Estate tax money to cover university tech upgrades

Monday, May 16, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

University system officials will likely use $15 million of their estate tax money to cover some technology upgrades, including $10 million toward a new integrated information system, Assistant Chancellor Trudy Larson said Friday.

The proposed data system is essential to providing accurate, immediate data for both individual institutions and the University and Community College System of Nevada as a whole, said Becky Seibert, interim vice chancellor for technology.

The goal is to integrate all of the software programs for human resources, finance and administration, student services and financial aid into one operating system that will allow each institution to make better business decisions, Seibert said.

The proposed upgrade also will give students more up-to-date information and will help university officials better track progress toward university system goals.

The university system is expecting to receive $29 million in estate tax revenue this legislative session. Nevada State College is slated to receive $9 million of that toward its proposed liberal arts building, and the Community College of Southern Nevada is slated to receive $5 million toward a new classroom facility.

Dan Klaich, vice chancellor for legal affairs and the director of the system's lobbying effort, said the technology needs were one of many possible uses for the estate tax funds that his team was presenting to state lawmakers.

An ad-hoc technology task force of the Board of Regents has hired Ceder Enterprise Solutions to serve as a consultant for the project and is developing the criteria they want the new system to have before selecting a vendor.

The task force decided on Friday to begin surveying all of the university system's different software users to develop that criteria, and will be inviting prospective vendors in for demonstrations late this summer.

Ceder General Manager James F. Lyon met with the task force on Friday. His company is being paid $50,000.

The total cost of the project is estimated to run anywhere from $50 million to $125 million, Seibert said. Only about 16 percent will go toward software and hardware costs, 46 percent will go toward paying a consultant to help implement the changes and the remaining 38 percent will be indirect costs associated with setting up the new system and training staff in how to use it.

It will take at least a year to select a vendor for the program and a consultant to install it, Seibert said. University system officials estimate it will take about three years to bring the project fully online.

State lawmakers have not voted on the system's budget enhancement requests or its capital improvement needs and will have a say in how the money is spent.

The Assembly Ways and Means committee closed the higher education operating budget without voting on the enhancements on Friday.

The university system is also moving forward with a national search to replace Seibert, who postponed her retirement plans to fill in the interim. Carla Henson, director of human resources, said the search has been narrowed from the initial 70 applicants to 52 and hope to have someone in the position by July.