june 5, 2014. mission: to provide a basis for collaboration among its member schools, both in the...
TRANSCRIPT
A Look at theIndependent College Enterprise
June 5, 2014
Mission: to provide a basis for collaboration among its member schools, both in the sharing of information technology resources and in the consolidation of operating functions where practical.
ICE
Ellucian Colleague Ellucian PortalEntrinsik’s InformerSoftdocs doc eScan, eServeBlackbaud’s The Raiser’s Edge
CORE Solutions
Shared software and licenses purchased as an organization of 9000 FTE
Centralized hosting and support One copy of the software Production and Test instances for each
school Standardized implementation Minimal customization or consensus on
customizations Web or Citrix access to all applications
The Technology Platform
ICE – School Partnership
ICE School IT
Perform system updates Maintain servers, perform
backups, manage DR site Set up reporting fields/logic Provide second level
support Conduct needs
assessments Train and consult Manage Projects Facilitate communication
Support users Disseminate information Provide local project
management Train users Support reporting Coordinate testing
Implementation◦ Approximately $750,000
Ongoing◦ Range from $150,000 - $300,000 annually◦ Licenses, hardware, maintenance, staffing,
Hosting/DR◦ Based on three factors
Shared costs formula: Equal Share plus FTE Projects School-specific options (i.e. Raiser’s Edge)
Costs
Board Advisory Council IT partnerships Subject matter experts
Decision-Making
1997- 2000 5 schools
2006 7 schools
2012 8 schools
History
• Two years to full implementation• No customization until fully implemented • All schools set up the same General Ledger
structure • Common names for fields, codes, and forms• Adopt a “Train the Trainer” model• Business offices became FASB* compliant
*FASB = Financial Accounting Standards Board
Baseline Agreements
◦ Each institution designated one dedicated administrative database manager Single point of contact per institution with ICE ICE is single point of contact with Datatel/Ellucian
◦ Implementation Team at Emory & Henry College Database manager CIO CFO Instructional Technologist (Head trainer) College Treasurer
◦ All institutions’ implementation teams met for 3 days in Charleston for project management training and to develop approach documents
Staff Considerations
◦ Set up training schedules at ICE and on campus◦ Imported employee data and built/implemented
security classes by position◦ Began training in Charleston with key
stakeholders (trainers)◦ Kickoff event—IMPORTANT
First Steps
◦ Datatel/Ellucian is standardized on HP printers◦ The need for good reporting tools◦ The need to implement common print forms◦ Network Infrastructure on each campus and at ICE
needs to be totally compatible
Things that We Didn’t Think of Until Later
Ongoing Concerns
◦ Training for new staff and additional training for current staff
◦ Ensuring that we are making maximum use of our investment
◦ Ongoing compliance with best practices◦ Addition/integration of other third party vendor
solutions
Challenges Benefits
Lower TCO Technical expertise Staff dedicated to
specific technologies Sharing among
schools◦ Resources◦ Knowledge◦ Best Practices
Power in numbers
Attrition Reaching consensus Budget neutrality Fostering
communication Combatting
complacency
The Magic Button
Loss of control Ownership of the program No natural champion Loss of power and possibly positions Time, energy and cost to convert Vendor support Antitrust regulations Geographical mindset
Barriers to Creating ICE
Governance Trust Buy In on ALL Levels Culture of Collaboration and Compromise Communication Adaptability Recognizing unique needs and strategies
What Makes It Still Work
