study due to start after Easter. Anderson Consulting worked with PeopleSoft in localising the student administration product for the Australian-New Zealand environment.
For project enquiries, contact Mrs Bowen (07) 3365-1479 or email m.bowen@mailbox.uq.edu.au.
For media enquiries, contact UQ Secretary and Registrar Douglas Porter telephone (07) 3365 1310 or Maureen Bowen, (07) 3365-1479, Sarah Murphy, PeopleSoft, (02) 9413 0249 or Rebecca Haire, Recognition PR, (02) 9719-8855.
