Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Software Review
A Look at Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions 9.0
4/30/2007
Boise State University is the largest university in Idaho with more than 18,000 students. Though perhaps best known for our football team's blue turf and dramatic win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, the university is also recognized for its strengths in geophysics, raptor biology, engineering, set theory, nanotechnology, biomolecular research, forensics, international relations, and other areas, and is well on its way toward becoming a metropolitan research university of distinction.As at any university, technology plays an important role in supporting all aspects of Boise State's mission. The university's 1995 Strategic Plan established as a strategic priority the replacement of disparate, legacy administrative computing systems with an integrated ERP system to handle critical business needs. Since the late 1990s, Boise State University has worked with Oracle/PeopleSoft to implement applications that help us better serve our constituents while improving administrative efficiency.
Boise State’s Implementation History
After a false start with the soon-defunct TRG system in 1996, the University selected PeopleSoft in 1997. We went live on PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management and PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Capital Management in July 1998, followed by a phased implementation of the Student Administration system (now Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions) between September 1998 and March 1999. The student system was a brand new product at that time, so we were among the earliest pioneers in adopting it--and then in upgrading almost immediately to version 7.6, in February 2000.
The first highly visible benefits of the PeopleSoft implementation appeared in October 2000 with the implementation of BroncoWeb, our Web-based, self service student registration system. As we had never before had any form of self service registration, this was a huge step forward. Over the next several years, we expanded the system’s functionality to include financial aid, billing and payment, degree audit, employee and faculty self service, and other features. The success of this effort was reflected in the fact that in a survey of our graduating seniors, BroncoWeb received the highest satisfaction ratings among all University services.
Working with the Higher Education User Group
Boise State has always been characterized by an entrepreneurial but collegial spirit, and its Oracle/PeopleSoft experience has reflected that. Though preferring to avoid modifications and customizations where possible, we found that there were many places where they were needed in order to realize the full potential of the system and to give users the features and clarity they deserved. So we made those modifications--and shared many of them freely with other Oracle/PeopleSoft institutions through the Higher Education User Group (HEUG).
The HEUG is a remarkably effective, independent, non-profit organization that represents the interests of all institutions of higher education that use Oracle/PeopleSoft applications.
Recommended Reading
- Georgia Tech Helps Develop Web-based Tool To Improve Blood Supply
The Georgia Tech College of Computing, working in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has developed a Web-based tool for tracking blood safety. The program is expected to help developing countries improve the adequacy and safety of their national blood supplies through better monitoring and evaluation.
- Mississippi State Implements Reflex Virtual Management Center
Mississippi State University has implemented Reflex VMC (Virtual Management Center) from Reflex Systems. The application allows IT administrators to monitor a virtual infrastructure and enforce business and IT policies.
- Stanford Law School Launches IP Litigation Clearinghouse
The Law, Science & Technology Program at Stanford Law School has launched the Intellectual Property Litigation Clearinghouse (IPLC), an online database that offers comprehensive information about intellectual property (IP) disputes within the United States.
- Texas A&M Health Science Center Adopts Banner Administrative Management
The Texas A&M Health Science Center has selected the Banner Unified Digital Campus (UDC) from Sungard Higher Education to help unify its geographically-dispersed community and to enhance and expand services and communications to its growing student enrollment.
- NCCC: Data Cleansing Key To Managing Growth
Community colleges are in a good spot in some ways during the economic downturn, as tight family budgets drive up the appeal of the community college option. But along with the rest of higher education, most community colleges also face shrinking IT budgets and tighter resources. That makes it that much harder to handle the growing enrollment numbers that some community colleges are seeing.
- Finjan: Layoffs Could Drive IT People To Become Cyber-Criminals
Security vendor Finjan predicts that the current economic downturn could herald a sharp rise in cybercrime during 2009--driven by the rise in the number of IT people being laid off. According to a report from the company's Malicious Code Research Center (MCRC), more unemployed IT personnel will be tempted to seek "new and easy income by purchasing and using crimeware toolkits that are sold by professional hackers."
