Temple College launches new information software system
The Temple Daily Telegram reported that Temple College has launched the implementation of a new $1 million student/administrative information software system called Colleague by Datatel, Inc.
Colleague is a comprehensive information management solution system designed exclusively for institutions of higher education. "The Colleague system is used by many colleges and universities, and will improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of data storage and use," Donnie Carpenter, project manager, said.
Applications are designed for instructional management, financial management, student services, enrollment management, human resource management, budgeting, and planning.
The Temple College Board of Trustees approved the purchase of the new system last
November following months of review and investigation of available software packages.
Funding is part of Phase II of a $5 million campus improvement program currently under way at the college.
Two months of planning and installation hardware and software have been completed.
The new Colleague software was installed on a new state-of-the-art Hewlett Packard mainframe server. The system will eventually replace the IBM S/390 mainframe now in use.
The current software system was initially developed by the college information services staff about 20 years ago and has been constantly changed to keep up with the needs of the college.
The next phase of implementation will be the data conversion and staff training. Full implementation of the software will require 18-24 months to complete and will affect virtually every college operation. The current system will be used until staff training, data conversion and testing is complete to ensure a smooth transition to live implementation.
The target dates for completion of the phased implementation will be September 2001 for the financial operations, January 2002 for the human resources operations, and the summer/fall term 202 for the student services operations.
"Implementing the Colleague system will be a challenging and exciting undertaking,"
Carpenter said. "It will require a new order of cooperation, effort and organization of work. The payoffs for successfully completing this task are great."
"Colleague to Colleague -- Everyone Plays a Part" is the theme for the implementation period. Implementation will involve most, if not all, employees during the two-year period.
"When completed, Colleague will provide us the capacity to work more efficiently and effectively and to incorporate current information technology that will take us into the
21 st century," Carpenter said. "Most importantly, colleague will enable us to significantly improve both quantitatively the qualitatively the support and services we provide to students, employees, and the community."
"Every day we are in the process of building this institution," Dr. Marc Nigliazzo, president, said at the employee kickoff meeting. "We are in the process of improving our efficiency and through the process, our understanding of the processes of the institution."