Letter from the President

October 22, 2002

FROM: Richard L. Pattenaude, President
RE: ERP - Enterprise-wide Resource Planning

Big changes are coming in administrative computing at USM that will impact you directly; please read this memo with care.

As some of you may know, the University of Maine System has purchased a new administrative computer system called PeopleSoft to which all of our administrative computing functions and information will migrate. The overall project is named ERP (Enterprise-wide Resource Planning) because, for the first time, an integrated, web-based system will handle the computing information of:
… Human Resources (which includes Payroll Services, Employee Benefits, HR Information Systems, Employment Services and Student Payroll)
… Finance (which includes information from budget information in FAST to accounts payable to purchasing)
… Student (which includes academic records/registration, admissions, financial aid, student billing)
… Advancement (which includes donor and alumni relations)
So, systems like FAST, ISIS, FINANCIER, HRIS and BENEFACTOR will be replaced by a single, integrated system.

Work on this project has already begun and it is anticipated that the first application, Human Resources, will be implemented by April 2003. See Editor's Note. The Finance module will roll out in 2004; Student will begin implementation in 2004/2005. As the most complex and interconnected piece, the student application will take the longest time to implement. It is estimated that the time for the entire project to be implemented is five years.

What does this mean for all of us? First, many staff members from the functional areas impacted by the migration to this new system are already involved in both UMS and USM work groups connected to the project. The work of migrating to an integrated system, while exciting, is complex and will require significant time and resources from these areas. At the same time they are working on this project, they are also maintaining their responsibilities on campus. Please be patient and understanding when someone who is working on this project is also working on something for you. If you have a major project that calls for assistance from any of the areas listed above, please plan ahead and work with the appropriate director to determine a timeline.

In addition, since this system impacts all of our administrative functions, all of us will be "touched" in some way. We all use some if not all of these information systems, and we will all need varying levels of training as the project unfolds. Training will be phased-in as each part of the implementation occurs. Stay tuned for training sessions connected to the project, and please ensure that you and all other faculty and staff take advantage of these opportunities.

With any new system, we must also ensure that the hardware and software we utilize in our offices is adequate. While this system will technically work with both windows-compatible and Apple products and with the Netscape and Internet Explorer web browsers, it is strongly recommended that every office have at least one windows-compatible machine with at least Internet Explorer 6.0 as these will receive technical support from UMS. As you purchase new equipment, you must check with University Computing Technologies (UCT) to ensure that you are purchasing equipment and software which can be used with the new administrative system. If your department is considering the purchase of any software application that potentially needs to interface with any part of these systems, it is very important that you discuss this with UCT, specifically Mert Nickerson, before any purchase is made.

Finally, there is an ERP Core Committee at USM which is charged with moving the project along, communicating with all appropriate users of the technology, and ensuring that we are ready for implementation. Representatives from all of the functional areas directly impacted by this project sit on this committee. You will receive periodic updates from this committee as the project unfolds. If you have any questions or concerns or thoughts about the project, I encourage you to contact Rosa Redonnett, Vice President for Enrollment Management, who is coordinating the work of the committee.

While the work to implement is considerable, I am convinced that we will emerge with a more useable and user-friendly system which will give us better information, enable us to perform our administrative functions even more efficiently, enhance our "customer service" capability, and help us remain competitive in terms of our technological capability. My thanks to all of you already involved in the project, and to the rest of you who will become a part of it as it progresses.

--

Richard L. Pattenaude
Office of the President

Editor's Note: Throughout the project, anticipated time-frames for the different module implementations may change due to unforeseen circumstances. As of May 16th, 2003, Human Resources module is scheduled for implementation on Monday, July 7th, 2003. The Finance module is scheduled for an October 2004 implementation.

PE - Project Enterprise