ERP Project

A Little History...

Our current administrative computer system (AMIS) began its life more than 23 years ago. It was entirely designed, developed, and written by members of our ITS College staff, several of whom are with us today. It originally consisted of our Student system, Financial system, and a Personnel system.

Over the years the system has been modified and enhanced to continue to meet the changing needs of the College and the community it serves.

Time for an Upgrade

In 1998 the College determined that we needed to move to a newer, more technically advanced and fully integrated computer system to better serve the College community. We purchased the PeopleSoft suite of products to accomplish this goal.

Over the course of the next 2 years we implemented the PeopleSoft Human Resources and Payroll systems to meet the challenges of the Y2K century changes, and the growing needs of the College.

After stabilizing our Human Resource implementation, we turned our attention to the Student and Financial implementation efforts. After considerable analysis and contact with other colleges who were also implementing the PeopleSoft systems, we determined that implementing the Student and Financial components of the PeopleSoft ERP would be too costly for the College, and the project was stopped.

In 2002, as part of our NCA (North Central Accreditation) self study effort, it was again noted that the condition of our Student application was impacting the College’s ability to accomplish its strategic goals. Recommendations in the NCA report included a proposal to re-engineer our current legacy system onto a new technology platform using new tools and presenting the Student system in a new, more windows-like structure. We began exploratory work on this effort, but the project was not approved to move forward.

Our current leadership has acknowledged the replacement of our aging legacy systems as one of the primary objectives of the College today. As proof of that commitment, we are embarking on a multi-year effort to define, select, and implement an ERP system that will enable us to better meet the challenges the College faces.

RFP for ERP System Released

On May 4th 2007, Yavapai College released an RFP for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.  The RFP contained both YC’s functional and technical requirements and asked prospective vendors  to explain how their product met our criteria.  Four companies submitted proposals and where thoroughly reviewed and scored by roughly fifty college staff.  Two finalists (Datatel and Sungard) were selected based on our predefined scoring methodology.  In addition, an ERP review committee conducted about 20 client reference checks in this process.

RFP for ERP Project Management Released

In June of 2007, an RFP was released for the project management of the ERP project.  The vendor selected during this process will assist us in choosing the ERP system that best fits YC, negotiates the contract with the chosen ERP vendor, and will act as the project manager representing the College during the implementation process.

Strata Information Group, a higher education consulting firm, submitted a proposal and was selected to help YC throughout the purchasing and implementation process.

Sungard Banner Selected for ERP System

In December of 2007, Sungard Banner was formally announced as YC’s partner for an ERP system and services provided.  This decision came after the two ERP software finalists, Sungard Banner and Datatel Colleague, each completed more than a full week of presentations.  The format of those presentations allowed each functional area of the College to score each vendor based on the same criteria.  Sungard was unanimously favored by all of the functional groups.

Learn more about:
Project History   Project Description   Project Schedule