Students at The University of Memphis may no longer have totruck across campus carrying one piece of paper from one office tothe next to get all the right people to sign for financial aiddisbursement or class credit transferal.
Eliminating the need for this process is just one of the ways anenterprise resource planning system (ERP), a database capable oflinking all of the departments at The U of M, will benefit studentsin the future.
"For the most part, where we will touch people in the mostobvious ways is a replacement of the current administrative systemsand the conjoining of shared data between those systems andacademic support systems," said John Wasileski, associate vicepresident of Information Operating Systems.
The new system will help make Memphis a "digital campus" withcapabilities other universities have already successfullyimplemented, Wasileski added.
"We have reached a stage here at The University of Memphis withour current software that we can no longer support what we need todo -- the systems just simply won't support them," he said.
The change is needed because the current administrative systemis outdated and in need of an overhaul that will benefit students,faculty and administrators, Wasileski said.
"It is like looking at the tires on your car and saying, 'Youknow what? Those tires are pretty bald. But I think I'll take that500 mile drive anyway,'" Wasileski said.
The new system will look more like the Web pages of Yahoo andMSN, with more choices and accessibility, as opposed to the currentlook of Tigerweb.
"All students are coming here now with experiences in Yahoo andplaces like that, and you will be able to build these portals foryourself where you can see exactly what you want," Wasileskisaid.
The current system does not function in a way that allowsinformation sharing by separate departments at The University,which can cause major problems.
"We keep information on people in every system," Wasileski said."Those are all separate files kept on people, and it is impossibleto keep all the data in those files synchronized."
The new system will be able to link all the individualdepartments at The University in one database. This will make iteasier for students to change information and access information 24hours a day as opposed to the current system, which has to be takenoffline to update changes and information.
"One of the main reasons we are going to an ERP system isbecause it uses a single database," Wasileski said.
Currently, professors at The U of M are being asked to help theprocess by evaluating the current system and suggesting ways toimprove the system.
One way the ERP will benefit professors is by enabling them touse the WebCT program more efficiently.
"It gets some information from the student system, but if wereplace the student system with a more robust system like an ERP,it will feed WebCT more rich information, making it easier forfaculty members to manage their classes," Wasileski said.
Currently, there is one executive committee and four teams ofUniversity staffers working on the project, with hopes of beginningthe process of implementation as soon as the Tennessee Board ofRegents approves the plans.
