Of all places, integrated computers escape colleges

Sun Staff

Monday, June 19, 2006 | 7:01 a.m.

Efforts have fallen six months behind in replacing an archaic computer system used by the Nevada System of Higher Education with a new system in which data from the campuses will be integrated.

The problem: System officials and campus executives weren't fully integrated in their intentions.

The Board of Regents and system administrators had spent two years planning the computer upgrades to allow Nevada's universities and colleges to integrate data from student services, human resources and finance and administration.

In March, Lee Alley, vice chancellor for information technology, was finalizing negotiations to select a company to tackle the job when Richard Carpenter, president of Community College of Southern Nevada, said the proposed work wasn't what presidents had agreed on.

Carpenter said the proposed product was a "one-size-meets-all" solution that wouldn't meet the community college's needs.

When Carpenter's complaints were echoed by leaders at UNLV and UNR, Chancellor Jim Rogers and regents in charge of the technology task force stopped the process and, with campus vice presidents, asked for a product that satisfied the presidents' concerns.

Regents approved the new proposal when they met this month - when they were supposed to have approved the contract for a new computer system.

Instead, they are six months behind schedule.

System officials are frustrated that campus presidents waited five months to complain.

At issue, everyone agrees, was how to best allow system administrators to access current data from campuses in order to improve management and accountability.

Regents and system employees had originally proposed a single software program for all eight institutions, which campus leaders didn't think was necessary.

In hindsight, Ray Moran, director of purchasing on the product, wishes presidents had signed off on the proposal in writing, rather than "assuming everyone is OK with it because we haven't heard back from them."

Carpenter said presidents didn't pay close attention to the process because they assumed it was fine.